Dog Training FAQ - Dog Steals Food

My dog consistently tries to steal items off my kitchen counter. He will wait until bedtime or when I've left the kitchen to steal food off the counter. In most cases, I put everything away however; he has accomplished his counter surfing on more than one occasion. What can I do to curb this behavior?

There are several things you can do to combat this.

1. Have a more supervising presence. Your dog must have a 100% negative experience with this behavior every time it happens. If that happens he will soon stop. The only way to make sure that he always has a negative experience is to supervise him while you are around and to take away opportunities to perform this behavior when you are gone by using a crate or making sure there is nothing on the counter. If he has a single chance to do this without you correcting him, he is training himself to jump up.

2. Make a negative association. As mentioned above if he can have enough negative experiences in a row he will stop. You must create that negative experience for him. Unfortunately, the method I often see owners use to stop a behavior like this is to catch him doing it and chase after him screaming, "No, get down! Cut that out!" This becomes more of a game for the dog and does nothing to stop the behavior. To make a negative association your dog must be wearing a training collar and leash. As he goes to jump up you grab the leash immediately while giving several strong jerks on the leash and telling him 'no'. If you are going to do this properly he must wear a leash around the house pretty consistently for a while. If he isn't wearing a leash and you miss an opportunity to correct the misbehavior it is like going back to square one.

3. Set him up. Put his favorite stuff on the counter and as he goes to get it give him the strong leash corrections. Get a long line as well so you can correct him from 10-20 feet away.

4. Be 100% consistent. Always correct the bad behavior while preventing it from happening when you aren't around. Just remember, dogs repeat behaviors that they get pleasure from. You need to take all of the pleasure out of this one and he will be cured.

Good luck, let me know if you have other questions.
Ty Brown