Counter Surfing
1) Counter surfing As soon as we leave the house, he heads straight for the counter. Of course we almost always put everything away but once in a while we might forget. I'm afraid he might get into something bad if we forget, so I'd like to correct this behavior. 2) Dirt eating My dog is eating dirt nearly every time we go outside. Is there something wrong with him? Is there something missing in his diet? Is his tummy bothering him? HELP! |
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| 1) The only thing I can think of is continuing to keep everything edible off of the counters, and eventually he'll learn that there is nothing worth looking for up there. I know it's hard. We went through seven (yes, you heard right) T.V. clickers before we learned to keep it out of Naughty Norma's reach when we left the house. Eventually this became a non-issue with time. We have now had our current T.V. clicker for a year! You also might want to be careful when you are preparing food in the kitchen. Perhaps sending him out of the room so he doesn't see all that good stuff up there.
2) No clue on the dirt. Mine eat everything but dirt (including an occasional poopie!) I have also heard that when they eat strange things, (again, I refer to naughty Norma who ate sheet rock off of the walls) that there might be something lacking in their diet, but I never checked into it. Perhaps your Vet can help? You don't say how old your pup is, but most of Norma's strange snacking happenend when she was a pup. She seems to have outgrown the problem with time and consistancy on our part. Once she ate a plexiglass picture frame...we were sweating that one... Belly rubs from June |
| We have a 3 month old OES pup that also LOVES to eat dirt (and rocks). He'll sometimes finishes eating his food (and may leave some because he's full) and will still go straight for the dirt and start chomping. I spoke to our vet about it this week and she said that contrary to what some people say, there most likely is not something missing in his diet. She said that it should be a puppy phase that he'll grow out of. We laid out some hay in our backyard for him to potty on and are trying to keep him as far away from the dirt as possible. The vet also said that the dirt will not hurt him in any way, but that the behavior should still be discouraged (obviously). His nice white beard is always full of mud! |
| Try booby trapping the counter....
put a few pennies in a coke can and tape it shut. Then set the can or cans (several might work better) on the very edge of the counter where the Sheepie is sure to knock it off. It will make a lot of noise and she should associate the unpleasant sound with counter surfing. Also you can hide and throw a can near he when she counter surfs. But don't let her see you. Sheepies are smart. We did this twice with Belle. Once for a plant she dug in and once b/c she kept climbing over her baby gate. She has not touched that plant or scaled that gate ONCE since we did this. Good luck! |
OK- So I now know what you mean by counter surfing...I'd been reading this forum for awhile before we actually got our OES and I kept picturing this big sheep dog getting a running start and sliding across the counters, using it as a surf board. We're now 1 month into our life with Gracie, a 4 yr. old rescue, and she LOVES to "counter surf"!! Her first attack was a Pizza (yes, the whole thing) we inadvertantly left on top of the stove- not even a crumb left of it! Since then, we've been watching what we have on the counter and it's been working pretty well until today. I had a loaf of bread, a bag of dinner rolls, and a package of 8 cinnimon rolls on top of the microwave, on top of the counter and some how she managed to get them all! I don't understand how an over-weight dog who never jumps up on things (at least not around us!) can make it to the top of the mircowave! Thanks for the can idea...I think that will have to be our next step  Luckily that has been her only vice so far. I'm sure I'll be writing more soon!
Cindy, Brent, & Gracie |
| I too have been reading about the counter surfing posts for some time, but our pup had been too small to reach the counter up until a couple of months ago. Yesterday, I turned around to put something in our pantry and turned back around to find his paws on the counter and his face in a bowl of ranch dip. He tried to devour the entire bowl in a matter of seconds! I couldn't believe it!! The can idea is definitely a must try!
PS - Sebastian is now 6 months old and has stopped eating dirt and rocks, for the most part. Seems they do eventually grow out of it. |
| I have had cans strung across my counter for weeks. When they are there my 6 month standard poodle won't touch the counters. As soon as I move the cans up she goes..........I have not set a trap with food attached...maybe I'll try that and see if it works. Apparently, if the cans get tangled around her legs, it may frighten her enough. Know sure about that she is pretty smart. |
There's really not much to add to the great advise you got, besides arming yourself with a lot of patience and keeping the stuff away from them. 
