How to keep my dog off the counter and table?

[Beth1231]

I have a one year old golden retriever. Her name is Kitty. We adopted her before Christmas and she came to me nearly entirely untrained. At first,she jumped up on the counter and table constantly. You had to watch her every second and even if you were a foot away,she still jumped up. We push her off (one hand to the scruff of her neck in a sweeping motion) say "off" and if I see her want to jump but she doesn't,I praise and pet her. I used to give her treats for staying down but it just made the problem worse. She can't seem to untangle the two things.
This has gotten Worse lately. Last month,she stole whole pizza slices,toast and half a bag of frozen chicken nuggets that were waiting for the oven to heat up! The doggy stealing ramped up when I stopped giving her people food at all. I got serious and started putting her outside for Hours after stealing food. With food and water,of course. And we live in TX,so not bitter cold here. And I also have 1.5 acres and take her off her tether so she can run,run,run. But I cannot be babysitting my 60 lb pup in the house constantly,it just doesn't work. I crate her and she whines and barks within fifteen minutes or so. So I put her back outside because the high pitch hurts our ears.
If the kitchen is totally clean and I wash down the counters,stove and table,she will give up and eat her dog food. Then I praise her and am more likely to put a bite of that coveted people food in her dog dish. Hubby isn't sure I should do that. But I tried to keep her in straight dog food and she goes absolutely crazy when she smells our food. Just barely keeping herself in check. Thankfully,she is not aggressive at all. She's a huge,wiggling mass of "I want it,I want it,I want it,PLEEEEEASE,etc" And she listens to me for come, sit,stay,roll over,lie down and go to your crate. Clicker training has been successful for all those things!
But I would love to be able to make a sandwich or leave dirty dishes near the sink without having to crate my dog or put her outside. I want us to be able to enjoy her company,you know? But she is Fixated on getting people food. And her doggy instincts seem to be stronger than knowing she is going to be put outside (because I suspect she has made the connection by the way she biws her head and looks guilty).
Help out a novice doggy parent. Just please don't tell me to keep my kitchen food free and soapy clean 24/7. That's so not going to happen.

[Aerynne]

I know this isn't a great solution but my mom keeps rice cookers and blenders and things around the borders of her counters.

Do you think she'd like a different, tastier kind of dog food? A lot of dogs like carrots- you could slice some carrots and put them in her dog food. (I refuse to believe that dogs shouldn't eat ANY people food. Fresh vegetables are good for them because they are omnivores. I agree with not giving them things like lasagna, enchiladas, hot dogs, etc, though).

[Beth1231]

Putting appliances on the edges won't work with two year old N,but its validating to see someone else had to figure this out! Sonetines I'm just wondering what on earth I'm doing so very wrong or is every dog that determined no matter what?
This morning,I mixed some turkey gravy into her food. I buy Taste of the Wild,grain free food for her. Anyway,she ate it up and seemed less Insane about me making eggs and bacon. Still sniffing and following me and I definitely still couldn't trust her,but at least she didn't jump up.
I think my ignorance is at play here. I just don't know what to do.
So

[Soliloquy]

Is she actually getting on the table or reaching up there? Mouse traps scare the dog into staying away but that could hurt your toddler.

Have you been working on sit, heel, come, stay, etc? If yes, is she obedient in those things?

Treats for desired behavior usually backfire with an adult dog. This could be "her hill" and once she accepts that you will not budge she'll settle down. You're right to cut out all human food while this is happening.

Have you looked on YouTube for training videos?

[CelticJourney]

Try putting some pennies in a can and then taping it closed. Whens she goes for the table/counter shake the can. It makes quite a sound and they don't like it. Negative reinforcement.

[Beth1231]

I'm going to try the pennies in a can idea!
Yes,she is reasonably obedient for tricks,especially if I have a treat in my hand. Actually,she won't lie down or stay without them
She jumps up and puts her front paws on the table or counter. Then she nabs the food if she's fast enough and thinks I'm not watching. Drives me cray-zee!!

