I have a dog who was a rescue and was most likely starved as a puppy, now she is well fed, and generally a good dog, but any time she thinks we aren't looking she steals food. She knows it's wrong, because as soon she realizes she's been seen she's on her side on the floor, and of course usually pees a bit. She has no issues with submitting, but can be vocal about it and grumble quite a bit, but I've heard that her breed (Akita) is known for that sort of thing.
Is there anything I can try to keep her from doing this? Or should I just try to train my wife to not leave food on the counter?

 

Lead us not into temptation! As you note she understands that it is wrong and shows that. But she is unable to control the urge that is so ingrained. There are training techniques that will correct the behavior. The first step is to remove the food from the area. My Easyboy had the same trait. http://www.aspca.org/adoption/aspca-...i/boy-toy.html Time and human responsibility will solve the problem.

 

This worked with my old cat...

If you KNOW how to handle electricity, you can "electrify" the counter tops for a few days.

But if you don't know what you are doing you can kill someone or something so caveat emptor and don't do this.

First make sure the counter top is relatively free of breakables since when the dog gets "hit" it may move uncontrollably and break stuff. Usually a few feet straight up.

If you do NOT UNDERSTAND THE FOLLWING, stop here, you won't be safe. Not safe with Kids around, period!

All sources MUST HAVE LOW CURRENT FUSES... Get yourself a LOW CURRENT high voltage source. I have used an isolation transformer with low current output. I have better and probably safer results with a 250Volt low current DC Powersupply I have had since highschool, back when we actually understood tube part numbers.

Lay out alternating sheets of aluminum foil on the counter top. Tape them down securely so they do not move and none of them touch, an inch or two apart is fine. Get some fine wires and wire up the sheets with alternating plus, minus etc. Tape works to make the connections. Plug this into the powersupply and leave it on whenever you think the dog may be tempted. Maybe even leave out somefood that it is forbidden to steal.

Sooner or later the dog will discover that counter tops hurt a lot.

Even if you know what you are doing, you could still hurt your dog if it has a weak heart, wet feet, bad luck whatever. But This general method worked for my grandfather and for me with over a dozen chicken thieving animals, no casualties.

It worked so well with my cat that she would run whenever I moved the birdcage around, this was the first "lesson" she learned.


Alternatively, if you catch the dog with it's face in the food, shove it's nose down into the food so it goes up their nose, like potty training. This worked on another cat that I caught stealing hamburger. He sneezed burger for a few minutes and NEVER touched food on the counter again.


Sounds cruel but these two methods have worked for me with no need for further punishment. One or at most two experiences is enough.

All these animals died of natural causes years ago so PETA can stuff it, Gramps is dead too.

Jim Henderson

 

Jim, when I first read that I almost thought you and your grandfather were the ones who learned through electricity. I had to chuckle a bit.

My suggestion is red pepper. Start leaving things out on the counter with a liberal coating of pepper. Obviously warn people ahead of time that there is training taking place! After the third or fourth incident my dog gave up on counter top food. Won't even sniff the counter anymore.

 

Actually I did learn thru electricity. When I was a toddler, I plugged two car keys into the wall socket. Don't remember that. Never did it again tho.

I have been zapped enough times in my career/lifetime that I probably have brain damage. I am pretty sure my highschool buddy does. He was our guinea pig when we built a brainwave analyzer for our senior EE and Psych projects. He said he saw flashing lights and heard noises. That wasn't supposed to happen. He WAS different after that.

Gramps and I were both EE's so we thought we were safe, yeah sure.

My kids also learned thru electricity. They don't grab electric fence wires anymore when they are toddling about.

Jim Henderson

 

Electric fence charger hooked to a grate on the counter. I will be unpleasant , but won't hurt him...