Sometimes they like to eat dirt just because they like the taste of if, sometimes it's because their diet is lacking some minerals. Ours like to rub their faces on it, and they end up eating some. 
Consistency with adjusting that behabiour will be the key... These sheepie guys can be a handful. Good luck!!! |
| Iv'e got a rescue oes at the moment who loves counter surfing .I will give the cans a try .They sound like a good idea.
I think the reason he is doing it is because he wasn't exactly well fed when i got him so he is getting food when he can incase he doesn't get any for a while. When anybody mentions counter surfing i get a picture in my head of my mams second oes ( a rescue) called duke.She hadn't had a dog for 3 years so had got used to doing things without thinking about a dog. Picture a typical english sunday dinner with the meat(a leg of lamb) and the roast potatoes layed out on the table while my mam comes out to the back garden to call us.We all walk in to the dining room and get greated by a oes running out with a leg of lamb in his mouth.He had already had the potatoes gravy and yorkshire puds but he didn't fancy the veg.  |
| I can picture it clearly..... LOL |
| Clyde's not much a counter surfer as much as he is a sink surfer. He'd much rather have water than food as a treat any day. Now he's gotten big enough to get up and reach the faucet and I caught him swatting at it the other day. He's watched me do it so many times that he knows where the water comes from and how to get it. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if he would turn it off when he was done... |
| Maybe when he's a little older you'll be able to leave water out all the time, he won't be so obsessed with it.
When Mulligan came into our house for the first time, the FIRST thing he did was run into every bathroom and LIFT THE LID and take a drink. When we put down water, he really gorged himself, so we had to take it away. Finally we resolved just to leave the water available to him. For the first day he really went after it, but over the course of just a couple of days he realized that there would always be water available, he lost his obsession with it, and became increasingly food oriented. Of course, he was 2 and only had accidents when excited, he didn't have a can't hold it long enough problem... but we took him out frequently the first couple of days anyway. Good luck! |
| The rescue i have at the moment has been round to my hubbys mothers twice.
First time he was in the house he made a beeline for the counter second time i caught him having a drink out of the toilet 
I forgive him though because he is lovely  |
| Luckily, Samantha hasn't figured out the art of counter surfing...yet.
sixpence wrote: He had already had the potatoes gravy and yorkshire puds but he didn't fancy the veg.
I'd be very happy to send him mine, except my son loves puds for breakfast.... And Ron, I usually find tennis balls in my toilet! |
| Ron:
You've made me feel much better to know that someone else shared the water problem. Now that he's getting a little older and can physically hold it, I'm hoping to be able to start leaving the water out and hope that it helps. Boy, it's tough with a puppy though-- I feel bad withholding it from him when he goes so crazy when I give it back. It's like I'm making his obsession worse but I know, realistically, that his bladder can only hold so long! Do you know what caused Mulligan to become that way? Sorry to get off topic everyone. |
| We'll have to try the coke can trick. I'm starting to get used to cooking without actually putting anything down.
The other day I actually had to throw out half a pan of lasagne because my husband put it in the microwave to keep Bentley out of it. The problem was that he didn't tell anyone else he did it and forgot that he did it. I found the lasagne unrefrigerated for 24 hours still in the microwave. |
| Oh yes, that happens all the time around here. I can cook a meal while balancing most ingredients either in my hands (one or two things at a time, put them away, get out another) or by lining stuff up on the top of the stove as far back as possible. It does help the kitchen stay cleaner, there is none of that "I'll put it away later" stuff! LOL
The dogs have learned a new trick from Frazzle, he loves to lick off all the dishes in the sink. LOL My daughter kind of likes this new habit, because it is her job to do the dishes most of the time, and she doesn't have to rinse anything before putting it in the dishwasher. We store bread in the microwave as well, it's the only safe place for it. LOL |
| The only one I have countersurfing is Rosco. He is the smallest of my dogs but is somewhat of a medical miracle...his arms extend in direct proportion to the wonderfullness of what is on the counter.
He is the one the others rely on to get them things they know they shouldn't have but always shares the bread,etc. The only one that won't partake of the goodies is Beau because he hates to be in truoble. |
| You know, it was just last night when I figured out the real meaning of your screen name (Ya, I know, I'm dumb.)
