Ok, I have stated a million times that I am a reformed "old schooler" However, stealing food off the counter is something that makes me want to "get a rope" and throw it over the nearest tree and hang me a dog!!! Never! have my dogs stolen off the kitchen counter. I know they sneak leftover food off the table after the kids but I have never been able to catch them in the act. Someone has been getting very ballzy because this has happened several times in the last couple of months and it's really starting to tick me off! I even put the chicken waaaay back up against the wall to thaw out. The way I grew up a dog didn't ever do something like that if they knew what was good for them. What the heck has gotten into these dogs lately? Does the fact that I no longer wring their necks give them a false sense of security or feel like they can dominate my home? I've definitely gotten the sense that my lab has been attempting to up his position with me. Getting on my nerves!!! I've also been trying to get him to lose weight because he's so fat!! I swear the dog acts like he's starving to death all the time! You will be happy to know that all I did was show them the empty package, yell at them and put them in their kennels but that was not my first instinct. Someone make me see this through a dogs eyes please so that I won't kill someone!!!

I'm sure it will be all my fault by the time you guys are through with me, lmbo!!

my dogs know i am pack leader, but when i am not there, they think it is every dog for himself, lol
if i leave the room, and leave food on the counter, it's gone!
so i don't let them stay there.
I hear you though...it's hard enough letting meat thaw with 4 cats, if i didn't beat the dogs away with a stick, they would gorge themselves on chicken necks.....

Read this. I haven't tried it yet, but Ridgebacks are notorious for counter surfing, it seems to be in their genes, so I'm gonna when he feels better and gets back to his old shinanigans.

http://www.abtcc.com/articles/canmonster.htm

For dogs,load the counter up with mouse traps. For cats, use rat traps!
If you know they are capable of doing this, don't leave anything on the counter.

Robbin-

I know how you feel, I've had dogs tall enough that their heads are above counter level. Had a great dane/mastiff mix a couple years ago whose shoulder was only a couple inches lower than the counter. That was fun. It was like a dog food platform.

My remedy.. I'm a hard a#%. My dogs are not allowed outside of the room I am in. Never out of sight. Easier said than done for some but I have been known to walk around the house with 4 dogs tied to my waist or belt loops or around my ankles. No dog has run of the house, ever.

Another thing that works, depending on the dog/height of the dog is a line of jalepeno paste on the counter edge. This has mixed results, some dogs as with horses(the paste recipe I got for horses that crib or chew wood) like spicy stuff! It's wierd. Also if you have kids in the house or forget just once, that paste is nasty and stings the skin and you really do not want to get it in your eyes, very bad.

Sorry I can't be more helpful, dogs are opportunists. If you are not there, you as the alpha cannot claim the food. If you leave that food it is then immediately up for grabs by the next pack member that finds it. Dogs are secretive and hide this and slink around when they do this because they don't want another pack member to notice the goody they have.

Edit: I am so slow 3 other people posted while I was posting.. I second Bob Scott's advice but you gotta watch those mouse traps, they are temperamental. I just brushed one on accident once and it nailed my pinky finger.

 Quote: Bob Scott

If you know they are capable of doing this, don't leave anything on the counter.

I had a feeling you were going to say this...~sigh~ Gonna have to figure out how to defrost stuff via wishful thinking, lol. Maybe Scotty can beam it up to the sun for me and then beam it back down when it's thawed, lol

 Quote: Jennifer Marshal

Robbin-

Sorry I can't be more helpful, dogs are opportunists. If you are not there, you as the alpha cannot claim the food. If you leave that food it is then immediately up for grabs by the next pack member that finds it. Dogs are secretive and hide this and slink around when they do this because they don't want another pack member to notice the goody they have.

It's times like these I wish I were wealthy! I would go buy a camera and video equipment, watch them in real time, making sure all dogs had ecollars on, for just such occasions! Then...ZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPP!!!

Don't freak out people, I'm not really that sadistic...

Punishing like you did doesn't really get the point through to the dog. The only thing the dog is going to relate to is getting punished whenever you come back. To correct you have to catch the dog in the act or remove the temptation or and a deterent for the dog to stay off the counters or tables. For a dog to be doing this he doesn't really respect you anyway. Where was the surpervision to keep an eye on the dog. If the dog was left unattended and had the oppotunity and took advantage of the situation. Yes it is your fault.

A crate should never be used as punishment. A crate is suppossed to be a dogs safe haven and be able to enjoy that area and have a place to spend time by themselves.

When you set food out to thaw or leave something unattended like that you should use mouse traps or something of that nature to discourage them. If mouse traps don't work you could use other methods to deter them from the activity of stealing food. I have even ran electric fence wire through trash can and across counters to keep very determined dogs off the counters and out of the trash cans. If you want you can always use an e collar
and set the dog up but in my opinion it would be easier just to make sure the food is put up and out of the way. The dog shouldn't even be taken after the kids are done either.

Anytime they look at the counter or go to smell something correct them. Let them know the food is yours. Don't leave food out on the counters either.

Defrosting meat that way is very unsanitary and you could poison your family with ecoli and/or salmonella, or a host of other things.

The dogs need more supervision and better training. What has gotten into these dogs you ask is lacking the leadership they need. It probably started stealing the leftover from the kids and escalated to food you leave out. Since they have figured out they can get away with it and don't get caught they will just get smarter and figure out a way to do it.

Crack down on the kids to get rid of their left overs and put the food up, and defrost things in the chill chest the way you are supposed to. Stop blaming the wrong end of the leash.

Did anyone read about the can monster? As posted above? It's a good read, even if you don't like the idea...

Also thawing in the fridge or putting it in the mocrowave help.

John -

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For a dog to be doing this he doesn't really respect you anyway.

Just wondering what the basis for that statement is.

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I have even ran electric fence wire through trash can and across counters to keep very determined dogs off the counters and out of the trash cans.

.. So these dogs that were so persistent in stealing food off the counters did not respect you... according to your previous statement.

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Defrosting meat that way is very unsanitary and you could poison your family with ecoli and/or salmonella, or a host of other things.

I'm sure this is a possibility but in the years and years and years and years me and my family have done exactly this, nobody, of hundreds of friends, family, and guests, have gotten ill. Cleaning a counter after defrosting meat is extremely simple. Bleach. This is also not what this post is about.

Me and I am sure other posters appreciate your post as you are correct in crating not being a punishment and not leaving food out and supervision, but Robbin is a much loved member here (<3 Robbin :-p) and you came off a little strong considering the nature of Robbin's post.