Stop Counter Surfing - Dog Training Games

This video goes over exercises for teaching your dog to not take food from tables or counters or any situation you want to train such as supermarket shelves if you have a service dog. This behavior is called a default behavior with a situational cue because the goal is to train the dog that the food on the counters is the cue to leave it, so you don’t have to be around to tell the dog leave it in the future.
In between training the food on tables needs to be cleaned away so the dog doesn’t rehearse the undesirable behavior of taking the food from the table. Some dogs are easier to train this than others and it is much easier to work on if the dog doesn’t already have a history of taking food off tables and counters so I suggest working on this with your new puppy or adult dog BEFORE the issue occurs and before you leave your dog to roam the house unattended when food is on the counters.
Here is a link to the video on how to begin teaching a leave it which goes into more careful detail about beginning to train this exercise: • Leave It *NEW versio...
Here is a video on how to train the calm settle which you can use to teach dogs to relax around your house when you eat food at the table or have food at the table for long periods of time like when you are having a party: • The Calm Settle - for ...
#dogtraining #puppytraining #professionaldogtraining

[@tiffanyhui9425]

This is such a great video. My labrador is 8 and his counter surfing has been getting pretty bad. He’s okay when it’s just me but whenever there are people around, he knows I’m distracted and won’t catch him in time. I spent a few minutes on this video and trying it out, with low value treats on the table and he was breezing through it. Lots of eye contact and ignoring the treats so I thought I’d up the difficulty using moo tubes (dehydrated cow trachea) which he loves. Edge of the table again, much more sniffing but would always return to look at me. I was impressed by how good he was so I decided to put it on a stool. We did that for a few short minutes because he started butt scooting so I though he might need to go toilet. Anyway. One thing after another, I get distracted with laundry that had fallen outside and I’ve accidentally let him inside with me elsewhere whilst the moo tube is still sitting on the stool! It takes me a few minutes to realise and I think ‘oh no! I’ve completely reversed the training behaviours we’ve just done and reinforced counter surfing behaviour instead 🤦🏻‍♀️ and I bet he’s made a mess eating that chew indoors’. I run back inside and he’s just standing there drooling and staring at the moo tube. I was gobsmacked. Just a few minutes if this video and trying it out worked that well on an older dog. I’m amazed. Going to keep going, with downgrades in difficulty to set him up for success as you always say to do. Thank you so much, Emily! You are brilliant.

[@archidadk]

That’s such an ADORABLE Aussie ❤️ She’s so good at picking up the cue, very intelligent!!! Beautiful girl 💕

[@Hainaoshines]

Love that you've put out a new video on this. You're the best.

[@Kim-mw6xw]

Perfect timing!! I successfully stopped counter surfing / trained different behavior years ago using some of your exercises. My elderly pup is just now getting back into 🏄‍♂️ and I’m stoked to have this video to help me once again. When I was a kid, our family dog passed away due to counter surfing and eating food wrapped in plastic. So I think these exercises are life saving. I am a huge advocate for promoting life long training as a *necessity* to owning a dog mostly for the general health, well being, and safety for the dog, but also for the many benefits it brings the owner! I’ve firsthand witnessed how accurate that famous Hierarchy of Dog Needs info graphic is. Meeting my dogs force-free training needs transformed him in many areas and made owning/caring for him not only easy but very enjoyable.

[@gr8H8er]

You say your older pup? My boy Levi as he approached his 16th birthday got more and more puppyish in his behavior. Luckily I had a younger service dog to remind me not to get upset with the old boy. After 14&1/2 years of near perfection, he was allowed to have accidents and be stingy or snappy. When he started experiencing severe separation anxiety (when I was in the next room or kenneled him when I was walking too far for him to keep up) with extreme pitiful fearfulness and was quite weak in his hind quarters, I held him as the veterinarian sent him to rainbow bridge. It was a hard decision and he was lame and incontinent for a while. But too many times he protected me and I lived without fear because he was ever watchful and loyal. I could not let him spend time that afraid - it wasn’t fair to him.

[@kikopup]

I am so sorry to hear that. I also am really careful with plastic bags as I know someone who had a husky and the poor thing got her head stuck in a cat food bag when her owner was away. I go over and over telling people to be careful with bags and treat baggies with small dogs to the point that I annoy people. But its really something I never thought about until it happened to someone I know.

[@kinezmaterz2083]

great proactive exercise! thank you my dog likes to 'stand' away from the counter and peruse when I'm not looking lol

[@spintwins859]

My dogs love to counter surf. They take the sport seriously ! :)

[@kikopup]

Lol. :)

[@martinaluisetti]

Aw nice touch the dedication at the end!

[@kikopup]

thanks!!!

[@Zelly-mq9sp]

I love how clear and precise all your videos are! I totally love seeing the process - it helps so much when trying to imitate your training. Thank you so much!

