How to stop an old dog from counter surfing and having accidents?

Startle him in the act. Set up cans filled with loud objects precariously positioned so when he jumps up it all crashes around and startled him. Set this up time and time again. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Some dogs experiment around this age and if you continue to correct him when he jumps on the counter he may 'grow out of it'. Other dogs are just too tempted by food on counters and tables and will continue to counter surf. Unfortunately it can be a hard habit to break since you rarely catch them in the act. The best way to prevent this behavior is to make sure no food is left unattended on the counters or to prevent Koda's access to areas where food is unattended.

Hello, Dogs that know where food may be, will indeed take advantage of any opportunity they get to steal some food. It may be best to keep him in a separate room when you will be having food out, otherwise, you may be dealing with this behavior issue often. This will hopefully buy you some time to adjust him to only being exposed to his own food, and desensitize him from knowing that there is food on the table. As a golden rule, don't eat around your pet because they will likely want to eat your food as well. Sorry about Murphy and hope this helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! More than focusing on the negative of when he does that behavior, ideally, you would focus on positive reinforcement. This means that when he does something negative like that you let him know that it is wrong. However, it is more important to focus on the positive. When he gets close to the table and is not trying to get food off the table, praise him and give him a treat. This will help him associate not getting food off the table with something positive and can help with this undesirable behavior. Good luck and have a good night!

Dogs can develop habits just like humans. It’s possible Zeus was unaware that he could reach the human food until recently. Dogs learn by cause-and-effect. He jumped on the counter, got something to eat and that is a positive experience for him. He will likely continue this behavior because it is a positive experience every time. You must prevent him from having this experience or else he will just continue it. Sometimes increases in appetite can be related to endocrine disease. You may have his blood tested to look for hypothyroidism or Cushing’s disease. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Toga might be a dog that prefers many meals instead of 2 or 3 "big ones". I would suggest to try to split his daily food intakes in 4 or 5 small meals or try to give him toys with hidden food inside that can keep him busy as well (https://www.kongcompany.com/products/for-dogs/interactive/ballistic-hide-n-treat/ballistic-hide-n-treat-purple/). Last but not least, go back to the previous food flavor and monitor for any change. Keep us informed and to not hesitate to contact us again if anything changes!

I think the only way to prevent this from happening is to remove him to correct him when he jumps on something, and then distract him by having him perform a desired command (go to your place/mat/bed is a good one) for a treat. You will also probably need to restrict access when he is unsupervised by keeping him in another room or a crate. Some dogs are agile and he might never fall, but if you feel what he is doing is unsafe you can start some training. It may take awhile before he stops trying - be persistent and remember to encourage good behavior.