[Jenny Tuk]

OK, Hector's finally done it - joined the ranks of the "Counter Surfers" out there! :twisted: I know this topic's been covered, to death, probably, but who has the best solution? I just can't bring myself to try the upside-down mousetrap thing, no offense meant here, but I have 3 children who I would be worried about getting "bitten", not just Hector. I also have a cat who eats her food on the counter (I know all about the cats and germs on their feet, and how they shouldn't be on the counter and all, but it's the only place she can eat in peace, safe from the cat food gobbling dogs!) So, what else has worked for ya'll? I've caught him at it and screamed fit to wake the dead at him, but now he's just sneakier at it! Help! :shock:
Jenny

 

[gene]

What worked for me was cookie sheet with empty pop cans on it. Fortunately, Miko still doesn't think she's tall enough. Jonah will still on occasion lick the inside of the sink.....but no one's perfect right?? :roll:

 

[movistar]

sorry I am the mousetrap advocate here! but I have seen many successful cookie trays with stuff and the old pop can with pennys thrown at their feet with a sharp no command. another idea is a fishing wire or similar on their leash and a swift pull to the collar with a sharp no command.

good luck!

and oh yeah keep your bread in the fridge!

 

[blueteal]

In the olden days
We kept a wooden spoon on the counter
and when the human kids were acting up I would slam it hard
on the counter. Anytime after that when they (human kids) were
acting up I just needed to say that I was going to get the wooden spoon.
No child in my care was ever hit with a wooden spoon, did not need
to be as the threat was always good enough.
Whew!!!!
This idea worked great for Denver, as the first time he ever
thought of counter surfing, I smacked the wooden spoon on the
counter. The noise got him to leave the area immediately and when he did come back if he could see the wooden spoon, (which I just left out on the counter)he was out of there.
I only did this once and did feel guilty of making him afraid of the loud
noise but he has never touched anything on any counter and sometimes it is ok to be a mean mommy in order to save your dogs from getting into dangerous things that may be left on a counter.(Can you tell I am still trying to convince myself ) He is not
afraid of the kitchen, just do not show him a wooden spoon.
Worked for us.

 

[Jac]

hahahaha...you guys just reminded me that our kids (my sisters and mine) were afraid of the telephone operator! LOL We kept telling them that they couldn't play on the phone because the operator gets mad....well, once they heard the recording, something about "please hang up and try your call again" they believed! LOL So all we had to do was say, "The Operator gets mad..." and they would stop dead in their tracks! hahahaha...
I like the wooden spoon idea...loud noises to distract are almost always the best alternative.

 

[Maureen]

We've done it ALL!!
the "snappy trainer" things you stick on a mousetrap are GREAT!
The pyramid of pop cans tied to a piece of cheese worked for another dog.
But Sheba? Not sure there's any help except an improvement in my housekeeping, because she KNOWS to only go for it when I am out of the house, or out of the kitchen!

I did the pans/cans thing and she would knock it over, run from the commotion and then go back for the piece of meat/cheese that is now on the floor!

When Sheba was nursing puppies she was sleeping in the kitchen. She decided that something in a pan left on the back burner was worth checking out, so up on her legs she goes, not noticing she turned the GAS KNOBS and the pan got hot enough to smoke so we were awakened with a smoke alarm and a hot kitchen! Thank God no fire, and there wasn't food in the pan, it just wasn't cleaned. So all is well, except for the lost sleep.

Ol' Sugar (11yr old Lab) has eaten her weight in butter thru the years. We keep it in a glass custard cup on the counter and ZOOOM! it's gone. Thank God for Tupperware (covered) butter dishes!

 

[blueteal]

Maureen wrote

Ol' Sugar (11yr old Lab) has eaten her weight in butter thru the years. We keep it in a glass custard cup on the counter and ZOOOM! it's gone. Thank God for Tupperware (covered) butter dishes!

Bahahahhaa!!!!
My cats love butter and if it is not covered same thing.
Oh yeah the cats do not care how often I smack the wooden
spoon they just look at me and say"Save it for the dog, we are on to you"

 

[Jac]

hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!!

 

[cocoandjane]

COUNTER SURFING IS COCO'S FAVORITE THING TO DO.
Including in the bathroom....a tube of toothpaste, lotion, my hairbrush, and a box of kleenex. The toothpaste now squirts from little bite marks all over the tube.
From the kitchen....
Butter
Bread
ANYTHING

I worry about the burners on the stove.....hot pans and cookie sheets out of the oven....she's never gotten burned, but she could. she is also very sneaky and waits until you aren't watching and tippy toes to snatch what she's after!!! Ate a frozen boned chicken breast the other day.....at least, she only got one of them.....

My trainer said the "shock" collar would be the thing to use....Don't know if I will ever do that.....I know it isn't as bad as it sounds....but haven't used mine yet. Bought it months ago. So much of the negative behavior is changing for the better, I am hoping this will go away, too.

Oh, yeah, she loves pizza.

 

[gene]

Bathroom door....ALWAYS closed. On the occasions I forget, or company is over....TP is in a vanity drawer. I most times remember to tell guests....

 

[kegdawg]

Dexter never really countersurfed, but he used to jump up on the counters (he just wouldn't pull stuff down). Regardless we didn't want him jumping up and just would correct him with a serious "Dexter, Off" when he would jump up. We didn't use mousetraps or anything like that. Now at 11 months he really never jumps up on things (knock on wood). He still jumps on people when he's excited. I guess my point is that our doodle has seemed to outgrow that unwanted behavior as he got older.

 

[MaxandMe]

Max ONLY countersurfs when one of us walks peanut for a second and leave him alone with PORK TENDERLOIN on the counter to cool off...OR hot dogs waiting as we light the grill....OR cheese to be brought out for the hamburgers........OR hot chicken wings hahhahah now that he didn't like.

I have a lid on our garbage can. problem solved there.

Max doesn't counter surf on a regular basis rather he keeps us guessing so he'll do it one week and not again for another 6weeks or so. hhhahhaaaaaa

I like the wooden spoon idea. I had one with a chip in it. I would say see that piece missing??? I did that on your brother hahha and so on.
I NEVER used it on them ok....but to this day all 3 kids swear i broke it on one of them till we sat down and i asked my now grown teenagers a year ago "okay who's the one i broke the spoon on? NONE of them could say it was them. hahhahahahaaa
POINT proven , case closed. hahhahahahhahaa

 

[2kidsNadog]

Cody is getting almost counter surfing height. He's taken to table surfing the end spot (where the chair doesn't slide completely under the table) so we've learned not to leave anything there. He scored the last quarter of my daughter's peanut butter sandwich last weekend (she was done, but we didn't remove the plate right away).
We did have a scare two weeks ago. Cody was left penned in the kitchen (standard for long days) while I went to work and DH went on shift. Well DH was graduating from paramedic school that night, so he was released from shift to come home and go to the graduation. He got home before the kids and me and that was a good thing. At some point during the day Cody had jumped up to check out whatever was on the stove and wound up turning on one of the gas burners. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the gas didn't ignite and just leaked into the house for how ever long. DH smelled it right away, turned it off, opened the house up, turned on the fan, and got Cody out of the house. In raising two kids we never needed stove control covers. Now we have a doodle and we do. We've opted for just pulling the control covers off - ugly, a pain in the tush when we want to cook, but functional.
It's just a matter of time before my counters will need attention - maybe I'll try the spoon idea....