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Talk to me about counter-surfing and crating.
We got a rescue great Pyrenees /collie about a month ago and for the first 3 weeks everything went great. She had been using a crate at her foster home but we decided against it because neither DH or I were familiar with crating dogs (other than puppies for house breaking) and because we don't really have a spot for a crate. When we were out of the house we used a baby gate to keep her blocked in the kitchen and hallway with all doors closed. In December it worked great and she was very well behaved.
I took about 10 days off work during the holidays and it was great spending so much quality time with both the dog and my DD. When I returned to work this past Tuesday, however, all hell broke loose.
On Tuesday afternoon the dog started counter-surfing. She pulled down a bunch of Tupperware and chewed it to shreds. I was hoping it might be a one time thing because she was mad at me for going back to work. On Wednesday morning she found more Tupperware and chewed it up, so all the Tupperware came off the counter. In the afternoon she pulled down some of my towels, managed to get the cupboard door under the sink open and tore up our recycling bin and all it's contents. That night DH and I went to the pet store to buy her a buttload of toys thinking she's probably bored. Instead of locking her in the kitchen and hallway, we only gave her access to the hallway. We were gone for maybe an hour and when we returned home she had pushed down the gate, got back on the counter, and tore up some of my cookware (my nice pampered chef stuff, of course).
So the next day we gave her the toys, moved everything off the counters, and she did great. There were mo problems at all. This morning I had to run out to quickly take DD to daycare and left the dog in the kitchen with her toys again. DD had oatmeal this morning and we accidentally left the box up on the counter. I was gone for 10 minutes and the dog shredded the box and two packs of oatmeal (yet didn't eat it, which I thought was weird).
I'm almost at my wits end. I'm praying this is puppy behavior that she'll grow out of or that we'll find a solution soon. Crating during the day is our absolute last resort, so if anyone has any other suggestions, I'm all ears. How do I teach a dog that it's not okay to go on the counters when she only does it when I'm not home???
ETA the rest of the story.
ILYSB
Re: Talk to me about counter-surfing and crating.
For one thing, dogs don't act out of spite, so she wasn't "mad" at you for going back to work.
She very well could be bored. What kind of physical and mental exercise does she get? What kind of toys does she have to keep her occupied?
Counter-surfing can be difficult, because dogs learn very specifically -- they don't generalize. So, when you teach them not to jump on the counter while you are at home, that's what they learn -- don't jump up on the counter while you are at home. When you are NOT home is a whole different command. And you can't teach commands when you're not there. So, you either have to remove ALL temptation, or block access.
There are tips and links on crate-training in our board FAQs:
https://sites.google.com/site/petsboardfaqs/home/training-and-behavior/how-to-crate-train
For exercise we take her for walks (though she's just being leash trained so they're difficult), goes to the dog park, and we do a lot of playing/ball and frisbee throwing in the yard. We tried giving her a lot more exercise before we left Wednesday morning hoping that would help but it didn't.
First thing that comes to mind is that she's not getting enough physical and mental stimulation. What's your exercise/command/obedience routine for a typical day?
If she's getting enough stimulation to wear her out, she probably wouldn't have enough interest in finding things to pull off the counters.
Get child-proofing locks for the cabinets; you're lucky all she found under the sink was a recycling bin and not nasty chemicals! Yipes! (That's what's under my sink, so I'd DIE if Z ever got in there).
You might just have to go the crate route if nothing else works for you. It's really in everyone's best interest until she's earned her freedom (ie, she can be out unsupervised without destroying things that aren't hers). Z is our first ever dog together, and the first one either of us has actually had a hand in raising and training. Crate training/crating is not hard to figure out or teach, so don't worry about not "knowing how to do it."
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Thank you. I'm going to try my very best to give her more stimulation.
As for the cupboards, we have a 16 month old so luckily there's not much in the bottom cupboards that they have access to. All cleaning products and chemicals are in the basement behind closed doors. Now that we've moved the towels she shouldn't be able to get in the cupboard with the recycling.
We thought we had done such a great job of baby/dog-proofing, but I never thought our counters were so accessible!
Since her destruction seems to be limited to the kitchen, you may just have to suck it up and make sure the counters are 100% clear and put childproof locks on all the kitchen cabinets. As RHB mentioned, teaching them to stay off the counters when youre home is one thing...teaching them to do it when youre away is more difficult. Our beagle mix has a small counter habit-things like pizza boxes, food wrappers, defrosting meat, etc. Since its so hit and miss, we're just vigilant about making sure there are no remotely food tasting/smelling items within reach. So defrosting food goes on the very back of the stove, usually with something in between it and the front of the stove for good measure. Wrappers get thrown out right away, and pizza boxes are moved to the back of the stove, on top of the microwave, or otherwise out of reach until one of us has a change to throw them out (assuming they don't fit in the kitchen garbage can).
As far as crate training goes-when we adopted both our dogs they were housetrained (well, in Eddie's case he had a couple of small setbacks in the first month but has been rock solid since). We still crated them when we were both gone and at night because they had to earn their freedom. For Georgie (the foodloving beagle mix), this took virtually no time at all-she started sleeping on our bed after about a month and staying out of the crate while we were gone a few months after that. She has been extremely well behaved ever since, unless one of us left a food wrapper or something like that within reach (and in which case its really our own fault b/c we both know better).
