Counter Surfing

by Bailey Coldwell

Surfing is a fun activity for us humans. However, our dogs trying to “surf” on our tables and counters? Not so much. Counter surfing is when dogs put their two front feet on surfaces such as tables, counters, coffee tables, TV stands, etc. This is a common adolescent puppy behavior. Read along to learn how to teach our dogs what to do around these surfaces and how to break this habit.

Counter surfing is a perfect example of why we call them ‘puppies’ for so long. As “teenage puppies” get taller and more curious, they often discover that it is an option for them to put their two front feet on top of these surfaces to seek out food or even nonfood items. Adult dogs can also begin to engage in these behaviors if the option is suddenly available. For example, when my toddler started eating more snacks, my husband and I sometimes left her snacks on the counters. My adult lab LOVED this. Even though she had never exhibited this behavior before, her very food-motivated self took this opportunity and started sniffing around the counters more and even stealing food. See, even we dog trainers have to take steps back at times to remind our dogs what they should be doing instead. Regardless of the age that your puppy or dog does this behavior, here is what you are going to want to do: 

• Teach the dog what to do instead. We must teach our dogs that better things happen when they are near these surfaces, and all four feet remain on the floor. One tactic you can take is to have training sessions where all you are doing is simply rewarding the dog for being near these areas of our homes and they are not jumping up. Is your dog sniffing the floor? Cool, reward them. The dog is sitting and looking at us? Great, reward them. Is the dog laying down and chewing on a toy? Lovely, reward them. Rewarding offered good behaviors is a way for dogs to learn what to do instead of unwanted behaviors. 

• You can also work on teaching your dog a “go to bed” or a “wait” cue while you are eating dinner, cooking, or taking care of dishes. Show them where you want them to be (or don’t want them to be), and reward them for remaining on their bed or behind the threshold you created. 

• Realistically practice these sessions. Replicate the situations where the dog tends to get onto the counter or table. If your dog tends to do these behaviors while packing your kid’s lunch for school, for example, purposely take the lunch box out and pretend to pack it while rewarding your dog. Training sessions don’t have to be and shouldn’t always be super structured. It is still considered a training session by replicating real-life scenarios. 

• If your dog is only doing these behaviors when you aren’t there, start by leaving sight for just 2 seconds and then coming back and rewarding the dog for not jumping up. You can slowly work on building up more and more time. 

I have found that one of the reasons people continue to have ongoing issues with counter surfing is because the dog still ends up having opportunities to do it and get rewarded. Dogs do what works for them and don’t do what doesn’t work for them. A huge part of breaking this habit when my lab started to counter surf, was for my husband, daughter, and I to remind ourselves to take away the rewarding opportunities. We do a much better job now at keeping the counters clear. Therefore, my dog is far less tempted to do the behavior. From a dog’s perspective, some rewards are worth the risk. Since my dog is heavily food motivated, it isn’t super realistic for me to expect my dog to ignore a steak dinner if I leave it out in front of her and I am not right there. 

Keeping the counters clear is helpful when you aren’t working on this with your dog, but you also need to prevent your dog’s access to these areas until you can break this habit. This might mean that your dog has to spend more time in the crate, pen, on a leash with you, or otherwise restricted from those rooms when you aren’t there. To help break a habit, we want to prevent the behavior from happening. This tends to be one of the most complex parts of counter surfing. Usually, around the age at which counter surfing starts, owners have just begun to give their pups more freedom in the home. But then we need to reduce their freedom again. This is all part of puppyhood! 

Obviously, we are not perfect. We might be in the process of teaching our dogs what to do instead, trying to keep these surfaces clear, and trying to reduce freedom. So what do we do if the dog does get the chance to jump up on the counter? If your dog has been taught what “off” means, you can use this as a redirection. If you have not taught your dog this cue, you will not want to use it because it will sound like a foreign language to the dog. Instead, redirect with a different cue or action. You can recall your dog, ask for a touch, a sit, or a leave it if your dog is going for an item. If your dog is not redirecting after 1-2 attempts, we will want to help remove the paws from the surface. You can do this by casually walking between the counter and your dog’s paws to encourage them to slide off of the counter. Once your pup gets off the counter, avoid instantly giving them a treat. This is so they don’t learn that in order to get your attention or a reward, they should first put their feet up. Instead, do a training session with your dog or walk by the counter a few times. You can then reward your dog for being near the counter and not jumping up versus rewarding the dog for jumping up and then getting off. Did you ruin all of your progress if the dog got a chance to get on the counter? No, not necessarily. You just want to brainstorm how we can change the scene to prevent it more effectively going forward and reward more for not getting up on the counter. So, for example, if the dog got up on the counter because they had free access to the kitchen table while we showered, crate your dog while you shower next time. 

Counter surfing can be frustrating (especially if your dog eats the homemade pie you just made for your family or an expensive pair of sunglasses). Remember that dogs aren’t robots and they are going to experiment with unwanted behaviors. Our job is to teach them better behaviors and try to prevent the behavior from becoming a habit. If you would like to discuss this more, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of trainers.