Welcome to my second class on the fine art of counter surfing – Intermediate Counter Surfing 201. Hopefully you have been practicing the lessons from course 101. One note that I felt the need to mention – a lot of comments came through about stealing bad items like chocolate or raisins which can be harmful to us dogs. Some items such as raw meat can be stolen in reasonable amounts for your size, not the entire 1 lb steak – use dog common sense. Always know what you are stealing, and limit your crimes to non-harmful foods. Click here for a list of harmful foods in case you are unsure.
Courses 201 and 301 are for pets in multi-pet households. I will be showing you how to set up and use the other pets to your advantage, leaving you with all the goods, and none of the blame. Course 201 is a continuation of course 101 in exercising patience, as well as starting the set up process. Course 301 next Monday will be the actual grab and escape with no blame. If you are an only pet, you will need to just work on course 101 until you feel like you can get away with a grab and dash on your own OR…
What better time to adopt a kitty? June is Adopt A Cat month and many kitties need homes. As you know, my mom has adopted all her cats over the years, coming to a total of about ten cats. No she is not a crazy cat lady, she never had more than four at once, and now we are content with two. My current cats were adopted as adult cats, and my cat bro Bert is the ideal “fall guy” for counter surfing. Not only is he an excellent accomplice, I made sure he knows that it was my idea to adopt him so he feels that he owes me…always keep your cat under YOUR control, as it will be very unpleasant for you if they take over control of YOUR home. Cats are quite useful as they manage to get into, and onto almost everything in the kitchen…a huge help if you are short!
Let’s start the process with the cat set up. My cat bro Bert loves to sit on the bar stool when anyone is working in the kitchen…you can see him photo bombing in many of my baking photos, and you can see the “I am caught look” in the above photo. He is not subtle, and has been caught stealing many times, so he is ideal to put the blame on. Let him steal, let him get caught with his furry mug in the chicken salad! Your job is to just hang out in the vicinity of his crime, and look so very, very innocent. One note, mom hates having the cat on the counter, but try to keep a cat off of anything – almost impossible! Before mom cooks she always makes sure she cleans the counters very well.
Having a big, big sister is also a great thing. See how tall Katie is? She can see what is on the counter, and just grab with her mouth if she wants! Once again, let her get caught stealing. You lie in wait where you will be seen as the ever so innocent dog. See my look – it says “look at that bad dog over there, I’m so good”! No one will suspect you of stealing! I am not able to use Katie much as she sniffs on the counter, but she is such a goody two shoes, she doesn’t steal, and mom knows that. If anything, she will run off and tattle on me for stealing, but I wanted to show how useful a big dog can be if you have one at home with you.
This week your job is to practice on that set up with one or all of the other pets in your home – remember to be patient. Next week you will be reaping the rewards off all your hard prep work! Can’t wait for the grab and then enjoying the loot – yummy!!!
Of course, I’mjoining in the Monday Mischief blog hop brought to you by Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog, My Brown Newfies and Luna, A Dog’s Life
Wow Emma! You sure know your stuff! A little guy like me can learn a lot from you!
~Parker
I work hard on the important things in life for us dogs 😉
Nice informative class Emma! Sherman is great at setting up Leroy, he knows his sad, big eyes will always make him look innocent no matter what! Leroy hasn’t mastered the art of using his eyes to his advantage just yet, so he always looks guilty!
It is a shame to use a sibling, but sometimes you just gotta do things for yourself!
We are blaming everything on Phe! It’s awesome having a fall guy (girl)!
Oh man, she is perfect – you totally get the concept…she is just like my cat bro Bert! You will be so successful!
Emma, Emma, Emma…once again, a masterful lesson. I think this will begin to take shape since Maggie – who used to be the goody two shoes is kind of in the dog house…I may be able to work this to my advantage. ~ Jack
Now is the perfect time to capitalize on her bad behavior…next Monday we will put it all together and get our counter surfing in action!
I’m glad someone found a use for cats in their house! Mine won’t be any help, though because the Dad has one of those sensor-sprayer things on the counter so they don’t get up there any more! But never underestimate the usefulness of KIDS!!! 😀
We don’t have any kids but I’m sure they can be substituted for a furry sibling, probably best if they aren’t talking too much, though, so the younger ones.
BOL..I think we need a cat. We are both to short to counter surf.
Cats really are the most helpful…maybe take one of those adorable farm kittens and train them correctly right from the start!
Tips for counter-surfing! I am there, dude!
And you have a cat, so you will be on easy street after my 3 classes 🙂
Thank you for the manual. We have copied and bound it and are putting it into practice even as we are typing this.
