Laika could probably smell jars of open peanut butter a block away. So, it was no surprise that any food left unattended on kitchen countertops was an open invitation for her to search and devour. She learned early on that my roommates were pretty careless with leaving all sorts of goodies out, so she would wait for the right moment and pilfer whatever it was that she wanted. This involved her eating Oreos, figs and a few other things. Until I saw her do it, though, I couldn't do anything to curtail this counter-surfing, other than try to train myself and my roommates to put everything away in cupboards or on shelves.
Luckily, Laika was always one to push limits and test the rules. After several successful covert attempts to score "counter-treasure," she got more brazen in her scavenging and actually tried to grab something (with both front paws on the counter) while I was in the kitchen with her! