Hungry dog

[Willo]

Does anyone else have a counter surfing hungry horace?

I'd have said Olli is a perfect weight, you can't see his ribs but you can feel them. His condition is good and he's definitely growing!

He is a food orientated dog so some of his daily food allowance is used as rewards for training purposes rather than feeding him too much 'treats'.

I have increased his food since getting him a month ago, in accordance with his weight increase - he's 5 months old, fed twice a day on Eukanuba large breed complete puppy/junior food. So he gets 180g per meal and I use up to 100g for training purposes. Given that he weighs approx 20kg this is more than Eukanuba recommend but we also walk/do training a fair bit too - 30 mins on a morning, 30 mins at lunch time, 30 mins when I get in from work, and up to an hour on an evening. (walks aren't very far or fast).

More often than not he's on the want. My house is open plan and from where I am in the living room I cannot see into the kitchen. As Olli wears his collar (complete with tags) whenever he's not crated I hear the chink of the tags clashing together as he jumps, followed by the thud thud of his paws landing on the counter surfaces. I don't keep any foodstuffs on the counter surface so he really is wasting his energy (and my patience!).

For as much as he is doing that, he doesn't bother me when I'm sat eating at the table in the dining room where his crate is - he will go and lie down with a toy or just lie down and nap. However if I am cooking, he sometimes will jump up at the surfaces too - he is sharply told down and pushed back.

Every time I hear him jumping I say down as I go to the kitchen.

What else can I do? Do I need to feed him more do you think? Would putting him on the lead in the house and rewarding him for going into the kitchen and keeping his paws on the floor? He doesn't jump up at people so he knows to keep his paws on the floor. Is there something I can put on the counter surfaces to discourage him? I do fill his dish from the counter top - food is kept in the garage so I use a plastic bowl to get it, weigh it out in the kitchen, transfer to his bowl and then put it on the kitchen floor (after I've made him sit and wait). Do I need to change the feeding/watering place? It's convenient on the lino in the kitchen but I can get more lino to put the bowls elsewhere.

Honestly! You'd think I was starving the poor creature!

[sams mum]

naughty boy... cant help with problem but will say my joe (the whippet) didnt just jump up at the counters when he was a pup. he jumped ONTO them. and while up there stole everything. we ended up having to have bare worktops. even ate the tea and coffee pots. he grew out of it eventually.

[Stuart]

I wouldnt feed him any more if you think his weight is right,.. Sam is the same, he would be twice the weight if I gave into him.

.....but I dont have your problem so not sure what you can do,... what about the `bitter apple` spray that people use to discourage chewing, that would smell nice and hopfully do the job

[kita]

Originally Posted by Willo

I don't keep any foodstuffs on the counter surface so he really is wasting his energy (and my patience!).

For as much as he is doing that, he doesn't bother me when I'm sat eating at the table in the dining room where his crate is - he will go and lie down with a toy or just lie down and nap. However if I am cooking, he sometimes will jump up at the surfaces too - he is sharply told down and pushed back.

Are you sure it's food he is after?

Could it be attention seeking, after all when you hear him jumping up you go into the kitchen immediately to tell him 'down' - are you sure he is not doing it so that you come in and give him attention (even if you are telling him off it is still attention)?

Again when you are cooking he gets your attention by jumping up - you tell him down and push him back.

And he doesn't bother you when you are eating, which makes me think it is not particularly the food he is after ...............

Sue