How to train your dog to stop jumping on the counter at home. You may frequently witness your dog stealing food from the kitchen counter. For a brief minute, you might turn your back only to discover that the dog has jumped over the counter or has stolen your food. Even if you place your food up high, it can still be frustrating when sly dogs manage to get to it. Thankfully, there are a few things that we can do to break this bothersome behavior.
Clear the counters.
Training for you, not for your dog, is the first step towards ending counter surfing. It is crucial that the dog never gets praise for leaping onto the counter. The kitchen counter or table should therefore be kept totally clear unless you are present to oversee what is happening. Your dog will receive food as a reward for misbehaving if it leaps and manages to grab even the tiniest morsel of something. Given that it obtained what it desired, your dog is now more likely to engage in the undesirable behavior again.
For some dogs, there are things more satisfying than eating. Instead of stealing food, your dog might be almost as thrilled to take a sponge or pot holder from your counter. When you are cleaning off your counters, remember that they ought to be as empty as possible.
How do I teach my dog to keep his paws on the floor?
Your dog can learn that it feels good to have all four paws on the ground. Your dog won't have as many reasons to jump up after you get into the habit of clearing your counters. It's time to show your dog that staying on the floor instead of jumping up on the table yields greater rewards.
Reward your dog when he behaves well. Give your dog a treat whenever it's got all four paws touching the floor while you're in the kitchen. They'll quickly learn that jumping over the work surface never gets them rewarded and that they only get treats when they're on the floor.
Additionally, you can teach the dog a put command that directs it to a kitchen mat or bed. Practicing the "place" command across numerous training sessions is recommended. You can send your dog to this location while you are cooking in the kitchen after they are reliably coming to their mat and bed and remaining there. Treats should be thrown occasionally, even after the dog has mastered the art of staying on the mat and bed for extended periods of time. It's critical to consistently reinforce to your dog that landing on the counter is not as satisfying as keeping all four feet on the ground or staying put.
Teach your dog to put it down.
Someone in the household will inevitably leave food unattended on the counter or table, even with the best of intentions. It is helpful if your dog understands the instruction to "leave it" if you catch them trying to get anything off the table. When the dog obeys the "leave it" order, ask it to sit and reward it with a goodie after getting all four feet upon the floor. This only serves to emphasize once more how much more beneficial it is for the dog to retain all four paws off the ground as opposed to jumping up to counter-surf.
Issues and behavior proofing
You may want to consider getting assistance from a behaviorist or dog trainer if the dog fails to respond well to the aforementioned methods. You can identify the areas where you and your dog's communication is failing with the assistance of an expert.
While waiting, steer clear of these typical blunders. To resist temptation, keep those counters free. Ensure that all visitors and family members are in agreement so that, throughout training, everyone responds in unison. To avoid accidents, you should also probably confine your dog while you are away. Remain steady and patient.
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