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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
16 Wednesday,December30,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon Paw Prints Jodi Schneider McNamee Columnist Coping with counter surfing You turn your back for afewseconds,leavingfour piecesofchickensittingona platterontopofthekitchen counter.Momentslater,one piece of chicken has van- ished,andyourdogisclose bylickinghischops. Has this scenario hap- penedinyourhouse? Counter surfing is when yourdogjumpsupontothe kitchen counter and takes food. Smaller, more agile dogsmayjumpupwithall four paws on the counter, while other dogs just prop theirfrontpawsonthecoun- ter-topstoreachanyfoodleft out.And still-smaller dogs willsurfthediningtableby jumpinguponachairfirst. D o g s c o u n t e r s u r f because they have learned that kitchen counters are an easy source of yummy snacks. Countersurfingisavery commondogbehaviorprob- lem, and for some pet par- entsitcanbeverydifficultto deal with. Counter surfing, justlikechasingsquirrels,is atypeofdogbehaviorthat can be seen as a problem, but in reality is a perfectly naturalandnormalbehavior foradog. Whenadog’sbehavioris rewarded, he’s more likely torepeatthatbehaviorinthe future.SowhenRoverfinds food on the counter when hejumpsup,it’shisreward. Thisisfoodwearetalking about.Foodisthenumber- onerewardformanydogs. Dogs are optimists and opportunists,soevenifyour pooch has only found food onthecounteronceortwice, hewillkeeponjumpingup tolookforit,whetherit’sthe counterorthekitchentable. Thereareseveralwaysto dealwiththisdogbehavior issue.Ifyouareafirst-time petparent,youmayrealize thatyouwillneedtochange someoryourhabits—not leavingfoodaround,remov- ingdirtydishes,etc. The simplest solution, ofcourse,istomanagethe situation so that your furry friend doesn’t have access to food on the counters or tables.Herearesometips: •Never keep food on your counters. If your dog doesn’tfindanyfoodwhen hejumpsup,he’snotgetting rewardedforcountersurfing. •Dogs have incredible sniffers,sowipethecounter- tops and tables thoroughly whenyouaredonecooking sothatthere’snoresiduefor Rovertolickup.Evenfind- ing something tasty to lick canberewarding. •Try crating your dog duringmealpreparation.Or if he isn’t trained to crate, useababygateinthedoor- waytorestrictaccesstothe kitchen. What about teaching Rover not to counter surf? Here is an example of a behavioryoucanteachyour dog to discourage counter surfing: “Leaveit”isausefulcue formanysituations,includ- ingcountersurfing.Tostart training Rover to leave it, gosomewherequietandless exciting for your dog than thekitchen. Start with an extra-spe- cialtastytreatinbothhands; place your hands behind yourback.Thenmakeafist withonehandandofferthat handtoyourdog,lettinghim sniff your fist. Say “leave it”andwaituntilheisdone sniffing. As soon as he’s photo by Jodi Schneider mcnAmee Mia has learned to stop table surfing when no food is around. donesniffing,say“yes,”or clickwithaclicker,andoffer himthetreatfromtheother hand. Keep doing this until Rover immediately stops sniffingyourhandwhenyou say, “leave it.” When this happens consistently, you arereadytomoveontothe nextstep. Next,leashyourdogand thentossatreatoutsidehis reach. Say “leave it” and wait until he stops sniff- ing and pulling toward the treat. When he stops sniff- ing and pulling, say “yes” orclick,andgivehimatreat that he likes more than the oneonthefloor.Overtime, by practicing this exercise, Rovershouldstoppullingas soonasyougivethe“leave it”cue. Whentryingtodissuade a counter surfer, you need tohelphimlearnthatleav- ingthehumanfoodaloneis morerewardingthancounter surfing. Of course this strat- egy will only work when youaretheretogiveacue. Whenyou’renotgoingtobe around,remembertoremove temptationeitherbyblock- ingoffaccesstothekitchen or by keeping the counters andtablesclearoffood. Prevent a Litter, Fix Your Critter! FURRY FRIEND S FOUNDATION 501 ( c )( 3 ) www.furryfriendsfoundation.org 541-549-9941 501(c)(3) nonprofi t organization Spay/Neuter Sponsorships - Easy as 1-2-3 1 Stop by The Nugget offi ce to fi ll out a short form 2 Call Bend Spay & Neuter for the appointment 3 Take your pet — Furry Friends pays. Done!