[@kerriwhittom260]

💕 Always look forward to your valuable content. I'm learning so much from you and always search out your videos first. You help make me a better dog trainer and dog owner. 🐶

[@ionicamermaid1141]

Thanks for all the great videos! In the beginning when I got my dog I really couldn't do most of your tutorials and thought some just aren't for us but now with more experience and being more able to read my dog I feel everything is possible working positively with dogs! I've even started a dog training course for diabetes alert dogs and I'm hoping to become a dog trainer in the next years using positive reinforcement only (which is something "never heard of" here in the south of Italy, where people have very little clue about dogs and how to keep them). Thank you very much for your encouragement!

[@kikopup]

Oh cool! I've actually done seminars in Venice a couple times and got to meet some amazing positive trainers from Italy and Croatia while there. I think the community in Italy is growing!

[@ionicamermaid1141]

@@kikopup that would be wonderful. The north of Italy is more similar to the rest of Europe. And if you do workshops or seminars in Europe again I'd love to participate if possible. Do you announce those things on you website dogmatics? Anyway thank you for taking the time responding!!! All the best!

[@tedjack9184]

Thank you. This is a great tutorial on a topic that everyone encounters. We especially enjoyed the part with Ted the pitbull. He had a good time and was wagging his tail all the time.

[@m__i__k__i]

Careful training plan and clear explanation! Awesome as always! Thank you for sharing another great video ❤️

[@kikopup]

Awe! Thanks Miki that means a lot coming from you :)

[@ilinjoy3214]

Thank you! Very useful as always!

[@WaggingTailsDogTraining]

Another absolutely amazing video!

[@vhmacmd]

Very good as always. Thanks Emily! These tips always help!

[@TuffTitties4U]

Thanks for this. Makes perfect sense...why didn't I think of that? 🙄

[@analarson2920]

Sometimes we just need a video.😉

[@harry1591]

I really looove your videos! thank you so much for all the good information

[@dachr2]

Perfect timing on that video. We've really been struggling with this behavior lately and haven't been able to figure out how to train it properly... Now it seems so obvious! Thanks!

[@ldavis-henry5065]

I was also looking for a new video from you on counter surfing. Love love your videos and probably have watched every one and a couple times each. My 3 yr old Labrador just started air sniffing in kitchen and going to garbage if cupboard door left open. I was shocked because since a puppy I have taught “leave it” and proofed this almost every day. None of my dogs would ever think to take food that wasn’t given to them - because of my training. Treat on the paw still works amazingly well and leaving full dog food dishes. So back to the drawing board and practice every day. Think I am to blame as I never fed in kitchen or gave table scraps until this year. After long day of hiking we would get takeaway pizza back to hotel(because of covid). Would give pizza crusts to our dog as we ate. Wrong thing to do and think this contributed to him now counter surfing. “Sometimes is any time for a dog” as Susan Garrett would say. Will now save crusts for his treats during hike next day. 😀

[@kikopup]

Some meds make dogs get very excited by food. Sometimes excitement or stress can bring it on. Or if the dog has lost a little weight or had more exercise. You could put some wintergreen oil on a cloth and wipe it around the cupboard just so its not such a temptation that just sits there. But of course some dogs would not be deterred by the minty smell and go help themselves when no one is watching. I would for a while toss out trash if you throw something your dog likes away in the trash such as meat or grease from cooked meat or pizza crusts :) My dogs all get very excited for pizza crusts too!

[@askavetstudent]

Side step! The whole video is gold but I've been looking for more physical gesture cues that pups can do by themselves (no props).

[@BlakeMowen]

Thank you

[@HanaTheRussell]

Thanks!

[@gcwilson1]

So helpful. Thank you! What bait bag do you use? It looks like you could carry different "value" treats which I think would be handy. Thanks again!

[@Steph_andthebulldogs]

thank you so much!!!! any thoughts on how to get my pup to stop lunging or starting after cars? Always worries me when she is outside thanks so much

[@joepeezy4sheezy]

How strange, we were just looking for your advice on this very subject. Our corgi has started doing this and taking anything off the coffee table and turning things into toys. Will these principals work with non food items?

[@kikopup]

Yes, but again to not leave the items on the table when you are gone, and build the value of accessible items on the floor. You can switch out toys and chews, and play games with them to get your dog interested in them.

[@joepeezy4sheezy]

@@kikopup you’re the best. It is a challenge in our home because we have a 2 year old that leaves toys and cups around and our corgi puppy loves to find and destroy them. These incidents are not often, but it is annoying to find a sippy cup chewed up or a stuffy less stuffed every so often. I guess diligence is key, but it is tiring. Your videos have been invaluable to our family and our puppy is an absolute joy to everyone because of your work. We have been spreading the word on your content. Do you have any videos on how to work with older poorly trained dogs? And dogs that are not food motivated?

