What does your dog surf for?

[grinning.girl]

Shelby learned at an early (ish) age that counter surfing is a no-no.

 

but within the last few months she has gained a taste for butter sticks, which we leave on the counter so that its not hard when we want butter. LOL of all things butter!!!

 

What odd ball thing does your dog love to steal?

[bc4ever]

Scooter loves the pistachio coffee cakes I make for Christmas! That's about the only thing he'll risk surfing for.

[JohnLloydJones]

...that counter surfing is a no-no.

 

Senneca does not counter surf, but if she can reach it (at a stretch, if required) then she considers it fair game. Recently she gorged herself on a bag of treats until my wife came in to find out what the crunching was. That's normal enough, but she grabs tissues and paper kitchen towels (to shred and distribute all over the carpet). Butter? Mmm, Senneca loves butter -- she'll hover ay your feet when there's baking going on in case a butter wrapper falls. She has also grabbed and run off with the discarded sheets of baking paper (dripping in melted butter) after the croissants come out of the oven.

 

The strangest thing she has run off with was a ziploc bag containing a wienerbrød (aka danish pastry). I had taken it out of the freezer and left it on a low table while getting ready to go to the office. I turned for a moment and when I turned back it was gone. When I started searching, the plastic bag was in the middle of the living room floor -- intact and undamaged (no trace of any teeth marks) and Senneca hiding under a small side table.

[Root Beer]

Dean LOVES butter! Ben always lets him lick the paper when a stick of butter is finished, and if someone gets a stick of butter out, Dean is right there waiting for a taste! I think butter is his favorite food in the world!

 

Dean likes to put his paws up on the counter while I make the dog's meals so he can watch. He is allowed to do so as long as he doesn't try to lick the bowls or steal food while I assemble meals. He's really good about that. It's very companionable.

 

He has pretty much given up counter surfing since he was cued "off" whenever he set out to do so.

[Anda]

Napkins. Receipts. Toilet Paper. Paper products in general. Ouzo would rather grab the napkin from the table than steal leftovers. Wierd dog, I know.

[WyoBC]

Mine is the same way. He'll do anything for paper. He never eats it, just shreads it. Then leaves it for his human to pick it up Although he goes crazy for peanut butter, and hot dogs too

[nancy]

Gee, Fergie never touches anything. I can put a cheese and cracker board on the coffee table, often with a plate of pate. Ferg will just sit there, at attention, until we come with her cocktail treats. We swear she's there with her napkin tucked into her collar. mIf, for some reason, I put a piece of sandwich on the floor, she'd sure scarf it up. The floor is hers.

 

Now, Maggie the cat will steal fruit from our bowls on the kitchen table while we toast bread and pour coffee. The world is hers. After all, she's a cat.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I have caught Daisy in the weirdest positions trying to get stuff off the counter. Paws on counter, shoulder against it, head lying on it's side, neck stretched out as FAR as possible, I swear she's a contortionist! She does LOVE butter too! Weird also! But will try and get cheese and will clean up any mess from the dinner process if i'm not watching her closely! She is also a napkin thief! Oddly enough, I can leave stuff on the counter and go out for the day and it will be un touched! Lucky I guess!

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

The dogs have learned that following the kids around is a guaranteed payoff. Eventually, one of them will fix a snack and leave all the fixins out. This might result in access to bread, a bag of cookies, crackers, peanut butter, a bag of carrots and celery sticks (Zhi, Maggie, and Gus all love these), cheese, or cereal.

 

We tried over and over to remind them to put stuff away. Finally, I told them they have to give me a dollar from their allowance every time they let the dogs get something - to remind them that being careless has financial consequences (not to mention the risk to the dog's health, say if they left out a candy bar). The counter surfing opportunities have reduced by about 90%!

[vanillalove]

If a dish towel is slightly hanging off the counter, Petey will jump up and grab it and bounce around with it like he's just done something amazing. Then he loves to have us chase him! He doesn't bother food because we taught him not to, actually, make an exception on pizza. He loves it! We need to put it in the oven while people are getting themselves slices or else it would be gone in a flash!

[1sheepdoggal]

The counter surfing opportunities have reduced by about 90%!

 

Gonna have to try that one on my 13 yr old Becca!

Cause theres not a dog in the house that isnt a sure fire opportunist. Lex, being my worst and teachewr to all who will learn, that as long as your feet dont touch the counter, your free to walk on your hind legs and "look" at whats up there. However, if she does spy some thing she thinks she might want, at least she does the poliet thing and then comes and asks. Not so with Stella. She's just an outright thief.

 

Edit to answer actual question. Anything and everything. Non edible things count too, if they at one time smelled of food. Its at least worth a good snatch and search before being shredded and left for the doggie maid to pick up.

[Sasha's Mom]

Brief Butter story...

 

Christmas dinner at my Grandparent-in-laws is a large family affair - all the kids and grandkids are always there, and dinner is usually set for at least 14. Before dinner, everyone sits in the parlor and reads the Christmas Story and Meme reads some other passages and we do some small gifts. Tradition. No one leaves. About 4 years ago, at about the time we got to the bit about the babe lying in the manger, some of us start to hear subtle clinking. We ignored it. When we were done exchanging gifts, we headed into the beautifully set table, to find that my husband's cousin's 2 cocker spaniels have helped themselves to all the butter/margarine/spread (3 dishes full), trampling all the plates and silverware in the process. So we did the dishes. We have been laughing about the butter ever since... and are much more careful.

