Wherre to look to teach older dog

[Enko]

Where do I look for teaching older dog (age 6) not to steal food.

I k ow preventio is best amd we tey pur best to ensure there is no food in temptations way. We eat only at the table and do not feed him from the table or anywhere else i. The house bar his bowl.

As he has got older he has got worse and he has such a sweet tooth. Today he got into a closed box of roses. I got there quick enough but i do want to be able to leave a closed box of chocolate for 5 mins without he tries to eat it.

I have read mixed things about booby training. Our kitchen is not big enough to walk him past treats on a leash with.

Also should mention we have a basset hound they have no off switch for food and takes ages to teach anything they are not engaged in learning.

Wherr can I learn more on what to do. Do i need a dog behaviourist it would be a tight squeeze at the moment I will admit I would rather do it myself if possible.

Again I have a Basset Hound they are not easy to train so no quick fixes are likely and I am willing to put in the work.

YouTube. Just put a description in the search engine, and you’ll get training videos pop up.

As someone with a beagle the only thing that works is keeping food out of his reach. Baby gates for prevention, take him with you if you need to leave the room for a minute etc.

KikoPup on YouTube is very good and positive reward based. For anything potentially dangerous or toxic I think prevention is still needed though.
Dogs are gonna be dogs...

I don’t have a massively food stealing dog, she generally understands human food isn’t for her, but I still wouldn’t leave her for five minutes with a closed box of chocolates in her reach so your expectations might be an issue.

My dog is small though so the kitchen units / middle of the coffee table are out of her reach though so maybe I take for granted how easy that is to accommodate.,

Even if you do find a training method that works, you still need to keep food out of his reach until you reach a point where he is safe around food. So that's got to be your starting point anyway.

My dog has never once taken food that wasn't intended for her (she sits and waits for her meals and won't start her breakfast/dinner from her own bowl until told to "go on", even if I leave the room), but even so I don't leave chocolate where she can get it.

Dogs are scavengers. For training, the breed plus the ingrained behaviour isn't the easiest combination to correct.
However I wouldn't teach him to resist temptation but actually seek out food stuff! It's really easier and long lasting if you work with your dogs traits.
Get a good search/ sniffer dog trainer (or use YouTube if you are confident with dog training) and teach him to find/ seek and indicate the desired smell - obviously always reward generously with something else!! This will take time and consistency, but I think it's more in line with your dogs natural instincts and behaviours. Plus it's a really fun game!

There are 2 strands to improving this. Firstly management - so prevent any accidental opportunities where he can counter surf. Keep surfaces clear, or the door shut so he doesn’t get to practice that behaviour any more.
Then secondly, teach him an alternative, incompatible behaviour - like lying in his bed. Once he understands there is more value in staying on his bed, he will choose this rather than counter surf.

I do keep the food out of his way where at all possible. We manage the situation as far as we are able.

In last nights situation he had been left out for his evening wee and I was turning off lights when I heard him snuffling in the lounge he had not been alone for 2 minutes. Nor was he left alone deliberately with a box of chocolates (in a tin that was closed) It was not a left on purpose with a box to see if he goes for it.

The room also has a stair gate on it for when we do leave stuff in there. This is a problem that has got worse in the last year or so. Its always bread or chocolate

@AwkwardPaws27 thank you I will look at Kikopup

I know there are lots of youtube videos but I honestly do not just want to pick a random I want to ensure I am using sensible training.

He is happy on his bed @WillYouShutUp is on it right now. Its one of his absolute favourite places, just when it comes to bread of any shape or form or chocolate he is a menace and this is the specific problem I have and want to deal with (He had his stomach pumped once as he counter surfed a entire cellophane wrapped chocolate cake) -Yes we thought it was out of reach.
Bassets are like Elastagirl and despite their lazy reputation they are lighting fast when they want to be.

You're never going to be able to train his instincts out of him - it's like training a collie not to herd, or a Labrador not to retrieve. You might be able to get to a point where you can manage it while you're there watching and able to intervene, but when you're out of the room, all bets are off - that's part of living with a scent hound, unfortunately.

If it is a new problem maybe a blood test might be in order to check health is fine. Some health issues can cause increased hunger. However as a Bassett Hound fosterer I think it is more likely breed! Awesome dogs but they are greedier than my labs.

Management is really the only way that works but we can help too take the interest off high areas.

We train this with reverse training. So make sure most food is on the floor not on the sides or counters. So my dogs will come into a room and search the floor or carpet before looking up. Obviously this does mean putting small bits of food on the floor for them to find. They only have to find it a few times on the floor but it is enough for them to check that area first.