[NAGDU] [nagdu] counter surfing

[d m gina]

When I brought her home, she took the stream outside.
We didn't know it, so the stream spent the night outside.
Glad it didn't snow.
At this time so far she has grown up lots.
Gee I never thought it would happen loll.
Now she still wishes to greet people and I am working on this, so she 
will stay on her work.
Hope by now you found the stream.
Original message:
> I am not sure how click and treat (giving food) helps to eliminate the food
> thing. Just seems ironic to me, but I can't think like that. We are hunting
> Bob's Victor Stream. One orf the dogs borrowed it off his desk and chewed up
> the strap.
> I'm thinking the crate while fixing food is a good idea. It seems you have
> tried it all.
> Cindy Lou Ray
> cindyray at gmail.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Danielle Sykora
> via NAGDU
> Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2016 9:49 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Danielle Sykora <dsykora29 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [NAGDU] [nagdu] counter surfing

> Hi all,

> Thai has been a counter surfer to an extent since the second week of class,
> but it's really become a problem in the last few weeks now that everyone is
> home/not working for the summer--three of the four people I live with are in
> college or work in a high school. The scavenging is manageable while working
> and at school, but it's a real problem at home because of the amount of
> reachable surfaces and the tendency for my family to forget just how food
> obsessed he really is. I also have to deal with the "you don't feed him
> enough" and the "guide dogs are supposed to be perfect" comments. Gotta love
> family...

> So far I've tried:
> 1. Click and treat for walking past food and/or getting off the counter as
> soon as I say so. I've had limited success with this, but it's difficult
> when there's food I don't know about or a lot of background noise that makes
> it hard to hear my super sneaky dog, even with a collar bell.
> 2. Obedience around food. He does a pretty good job leaving food when
> actively engaged in a heel, stay, or recall, but not so much once he is
> released from these activities.
> 3. Applying an aversive substance to the food. Thai isn't phased by much
> other than cayenne pepper. He will often sniff the food before eating it,
> either from a short distance away or when he actually jumps up and avoids
> the sabotaged food, which kind of eliminates the unpleasant surprise.
> 4. Walking past food with him on leash and correcting for any move toward
> it. Only works for that one piece of food in that situation. If we come back
> later or I let him off the leash, he eats the food. The reward of the food
> is apparently worth the discomfort of the correction.
> 5. Spraying with water or shaking a can with pennies inside. I don't like
> using aversive methods, but I got desperate enough to try. I've had some
> success with this, but we still run into the food is worth the correction
> thing. The penny can also absolutely terrifies my little pet dog... multiple
> dog problems.
> 6. Keeping him on leash or tiedown when ever we're out of my room and not
> engaged in a specific activity. This management technique isn't ideal, but
> it worked until about six months ago when the puppy was actually old enough
> to have freedom in the house. She basically wants to play all the time, and
> pounces on Thai every time he lays down.
> It's not really fair for him to have to deal with a puppy literally standing
> or laying on him without having the option to walk away. No one really wants
> to help tone down the puppy's enthusiasm, and I can only do so much on my
> own. That limits the time Thai can be leashed to when she is also on tiedown
> or upstairs with someone else.
> 7. Putting a cookie sheet at the edge of the table with  a piece of food
> behind it. It's supposed to fall to the ground when the dog jumps up on it
> and make a really loud noise... He wouldn't jump on it.

> I thought about crating him while someone is preparing a meal, which is the
> most likely time for him to find food unattended. A tiedown works just as
> well when puppy isn't around though, and since I'm not sure if we are
> keeping her (she was released from all service dog programs due to medical
> problems), I don't want to buy a crate just yet.

> I've also thought about using some kind of muzzle temporarily just to break
> the jumping on counters is so rewarding cycle, but this also would leave him
> at a disadvantage when playing with the puppy. They love to play bite each
> others' scruffs...

> I'm not comfortable using shock devices, so I'm fresh out of ideas.
> Sorry for the long post, but I feel like I've tried everything, and I'm
> getting desperate. I plan on contacting my school, but I figured it couldn't
> hurt to see if anyone had any other ideas.

> Danielle and Thai

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