- Are you getting really frustrated about
your dog countersurfing, and never really sure
when it's going to happen, so it's hard to train through it?
Good girl.
In this video, I'm gonna teach you how to stop your dog
from countersurfing, and I'm gonna show you in a way
that you can predict when your dog
might make these mistakes.
I'm also gonna show you an excellent training tool
that you might already have in your kitchen
that you can use to train this skill.
I'm Ken Steepe, and welcome back to McCann Dogs.
(dog barking)
In our training facility, we've helped more than
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First thing that I need to talk about
when it comes to countersurfing is management.
Now, if you have a dog who's likely to jump on a counter,
then it's really important that you keep
a house-line on them, and if you're not sure
what a house-line is, I'll post a link to a video above,
it's basically a leash that you can leave on your dog
when they're free, when they're moving around
in your house, but to be a good manager for your dog
who may be misbehaving or making some mistakes,
you wanna have that house-line on,
and you need to keep an eye on 'em.
Just leaving a line on them as they move around the house
isn't going to solve any problems,
but it puts you in a great position
to be able to manage them, and to train them
if they do make these mistakes,
so first things first, if you have a dog
who's countersurfing, use your house-line.
I've said it before, and I will say it again,
dogs do what's rewarding,
so if they see an opportunity to jump up on the counter
and maybe take a piece of food, and they haven't been taught
that countersurfing isn't allowed, then they're likely
to do that, but they're gonna give you
a couple of signs that they are thinking about jumping up,
and you need to know what those are.
Your dog may stand stalk still, or they may start
air scenting when they're thinking about jumping up
or investigating the counter, and that's a great opportunity
for you to interrupt that thought pattern
using your leave it or your off,
or something to let them know that you know
what's going through their mind.
If you're using the word no with your dog, I want you
to get away from that.
Start using more specific information, your leave it
or your off command are good options for that,
but it's very clear to your dog what you don't
want them to do, if they were to grab a sock,
and jump up on the couch, and you tell them no,
which thing are you saying no to?
So, in this situation, use your leave it or your off,
but really, dogs do what's rewarding, so let's give them
a more rewarding behavior than jumping up on the counter.
Now, a lot of people complain that countersurfing's
really unpredictable and they never know when
their dog's going to do it, so we need to set them up
so that they have to make a choice, and then we can
train through it, and I'll tell you exactly how
we're gonna do that.
With your dog wearing a house-line or their leash,
I want you to walk up to an empty counter.
Ask your dog for a sit, and put your foot on their leash.
Now, make sure there's no tension in the leash,
we don't want them to know that you're standing on it,
but there needs to be very little slack in it,
so that if they do decide to make a mistake
and jump up on the counter, they aren't able
to self reward by doing that.
Now, while in a sit at your side, reward them.
Reward them two or three times, and maybe,
if you have a dog who loves to countersurf,
maybe you can reward them
with those really high value rewards,
like steak, or chicken, or something that they really love,
and then break off that exercise,
and we'll move to the next step.
We're gonna repeat the same steps in the first progression,
but this time when you approach the counter,
have some lower value food on it, so maybe some kibble
or something really simple that your dog kinda likes,
but isn't totally crazy for, and you're going to repeat
the same steps as in the first progression,
so you're gonna reward them for sitting at your side,
you're gonna make sure that you have your foot
on their leash so that if they jump up,
they can't self-reward, but you're gonna reward them
several times for making a great choice by not jumping up,
and then you're gonna break it off.
After a few successful repetitions of a low value food
being on the counter, it's ready to bring out
the secret weapon, a slice of processed cheese.
Now, the great thing about the cheese is that
it's sort of malleable, and it's really simple,
you can sort of stick it to the edge of the counter
so that your dog sees it, and they can smell it,
and it's really close,
but it's really hard for them to get it.
But I want you to go through the exact same steps,
you're gonna bring them up nice and close to the counter,
step on that leash, ask 'em for a sit, reward them many,
many times, and then break it off again.
The great part about the cheese is that
dogs often see that as a pretty high value reward,
but it's really hard for them to get it,
because it's so gooey and so easy
to stick to the countertop, but I really love
using it as one of my training tools for countersurfing
for exactly that reason.
The other important part is that dogs do what's rewarding,
so if we put them in a position where they can see
the thing that they want, but they've chosen
to remain in that sitting position,
and they've been rewarded multiple times,
then they're gonna start to shift the value
of being on the counter to being in that sitting position,
and being rewarded with those great treats,
like maybe it's steak, or chicken,
or whatever your dog loves.
So now we've built up a little bit of value
for your dog remaining in a sit, and not jumping up
on the countertop, but let's be real, your dog's likely
going to be walking around the kitchen, and moving around
as you're moving around in that kitchen,
so we need to set them up so that they can be rewarded
in a similar situation.
Now, this time I want you to go back to step one,
with nothing on the countertop, but you're gonna walk up
to that counter, with the leash in your hand.
Now, this'll give you an opportunity to reward your dog
for remaining off, and maybe they're gonna even offer a sit,
and that would be great, you can reward them for that.
But we're going to work our way through those progressions,
first with no food, then with a low value food,
again, walking up, leash in your hand, and then you can
try it with the secret weapon for countersurfing,
that piece of processed cheese that's stuck
to the side of the counter.
Now, if they make the mistake of jumping up,
or they start to jump up, that's the time you can issue
your leave it, or your off command,
and then gently guide them down and away from
the countertop, the leash is in your hand,
so you need to make sure that you're well prepared
when you get up there to avert disaster,
remember, dogs do what's rewarding, so if your dog
has an opportunity to get up,
even during this training scenario,
and be rewarded by eating the food off the counter,
or eating the cheese, then you've got a little bit
more homework to do.
Now, one round of training, this exercise,
isn't going to solve all your problems,
especially if you have a dog who's being rewarded
in the past, maybe they've jumped up
and they've gotten some food, or whatever,
so you have a little bit of work to do,
but the great part is, you just need to spend
a few minutes at a time training this skill,
so maybe while you're preparing your breakfast,
or while you've got a couple of minutes
hanging out in the kitchen, you can train this exercise,
and that's the best way to structure your training,
so that it's at unpredictable times,
and it's throughout the day.
But to be successful here, you need to remember one thing.
Dogs (bubbles popping),
and if you can fill in the blanks, then you're ready
to tackle this problem.
I've put together a playlist that's just for you.
It's all about managing your dog, and how you can give them
the best information, if you'd like to check out
that playlist, click the button beside me.
If this is your first time on the channel,
make sure you hit that subscribe button.
We publish new videos every single week to help you
to have a well behaved, four-legged family member.
On that note, I am Ken, happy training.
(upbeat music)