How to Stop Counter Surfing

That dreaded moment when you enter the kitchen to see that the roast is gone and the dog is licking his chops! UGH! How do you fix this? Well, first, DO NOT discipline the dog. It’s not his fault, just his win, and once it’s over, it’s over. Correcting the dog at this point, even if they look incredibly guilty, will do nothing but damage your relationship.

If you’d like to learn more about why he might look guilty, read this article.

So how do you proceed? The way to move forward from this frustrating scenario is to call for take out. The way to make sure it doesn’t happen again is to train the dog! This is a three part process that includes making sure the dog can’t make the same mistake again, teaching him the rules of the house and fixing any mistakes the second they occur.

Here’s how:

Management

First things first! If the dog doesn’t know the rules yet or if they’re still a puppy, it’s unfair to leave them access to the kitchen and expect them to make good choices. We must do our due diligence and take the time to train our dogs before we can expect them to understand what our expectations are. If they don’t understand the rules and we put temptation in their faces, there’s little doubt that they will fall prey to it.