 

Easier yet......
mouse traps.
We've used them over the years to keep a dog off the table and out of the trash can.
One is still in training, but the traps are no longer set. he just recognizes them for what they are and stays away. We've taken them off the table for months now and he hasn't been back up. We're down to one "closed" trap by the trash can and that will probably go away in a few weeks.
In the process, we've never seen any of our dogs with a trap stuck on them, just the snapped traps nearby. Both dogs now are very alert whenever one of the traps under the sink catches a real mouse. They recognize the sound and sit down in the middle of the floor as if to say "Wasn't me!!!"

 

Dear Jim,

I followed your advice and electrified my kitchen counter tops with a 300 amp welding power source.

Do you have any good recipe's for cat?

 

Pet stores sell pre made mats that give a little jolt.
Pepper works on some dogs and not others.
Mouse traps seems to work great but some dogs will have to have a trap on counter its whole life.

The method I would try first is catching the dog in the act and verbally lay into them tell it is a bad dog and all that and really yell and don't coddle the dog a few minutes later. Alternately reward the dog for not taking things off the counter.

Both of my GSDs came to me from shelters, both where on IV and touch and go the first days after they where caught do to severe starvation. They both would steal any food they could find and also hide food. I used a combination of mouse traps, hiding and waiting for them to take something left out then verbally yelling at them, and the other thing I did was buy one of those cheap personnel alarms they sell about size of pack of cards has pin in it you pull out and it goes off very loudly. I tapped the string on the pin to the counter and tied the alarm to the bait and when they would pull it off the counter it would go off. and they would run and hide plus drop food. You have to do it that way becasue if you tape the alarm to the counter they might run away with the food.

Alarm like this and much cheaper on ebay http://www.streetdefender.com/


Friend of mine who is a tinker wired up a motion sensor to a digital tape player. THe motion sensor was set at counter height and would say "BAD DOG" when it went off.

 

Training your wife would be harder than training dog.

 

I agree with mouse traps. They'll sting and make a startling noise.

I had a foster that just wouldn't stop getting up on things: counters, furniture, putting her paws on the window sill to bark at ANYTHING outside.

I got some carpet tack strips from the home center. Solved that pretty quickly....

 

Well, my wife found a way to at least scare the crap out of the dog- Blanks.

We have a bunch of plastic casings for a .357 revolver that are designed to be used with only a primer and a plastic bullet, but they are quite a bit louder than a .22 with just the rifle primer. Two of our dogs were in the kid's bedroom under the crib for half an hour.

Keep the suggestions coming, though. We have found that this dog likes hot food and sour stuff, so any of the flavored deterrents are out, and with a toddler electricity is out too.

 

Are these the old Speer red plastic cases with a black wadcutter?
I remember as a kid shooting these for hours in the basement.

 

Those would be the ones- we were not using them with the plastic bullets, though, just an empty shell and primer. I have fired this 357 revolver with the plastic bullets, and it's louder than the hottest 22 I've shot by a long run.

 

Sorry to say this but firing those blanks will probably do to your dog what firing firecrackers off on the Fourth of July did to mine. It made her terrified of thunder and future Independence Day celebrations.

I teach my dogs not to steal by purposely putting food at nose level, like on a coffee table, while I'm watching TV, and every time they start to reach for it I scold them like crazy verbally. Once they leave it alone while I'm sitting there I leave the room but peek around the corner and scold them if they go for it. (Of course praising them when they don't.) Once they get used to this I will put the food in different places eventually teaching them not to take anything that is not offered to them.

Many years ago I had a German Shepherd I used to take with me at some of my house setting jobs... I put a juicy steak on the coffee table and left the house. She wasn't familiar with the area so she probably thought that since we weren't at home it would be OK. In fact, she probably thought I left all together, but I had merely gone out the front door and snuck in through the garage to peer in the window of the den she was left in. As soon as she went for it... bam, and boy was she surprised. She never touch another piece of food that was left laying around anywhere ever again.

Hiding all food teaches them nothing, just like hiding all objects you don't want them to chew up or play with teaches them nothing. Live normally and show them what they can and cannot mess with.... just like what one would do with a child.