I am often amused by some of the emails I get from first-time puppy owners.
The first part of the conversation involves them telling me how perfect their puppy is, and then comes the big "but." He is great on walks, but. She never pees in the house anymore, but. He almost never barks at people, but.
Such was the case with a recent client.
About six months ago I was asked to do a puppy consultation with a new dog owner. With new puppy consultations, I go to the dog owner's home, assess the puppy's temperament and then set up a basic puppy-raising program which includes leash walking, basic commands and, most importantly, how to set proactive rules and boundaries around the home. But when I walked into the home of this client it was clear within the first five minutes that she simply wanted me to listen to her brag about her new puppy and feed it treats for an hour.
"Oh, he is so perfect, I won't have to do much training with him. He comes when he is called and he is only 12 weeks old! He follows me everywhere so I won't need to leash him and he never jumps on anything," she gushes. (You know I am rolling my eyes, grinding my teeth and practising my yogic breathing at this point, right?) I tried to explain to her that all puppies follow their people around - that is what they do. They naturally follow the pack because it is an instinctual behaviour to keep themselves safe. Once they are confident enough to venture on their own, around four or five months of age, they stop. Yes, of course he comes when he is called. .. now. You are the food bank! But when he realizes there are way more fun things in this world than you, you will be chasing after him on walks! Instead of taking my advice to heart, this puppy owner just smiled and tilted her head to the side as if to say, "What? You don't understand. .. my puppy is perfect."
So when I got the email regarding her now ninemonth-old dog's recent counter-surfing behaviour, I wasn't surprised.
To state the obvious, it is far easier to practise proper puppy management by setting boundaries for acceptable behaviour in the kitchen, rather than correct behaviour after the dog has been rewarded countless times for stealing a pound of butter, a bag of potato chips, a package of chicken wings, etc.
To me, proper puppy management is teaching the puppy the command, "Go to your bed and stay there." The dog owner should do this without fail every time the puppy enters the kitchen. The adult dog then learns that his job is to remain on his bed when in the kitchen - no questions asked. This solves the counter-surfing issue because the behaviour is never allowed to develop.
The dog owner should also keep the counters clear of all food, bread crumbs and any other spilled food bits. I suggest cleaning counters with a vinegarand-water solution or nonchemical-based household cleaner to remove food odours left on the counter. If there is nothing to tempt the dog, it can't commit the offence.
But what do you do when your dog has become an accomplished counter surfer? Well, you go back to basics. This means teaching the dog a "Go to your bed" command and enforcing it every time the dog enters the kitchen with you. To prevent the dog from wandering in when no one is around, I suggest the umbilical cord technique, meaning the dog is leashed and tethered to you. Where you go, the dog goes. This way it can't possibly get into the kitchen without you knowing. Yes, it is a pain in the butt to do this, but so is losing a prime rib roast just before the guests arrive! You have to work twice as hard to fix the mistakes you should have prevented by being a proactive dog owner in the first place.
After 20 years of experience, I can guarantee you that no puppy is so perfect it does not require proper training, no matter how cute it is.
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years. Contact her through her website k9kinship.com.