[mamaKristin]

I've done corn kernels in a water bottle, with similar intentions, and results.

[Amber]

I have a Great Pyrenees. She is big enough that she just has to lift her nose up a bit to steal things off the counter. What worked for her was to set upside down mousetraps on the counter. Since they were upside down they wouldn't hurt her, but they would jump and trigger other traps...it was scare the snot out of Mayzie and after a few times she started leaving the counters alone.

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[FaithHopeLove]

I'm not sure why, but my vet told us not to do any scare based things like the pennies in a can. She said it can "backfire". I don't know though, because it sounds like others here have had success with it.

Everyone I consulted told me that this is a people problem, not a dog problem, meaning, it is important to remove temptation because their brains aren't able to have self control. We keep our counters clear of temptations (sorry), reduce human food or only give it in her dish, and exercise her a lot. She behaves much better the more tired out she is. Does your dog get enough exercise?

I also notice, in our case, my dog is more of a "counter surfer" when she's stressed out or anxious. If we have a long day away from home, she's much more likely to go looking for stuff. I'm fortunate though that it has never occurred to her to get on top of the table or counter, she just stands on her hind feet to get things. (She has gotten SO much butter . . .)

I've also heard it recommended that you train them to stay out of the kitchen and/or use baby gates to keep them out of the kitchen. My house has an open floor plan so that won't work, but she is trained to lay out of the way when I'm cooking (kind of on the side of the stove area, but technically out of the kitchen). I give her treats over there to reinforce.

We try to never leave food in her reach. We learned this when she stole French toast off of a plate when we were having some friends over for a sleepover and they were eating while sitting on the floor. I've never had to do this for any other dog I've owned though. I feel ya though! It's so frustrating!

[CelticJourney]

Originally Posted by FaithHopeLove

I'm not sure why, but my vet told us not to do any scare based things like the pennies in a can. She said it can "backfire". I don't know though, because it sounds like others here have had success with it.

Everyone I consulted told me that this is a people problem, not a dog problem, meaning, it is important to remove temptation because their brains aren't able to have self control. We keep our counters clear of temptations (sorry), reduce human food or only give it in her dish, and exercise her a lot. She behaves much better the more tired out she is. Does your dog get enough exercise? .....

I disagree with this in part. Yes, keeping temptations removed is a good idea in general. But I've had big dogs all my adult life and really never had an issue with this overall. Right now we have a Rot that thinks she is ds' clean up team if, and only if, he has eaten and then leaves his plate on the table. BUT I was cooking bacon yesterday morning and she was on the floor - I kept leaving the room and she never even moved towards the bacon that was cooling. And you would be shocked how much doggy self control I've seen over the years, so they do have it, just not when they are young (and a one year old retriever is a toddler in the dog world).

As far as the penny can - the idea is to startle, not scare - I probably should have been more clear on that.

[mom23sons]

I think diligence is the key.....I would keep her on a leash or kennel her when she is in the house, then keep food out and correct her every time she put her nose near to sniff the good stuff. It is hard to correct behavior after the fact with a dog.....you have got to correct in the moment. I would be frustrated too---part of parenting an older pup....hang in there.

[Beth1231]

Thank you for all this! I have stepped up my vigilance and clear counters these past two days. I haven't tried startling her yet with noise. The presence of my children,watching my interaction with her really complicates things for me. Once,my two year old got ahold of our clicker I'm glad to know she is a toddler in the dog world. I wouldn't trust my two year old to stay away from cookies in a clear jar. But I will in a couple more years when he matures some.
We also have an open floor plan or I would definitely gate off the kitchen. That would be soooo much easier than doggy babysitting.

[Littledisciples]

My 2 year old lab has this issue. I tell her NO LEAVE it when I catch her and she stops but she can't be trusted. It's so hard and frustrating. I have a dog whistle app on my phone that helps because I use that and she goes and lays down.