Eddie's (our whippet/pit mix) freedom earning took a little longer. He came to us with a lot more issues than Georgie did... and aside from his brief potty setbacks, he is a chewer. He could not resist the opportunity to destroy stuff when not being watched, especially clothes. My clothes :P We didn't plan on fully weaning him from his crate as early as we did, but started letting him sleep out of the crate (with all bedroom,bathroom, and family room doors closed so he's limited to the upstairs living room, dining room, kitchen, and our bedroom) after about 6 months and started letting him stay out of the crate while we were gone a couple of months after that (our a/c went out, and it was cooler down in the family room so we gated him down there with Georgie). Like Georgie, he will shred food wrappers/napkins/etc if left within reach but otherwise has pleasantly surprised us.
The point of my longwinded story is that while both dogs had to earn their freedom by demonstrating consistent good behavior, either one could end up back in the crate at bedtime or when we're gone in a heartbeat if they started getting into stuff to the point that the crate is the best thing for both their safety and the safety of our stuff. If you're not able to manage the counter surfing with keeping the counters clear and putting childproof locks on the cabinets, crating her while you aren't there to supervise will likely be the best thing to keep her and your kitchen safe. There are some great resources in the FAQ link in the green header at the top of this board about crate training-it's really not difficult, and can be a great thing when utilized properly. Good luck!
Our pup is about a year and 4 months old. He is a chewer -- and easily bored. But he responds to routine. Part of our routine is crating. He sleeps in his crate with the door open at night (only can access our bedroom), and he hangs out in his crate when we aren't home. We tried to wean him off of the crate around a year, and our normally well-bahaved and adaptable pup suddenly started destroying pens, socks, blankets, etc. Out of the crate, he thinks its play time -- which means being around us, playing, taking walks, ect. In the crate, he knows its bedtime or rest time. He gets a safe treat like a pb kong when we go, and then he naps till we are back.
As long as your pup is well exercised and has interaction with people and toys when outside of the crate, he will be just fine resting in the crate when your gone. As it has been said, its not a punishment or a bad thing. In fact, its often warm, comfy and bears treats
This. DH would NOT let me crate for the longest time. Everything feel victim, shoes, clothing, expensive wooden furniture (*gr*) and the dog was questionably house broken. One day, when I came home from running a short errand, darling dog had gotten into a dentist "goodie bag" and ate toothpaste, a tooth brush, and floss. The floss scared the mess out of me, I just knew she'd done it and was going to die by wrapped floss around her intestins. I made an executive decision and started crating her that day.
She's now 100% house broken and she's earned her freedom from the crate (it really didn't take that long, maybe 6 months?). I leave my shoes out without fear. Her crate is now her safe place and she likes it. When she's scared or upset (usually if we're visiting family and it gets too noisy for her taste), she'll go in her crate. I think the crate was necessary to teach her that while mom and dad are gone, sleeping, not getting into dangerous things, is the appropriate activity. I think it's good for a dog to have their own space and getting them used to the crate is an easy way to clearly establish what that space is.
Just thought I'd share my postive experience, too. And if you're worried about your dog being cooped up for too long, you could hire a dog walker to come during the day or alternate between crating and doggy day care.
Me: 32 | He: 35
TTC since Sept 2011
DX: Unexplained
1st round of clomid: Jan 2013 BFP - M/C 8 weeks
surprise BFP Apr 2013 - M/C 9 weeks
IUI #1 clomid Jul 2013 = BFN
IUI #2 clomid Aug 2013 = BFN
IUI #3 injects Oct 2013 = BFN
IUI #4 injects Dec 2013 = BFN
IVF #1 March 2014 - 12R/12F, one perfect day 5 blast transferred
BFP!! Beta#1 = 431 Beta#2 = 914 Beta#3 = 2207 HB = 166!!
Our Newf is a thief.
And she's GOOD. Very stealth. She sounds like a herd of elephants coming down the stairs but can steal food from anywhere like a ninja.
We've just resigned ourselves to crating (not that I mind crating - it's just that it would be just that much easier not to have to add a step to leaving the house) because we just couldn't anticipate what she would steal. I mean, printer ink CANNOT be tasty, right?!
Her biggest thing was bread - she loves a fresh loaf of bread. Because we know that's one of her biggest temptations, we got a bread box and I have to say - that helps a ton. She may be a ninja but she's not a coordinated one and the breadbox is beyond her.
Also, as others have pointed out, if she's tired, she doesn't steal. Doggie daycare is awesome. She's a Newf, so LAZY, and a half day at doggie daycare knocks her out for days.
This all made me LOL. Our dog is far from a ninja, more like a Sumo.
I've looked into a few crates to purchase second-hand, now I'm just waiting to hear back. Thanks everyone for the positive crating stories, they make me feel much better! Now I just have to figure out where I'm going to put a big ugly crate in my house.
Thanks again everyone! She's such a great girl otherwise, so I hope we can get things figured out.
My dogs are opportunists. They wouldn't dare counter surf while I'm standing there, but if I forget the recycling on top of the trash, walk out to my car, realize I left it and come back (maybe 25 seconds later?) everything is already strewn about the living room. They're pretty fast.
So, I make it my responsibility to keep the counters clear, especially of cooling food and tupperware. As an added bonus, as long as they stay completely away from the counters (though they are usually in the kitchen, near me) while I'm cooking, prepping, etc, I will give them tiny treats to encourage their good behavior.