[@annabarrett8398]

Great video as always! We are at a stage where our 5 month old puppy can leave food on a table alone and maintain a calm settle if reinforced in the settle every minute or so. In your experience, how long does it take to get from this to a default "leave it alone" without reinforcement every time? I struggle with this stage in several behaviours - how to maintain behaviours through a transition between quite focussed, high frequency reward training sessions, into more day-to-day life where there are more distractions and I am not paying attention to her/reinforcing her as frequently.

[@kikopup]

Oh well done! It really depends on the dog. For a beagle that is every excited by food, leaving chicken on a low table is stressful. But a dog that is not that into food it could be acceptable. After a few training sessions and the dog is leaving stuff on the coffee table, you could try eating a meal there, or having a bowl of food for a party there, while you are sitting there watching tv etc, you can then tell her "leave it" if she goes for it, but not give a treat. Then later if you wanted to reinforce a settle you could. BUt with these default behaviors what tends to happen is they just choose not to bother whatever it is. If you had a dog excited by food, instead of working on counter surfing exercises you could work on reducing the arousal and excitement for food first, so that the leave it isnt a frustrating conflicted exercise for them

[@annabarrett8398]

@@kikopup Thanks! She is a standard poodle and I would say she's motivated by food but not over-aroused by it. Throwing in the leave it command is a good idea, we will give it a try :)

[@kelseygallion6888]

Hi. What do you suggest to do for "sneaky" counter surfing? Do I go back to this? If I am in the area, my dog will leave anything and everything alone. In fact, as I type this, she is laying less than 6 inches from my plate of pizza that is at her level showing no interest in it. Over the holidays, she got cookies off of the counter. Now we cant seem to stop that behavior with things that are pushed to the back that historically she would ignore. The easiest thing seems to be to just not put things on the counter, however mistakes happen and things get left out. Id like to go back to not having to worry about those mistakes.

[@kikopup]

Yeah, it can be hard, but I suggest, if you get something really interesting thats novel and irresistable. Im vegan so i really have to prepare something specifically for the dogs, but like cook some smelly meat in the oven, then have it sit on the counter out of reach and then sit facing the other way but be conscious, I worked on this issue with Bliss by doing this and i could hear him put his paws up and I could cue leave it from the other room. But you could also use a camera, Id also do more work around the counters. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6O8qYaNmp6emLM. heres a video of him where hed be not so sneaky, i dont think he has the nature to be sneaky

[@andybayer324]

our dog is very operant and very food motivated, and has picked up the behavior of visibly demonstrating that he’s NOT counter surfing by rushing towards the food, turning 180°, then rushing back toward me for his reward. im trying to reinforce a relaxed settle, but we find it very difficult for him to relax while training. he’ll slap his paws on the floor, demanding more reinforcement, or get up to look at the food immediately after being rewarded for his settle. have we just moved too quickly, and need to reduce the value of the food when training?

[@kikopup]

I suggest just putting really low value food on a low coffee table while watching tv. Cue him to leave it, which will be easy, like say its carrots or a food he doesnt like. Then when he settles and relaxes not thinking about bothering the table mark him and then go and get a treat from a counter or the fridge and go and calmly place it between his paws and then show him you have no more. This way he will learn after he gets the treat to just chill out and relax, rather than to keep trying or thinking he needs to do something to make the reinforcement happen. then gradually have higher value food on the table. You can start first with training games, where hes on leash and you are reinforcing him on a bed, and teach the cue go to the bed, so you can then say, leave it, go to your bed, if he bothers somethign on the table say something really high value like someones dinner, then if hes been on the bed for a while in the future after being cued you can go and get a treat from somewhere else. The other solution is just have treats on you 24/7 for a while until the dog realizes that just because you have the treats on you doesnt mean they have to try things to get the treats to happen.

[@andybayer324]

@@kikopup Thank you so much! We'll try the first strategy tonight. Your videos have never led us astray over the past 5 years, thank you!

[@christinehottinger5791]

So we've got some foundation to work on with leave it, but my dog wants EVERY kind of food. We usually train with her kibble because she gets over aroused with higher-value treats. Any tips to identify a low-value item to work on?

[@kikopup]

You could just work from further away as a way to reduce criteria at first. Even raw broccoli?

[@mikesmith4337]

what treats do you use???

[@joepeezy4sheezy]

If you have a video on teaching a puppy to leave a cat alone, boy we’d love to see it.

[@gr8H8er]

She does! This is it! Her methods are very concise yet simple. I train in a somewhat similar fashion although I do use a wide chain choke collar (thin chains pinch harder) WITH a harness so that there is never constant pressure on neck and I have control of the pup’s body. The only pressure on the neck is quick short upward ‘bite’ with the collar. Verbal praise is very important too. Sessions should be 15 minutes or less. First teach ‘leave it’ with food or toys then use the exact same technique with cats or other animals. Good luck! And always end on a positive note!

[@kikopup]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJu8l36BZpyNeNU this exercise but replace the decoy dog with a cat