Yay! Remember, next week will be the final, where we put it all together 🙂
You are such a smart doggie. Thanks for the lesson.
http://www.dawsondogs.com/blog/2013/6/Sunrise-with-Missy
Thanks…just stopped by your blog too 🙂
Kelly would like a version for the vertically challenged canine. On second thought, please don’t!!
The best solution really is to get a cat, I find my cat so useful, it is great!
Emma! You’re giving my dogs bad ideas! As it is, they blame everything on the rabbit!
Now there is another great idea but I would probably not be able to live with a wabbit since I have such strong instincts and what does a wabbit steal, veggies…borrrinnngggg….
Excellent lesson Emma…so many good tips and tricks here today…I don’t have a kitty brofur of my own, but at my pals Annie & Cooper’s house there’s 3 cats and they shared their secret with me…They taught me how to get up on the table…But the only food I ever find there is the cat food!
Cat food isn’t too bad if you don’t eat too much of it…have you gotten snacks out of the litter box yet? Humans don’t like that but they can be tasty. Mom had to move the cat box because of me.
Excellent lesson today. We are both big dogs here, so we can easily practice these tips. It is always impawtant to sharpen your skillz!
Always keep your skills up on these most important things!
No counter is safe in your house!
Let’s just say that if mom is entertaining, the cat goes in the basement and she keeps a close eye on me 😉
Hmmm, at first I was thinking I needed a cat Emma but now I am not sure if having a big sister or brother wouldn’t be better. I gotta get something though since I cannot reach the stupid counter!
*Cairn cuddles*
Oz
Cats are much more useful and I feel better putting the blame on a cat than on another dog but either option works.
Well, thanks to you Emma, Rita is going to be hitting me up for a tall dog-sibling and a cat-bro. But I’m allergic to cats, and there’s not enough room in the bed for a tall dog, so she’s just going to have to attempt the Grab ‘n Go! You’re lucky to have those siblings!
Fur siblings are fun, sometimes they are a pain but most of the time I am happy I have them. Maybe Rita needs to learn to move furniture to get a chair in the kitchen?
Hmmm…. You make an excellent point for getting a cat… Thanks for this post, we needed a good laugh tonight!
Bunny
Glad you had a good laugh. Cats are a real pain at times but they sure can be used to a dog’s advantage!
Good stuff here yet again! You should start a little dog mentoring program where the fee is treats! 🙂
That is the best form of payment…I wonder if I could set up a paypal account that pays out treats…I will have to look into that.
BOL, Emma! Are you tall enough to counter surf? I love that Katie doesn’t even have to stand on her hind legs to do this. Over here, Elsie is a PRO Counter Surfer. She should be sponsored. Mom has been trying to teach her house manners since she got here, but this is one thing with which our food hound especially has trouble.
I can get my paws and nose to the counter if I stand on my back paws but getting stuff down is literally a big stretch which is why the cat or Katie are quite handy since I have been training them.
When I visit my mom’s friend with 2 cats I envy them as they can go anywhere … anywhere. They can go up the counter. Bert got that look and Yes, Katie is tall. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
Cats really do get to do what they want which is unfair! They are quite disobedient!
I am so NOT showing this post to Toby Emma. Sorry. He gets into enough trouble on his own, without framing our two cats. 😉
Good point about only stealing safe foods though – and how nice of you to provide a list for your students.
This is for fun and we don’t want anyone stealing and eating bad stuff!
That was good! Counter measures are useless!
Oh boy, don’t we know that!
Hey Emma,
This really is advanced level training! I can’t even imagine what you’re gonna cover in 301! I did some great counter surfing at the vets last week, but I need the 101 lesson in how to get your Mum to allow you to become a multi pet household first before I can even move on to 201 counter surfing – doh!
We’ve got a snake, but he’s in a cage, so I know it’s gonna be a real push to get them to believe he slithered into the kitchen from the garage and took the food off the counter and then slithered back into his cage – sigh! 🙂
Wags to all,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
Oh goodness, mom is terrified of snakes, we aren’t allowed to have anything to do with them…get a cat, that is the best and you can be in charge of the rules if you start immediately 🙂 Nice vet mischief by the way 🙂
Wow Emma, you’ve got all the bases covered. I like the way you think.
Thanks…I try my best to help out my friends 🙂
Love the Mister Peabody look! You are a smartie!! Try to be good and have a fun day!
Neighbors About Town Blog
I am a good girl and a good helper 🙂
Great idea! Get a cat to blame!!
Cats are ideal as long as you keep control of them 😉