I thought it was Best Dog, SX4, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what "model" of sheepie an SX4 was. Last night I realized it was Best Dogs, x4 as in "times four". You have four sheepies! Duh! |
| They are models alright, just not models of virtue!!! |
rfedeli wrote: We'll have to try the coke can trick. I'm starting to get used to cooking without actually putting anything down.
The other day I actually had to throw out half a pan of lasagne because my husband put it in the microwave to keep Bentley out of it. The problem was that he didn't tell anyone else he did it and forgot that he did it. I found the lasagne unrefrigerated for 24 hours still in the microwave. What's wrong with unrefrigerated lasagna? Sounds OK to me! Of course, I am a guy, and I don't live by the 5 second rule and will fight with the dog for food that falls on the floor.
Next time send the "bad" food to us. |
| I have learned a way to cook and do aerobics at the same time. Take 4 grown dogs:put one in front of the stove, one in front of the fridge, one in front of the sink and the other in front of any cupboard you need to get something from. Since they will not move you do stretches reaching over them and leg lifts trying to find somewhere to put your feet. If you're lucky you can do back stretches when you step on someone and try not to fall We should all be in great shape! |
| Yup.... |
| My dogs must be lazy. They love to lick dishes too but they wait until we put them into the dishwasher. Apparently it's too much work to try and get to them in the sink.
You can always tell when dinner cleanup is going on from the chorus of, "No dishwasher food!" Coming from the kitchen. |
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It's so nice to know that all across the globe there are other people just like us who have to hide food from their curious sheepies and yell at them for licking in the dishwasher. We have greatly curtailed the counter surfing at our house with the same technique used for positive reinforcement clicker training. Chelsea was an agressive counter surfer, she'd even push me out of the way to see what I was cooking. I kept a clicker and a bag of treats on the counter and each time she nosed up near me I asked her to 'sit' or 'down', then she'd get a click and a treat, and yes sometimes the treat would even be whatever I was working on. She still associates the counter and me standing near it with treats, but its okay because she is getting it. My husband will come into the room and he'll say 'she's a gambler', and sure enough Chelsea is taking a 'risk' that if she sits quietly (usually behind me starring holes into my back) she will get a treat, and she does. Occassionally she is naughty when I leave the room, but more often these days she can be found sitting beneath the counter waiting for her good behavour to be reinforced, so lots of praise and a treat for sitting and waiting. Garbage surfing is another story (!). Just as an aside- besides being mildly annoying and embarassing when your OES jumps up to give you a hand in the kitchen, it can also be dangerous. My first OES, Penelope, 'hopped' up to see what I was working on at the stove one time, she stuck her big furry paw right into an open flame, and "POOF!" Good news after the wild ride to the emergency room was that she only singed (sp?) her fur, bad news is it could have been a lot worse, so it's a behavior to discourage! Up. |
| The dishwasher licking didn't really bother me much until I realized that
Tucker had taught my son to do it.  They are really quite a pair. One of
them gets into something and the other gets to assist after the fact. For instance very shortly after my son learned to open the door under the sink he began pulling the garbage can out for Tucker. Tucker can reach much higher and farther back on the counter and will often pull down a snack like crackers or cooling leftovers for himself and my son. I have come into the kitchen several times now to find the two of them on the floor muzzle deep and wrist deep in something, but the worst was hamburger grease. They both ended up in the tub that day. We have been much better about this situation recently, but it does still happen
every once in a while. My son doesn't take the silverware out of the washer and lick it off anymore. I know, I know, how disgusting is that!
Of course my son always shares any treats (ice cream, crackers, peanut butter bread, popsicles...) he gets with Tucker, and more than once I have had to take dog treats from my son. What can I say - they are best of buds! It sure doesn't seem gross to my son, he couldn't care less. But really, eeewwww! Shellie |
| LOL....
