So I kid that my blog posts are like a mini seminar in each issue.
And you are going to want to shut off the cell phone, pour your favorite beverage, sit back and read this to the end.
This is what happened:
I was working with a young, very active labradoodle (is the entire dog world turning into doodles?) yesterday and the owners numero uno complaint was…..
…..counter surfing.
Stealing food off the counter was driving this lady nuts.
I held up my hand and said:
“Your troubles are over. You hired The Amazing Dog Training Man and neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will prevent this dog trainer from the swift completion of my appointed job.”
What can I say? I’m the son of a postal worker.
Onward….
…..I explained that we were going to serve up my favorite Jewish food:
Bagels!
You see, I have taught for years that dog training is all about positive and negative consequences.
When you want your dog to do something for you, you apply a positive consequence.
When you want your dog to STOP doing a behavior you apply a negative consequence.
Which gets me into hot water with some of my dog training brethren.
But hang with me for a sec longer.
Negative consequences have gotten a bad rap for good reason. There are some extremely harsh, negative, I would even say inhumane training methods.
A negative consequence does NOT have to hurt or harm the dog. Your dog understands safe and dangerous – just like we do.
Back to the bagels. To stop counter surfing you’ll need this:
- 1 bagel
- 24 inch piece of string
- Duct tape
- Big lightweight plastic container
- Empty soda cans
Now you have the ingredients to serve up a nice dish of SOTC – Stay Off The Counters!
Take the bagel and tie string around it. Duct tape string to side of plastic container. Fill plastic container with empty soda cans. Put whole contraption on counter and leave the room.
Now when your dog grabs the bagel he’ll pull the plastic container with it. The soda cans falling to the ground will quickly teach the thief that stealing is dangerous.
Done correctly – problem solved.
MAZEL TOV!!!
If you want your dog to be a good member of your Tribe, he needs to learn how to behave and STOP jumping, begging, stealing, and chewing.
This can be accomplished with the Good K9 Manners Program which you can check out by going here NOW:
Best,
Eric