 

Mine will counter surf for anything they can get their grubby mitts on. I keep the counters pretty clean, though.

[red dog fan]

Ask me how i know what happens after a dog eats a pound of butter

not pretty

 

bear will bypass everything else to get to the butter or margarine

[Kat's Dogs]

Dazzle knows "no paws on the counter". Of course, that didn't stop her. She quickly learned to "hover" - standing on her hind legs and lick things off the counter, all the while never actually putting a paw up there! But the only thing she ever attempts to go after is her own food. Guess I can't really blame her for that seeing as it's hers anyway!

[Alaska]

My dogs eat a variety of mostly raw food, so they never know in advance what's for dinner. Kepler sometimes puts his paws up on the counter to sniff what's being prepared (not that we encourage that), but he knows the food is not his while its still on the counter so he won't actually steal it from there.

 

Actually, I find that dogs (once trained - not counter surfers) are often satisfied if you just give them an opportunity to sniff. People frequently assume that my nosey dogs are trying to steal food when all they really want is a chance to find out what it is.

[Root Beer]

Actually, I find that dogs (once trained - not counter surfers) are often satisfied if you just give them an opportunity to sniff. People frequently assume that my nosey dogs are trying to steal food when all they really want is a chance to find out what it is.

 

That's how Dean is. He wants to see what it is. Once he gets a sniff and a look, he's happy to wait.

[Ruger's Dad]

I have to practically force Ruger to eat. He doesn't coutersurf, he just hunts for frisbees. I can leave food around and he will not eat it. I think that is mostly the training. Now my daughter-in-laws chihuahua will steal food right in front of me.

[Bo Peep]

I thought I had kept Usher's counter surfing down. HA HA. They fool you when you aren't home and forget to pick up that napkin you cooked bacon on in the microwave. Strangely enough, the thing he loves to "roll on" is fresh fabric softeners from the carton, not the dryer- they must be NOT USED- LOL. Better than sheep poop-

[esox]

Alex is not a big counter surfer. Not that interested in people food. Paper products yes. She's our personal 4 legged furry shredder. Though if you put a dirty washcloth in the hamper in the bathroom she will take it, bring it into the living room, and roll on it.

Completely understand about cats though. Tony jumped up on the counter one time and stole the ham off my sandwich while I was making it. Apparently I forgot to ask him if he wanted one.

Elwood, our Lab, has the funniest surfing story. I had just made a grilled cheese and left it on the counter to grab my book. When I came back it was gone. I yelled Elwood bad dog and he came slinking back in with the grilled cheese. Then laid it at my feet, teeth marks and all.

 

Esox

[Shetlander]

Elwood, our Lab, has the funniest surfing story. I had just made a grilled cheese and left it on the counter to grab my book. When I came back it was gone. I yelled Elwood bad dog and he came slinking back in with the grilled cheese. Then laid it at my feet, teeth marks and all.

 

That is hysterical!

[JohnLloydJones]

Then laid it at my feet, teeth marks and all.

 

You can't even get mad at them when they do things like that.

[Laurena]

Heidi ate two portobello mushrooms off the counter one day , thats the only time she's stolen anything off the counter .

[Bacchus]

I have a great addition. So About two weeks ago, we ordered a pizza from one of the pizza places that delivers the pizza with the little tubs of garlic butter. Well, my girlfriend opened the butter container but left it on the counter. About twenty minutes later I find my dog Aden laying on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs holding the butter dish in her hands licking up what was left. At the time, I thought I noticed a dark spot on the carpet where the butter had spilled but wasn't too sure so I went back upstairs for a few minutes to finish what I was doing. When I got back downstairs, the little butter dark spot had magically turned into a perfect circular whole in damned carpet about four inches wide. There were no carpet pieces laying around, just a whole. I guess it was really good butter.

[sweet_ceana]

Ceana is a sniffer, not a stealer. Every bag and everything that you are doing Ceana has to check out. What did you buy? What are you doing, can I help? Although a year ago when we moved (because new counters may have different rules?) she stole Chris's Raspberry filled Birthday Cake. I came home to a bloated puppy with sticky raspberry filling all over the fur in between her pads. We are still not even sure how the dog could reach the cake. She only stole food two other times. At my college graduation there was a table of meat and cheese just sitting there. How could a girl resist? She was very polite and only nibbled on the edges. The other time she jacked a peice of pizza off of Chris's plate. It was so un charecteristic, I guess the poor girl just couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed the slice and ran off like lightening with Chris chasing and me about to pee my pants of laughter rolling on the ground.

 

Poke is always in the kitchen when people are because it is his job to keep the floors clean.

[Anda]

When I got back downstairs, the little butter dark spot had magically turned into a perfect circular whole in damned carpet about four inches wide. There were no carpet pieces laying around, just a whole.

 

LMAOL