Sounds like a Norman Rockwell painting for his series "A Boy And His Dog" |
| I think when you have dogs your disgust threshhold rises to new levels. Yesterday Luke threw up and Rosco rushed over to see what was on the buffet! |
| Yes, cats too, last night my cat threw up because he ate too fast, it was totally undigested, he didn't even chew. I debated cleaning it up, but he already was so I left it. LOL |
| Wow! I dont' feel so alone now. A couple of years ago I decorated cakes as a hobby. Well I was in the middle of a decorating a groom's cake (which of course was chocolate). I turned around for my decorator's bag that held about 3 cups of chocolate frosting. It was missing. I looked everywhere. I've been known to put the peanutbutter in the fridge and the milk in the cabinet....know what I mean? So there I am looking in the cabinet, the fridge, in the living room by the phone.... I couldn't find that frosting....then I noticed I couldn't find Abby either. She had taken the bag of frosting out through the doggie door and devoured every last bit. I learned then that a dog might not die from eating chocolate, but it will give them diarrea (sp)! It lasted for a day or two. Thank goodness she's gotten better and we have very few surfing contest now. She will usually resist everything but meat. |
| My guys would be in Heaven |
| Every Sunday, Bentley seems to get an extra sandwich. My husband can't seem to remember the don't turn your back on food rule. A couple of weeks ago he left his ham sandwich on the counter while he went into the refrigerator for a piece of cheese. Yup, you know where the sandwich went! It was also the last of the ham.
Last Sunday, he left two slices of bread on the counter while he got the rest of the sandwich stuff from the fridge. Yup, you know where the bread went. Take two, I made the sandwich but left off the condiments because I didn't know what he wanted on it. He then turned his back to the sandwich to get mustard. Probably the only condiment that wasn't already on the counter and yup, you guessed where the sandwich went. The REALLY funny part to all of this was that my son's friend (4 years old) had been over the day before. My husband watched the two boys while the other mother and myself took our Girl Scout troop on a field trip. I asked the other leader how her son did at my house and she said "He was really impressed with the way your husband taught him to save his lunch from the dog!" Apparently he can't practice what he preaches, but we're finding it hysterical! |
| That is too funny! What did your poor husband get? |
bestdogsx4 wrote: That is too funny! What did your poor husband get?
Two boxes of thin mints! |
| What's wrong with that? Two major food groups : chocolate(very major) and mint |
| I think what he really got was laughed at! Thank heavens he has a good sense of humor.
I love the thin mint idea! I hate to tell you how many boxes of GS cookies are in my cupboard. Maybe he'll remember that next time. |
| I just want you all to know- after touting positive reinforcement and Chelsea's seemingly good behavior- I once again - STAND CORRECTED- by my sheepie.
Yesterday, I turned whilst making sandwiches for everyone's lunchbox, and Chelsea grabbed a piece of bread off the counter, she nabbed it, and like a well trained girl , took it to her rug, afterall wouldn't want to get any crumbs on the floor! There was much guilt and kissing after the incident, but I'm here to warn you- countersurfing is here to stay. Up. |
| If that had been Daisy or Rosco they would have waited for the peanut butter |
| Zoe ate our left over baked spagetti on Friday. A couple weeks ago she at 3/4 of one of the huge Hersey's bars with almonds-she did not get sick! I did find gold foil in the poop though. |
| Wow, I'm amazed she didn't get an upset tummy! It takes huge amounts to actually be dangerous to them, but oes usually have sensitive tummies to begin with, so you are lucky! LOL
I love your avatar pic...lol... |
| Wow we rescued an oes a month ago, she is wonderful. Still working on her problems, esp housebreaking. She is 90% better but some days still goest o the bathroom in the house. Well the other day she had jumped onto the kitchen counter and had a bm, wow I was in shock, never heard of a dog doing that!! |
| You're kidding?! I've never heard of a dog doing that either! |
Jan wrote: Wow we rescued an oes a month ago, she is wonderful. Still working on her problems, esp housebreaking. She is 90% better but some days still goest o the bathroom in the house. Well the other day she had jumped onto the kitchen counter and had a bm, wow I was in shock, never heard of a dog doing that!!
I know I shouldn't be, but I am impressed the dog jumped up on the kitchen counter. get the dog signed up for agility! |
| My dogs have no trouble getting on the kitchen table either...lol... well, Sky does it anyway, and Frazzle will use the 3 crates as stepping stools, to get as close to the window as possible to see Dancer or Sky outside. They are not little crates, but Dancer's is smallest, then Sky's is a large, and Frazzle's is an extra large crate. It surprised me the first time he did it....lol |
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