Training advice needed for my naughty labrador!

[wearthefoxhat]

I have a 2 year old lab, she is generally very well behaved, well trained etc, and really the perfect dog.
However, when I go out, she's started to get things down from the work tops and eat/chew/destroy things from there.
When we go out and leave the dogs, we leave them in the kitchen with everything they need, and they are never left for longer than 2 hours 2 or 3 times a week.
She doesn't do this at all when we are at home.
I've tried making a hot chilli sandwich and leaving it on the side, but she'll ignore it.
How do I stop her doing it?

I haven't got a clue how you can stop her, but they are destructive aren't they? My mums ate a whole breakfast stool in just one night

You could try a Kong toy?

Things like this are usually because they are bored I think. Bella and others who are much more knowledgeable will be along I am sure but I would get a Kong toy or similar and leave it with food in.

My lab is only 7 months but when I am going to be out for a while I put her food in a toy that she has to work to get it out of. Oh - she goes in her cage too.

I have 2 naughty labs to ....one to small and stumpy to get to work tops , but the other 19mnths old is so tall , gets everything .....can not be trusted any where in the house , its driving me nuts as , the weather is so bad so they are spending longer inside the house ..
i have bought something called a KONG i think its called , you can get them from pet shops , there like funny shaped balls with a hole each end and you pack them full of treats or spread , and they are supposed to spend hours getting treats out ... well as you know doesnt take long for labs to gobble anything down . but does seem to help a bit ...

will be interested to here if theres anyone els with advice for labs and hw to stop them jumping up on work tops ..

shame as does take the edge of having a dog as he is sooo naughty ...

good luck

I have a lab cross and just had a lab to stay for the weekend so I feel your pain...

Our lab cross will eat anything and everything = frozen pizza, loaves of bread, shoes, passports and the golden rule is leave nothing at all within their reach. We've found our dog standing on the dining room table.

When we go out we leave a Kong and several other toys that have not been out for a while and we usually time going out so we've just come back from a very long walk. If I can't clear the kitchen or she is being a pain when I am cooking then I pop her in her crate.

Firstly - as I'm sure you know - they're not being naughty when they do this. They do it either because there's food left out (dogs are natural scavengers) or because they're bored, or it can be a symptom of separation anxiety - particularly if they only do it when you are out. If a dog is stressed by being left then chewing releases endorphins and helps them feel better. They don't do it to wind their owners up.

Please don't leave chili sandwiches out - that's just sadistic.

tbh my lab has never done this, but I crated him when I was out until he was about 9 months old, and I always make sure all my dogs are exercised before being left, and have lots of new or rotated toys or a well-stuffed Kong to keep them busy.

Any food left on the side is, I reckon, fair game so I never leave food where the dogs could reach it. How is the dog supposed to know you didn't leave that big piece of organic pork out just for him .

Am sure others will suggest water pistols and the like, but it is unlikely to be very effective once you go out the door.

Also - Kongs last a lit longer if you fill them with moistened biscuits ( or any wet food) and freeze them first .
Company of Animals website has several Kong recipes too.

This is a tricky one. Now that the lab knows there is food on the counter she will continue to look for it. Once they have been rewarded for jumping up then it is always worth a look you never know what you may find!

So the first thing I would do is always put things away. It does become a habit and as I have said before I go into friends houses and will put things in cupboards without thinking!!

If this is difficult then I would make sure the dog is very tired, had a good walk, had some food and then when I go out would put them in a crate. Obviously only for a couple of hours. She will sleep quite happily and then be ready for another game on your return (just when you want to put your feet up and have a coffee!).

Some people say that putting double sided tape on the edge of the counter stops dogs jumping up as they do not like the feel of the tape but I think you are more likely to find the lab jumps right over the tape and is then standing on the work surface.
Also some people put a saucepan on the side where they jump up which falls off when the dog jumps up , the noise is meant to frighten the dog , I have never seen this work either you get an anxious dog or they are so unfazed it does nothing.

You can tell her off when you see her doing it and make sure that she is not left unsupervised in the kitchen.

Sorry not an easy answer but the less times she finds rewards up there the less she will be bothered to look.

Thanks for all the advice.
The chilli sandwich was a suggestion of our vet, but obviously the dog has a better sense of smell than we thought!
She's only started doing this in the last few weeks - as a puppy, she was perfectly behaved.
Punishing her as she does it won't work, as she never does it when we are around, so I think I'll add "buy a kong" to tomorrows list of jobs!

If we can smell a casserole cooking, a dog can smell every individual ingredient. Honest.

Anyway, even if she had taken it what would that teach her? To avoid the bits that smell of chili in future?

Tug a Jugs are good too.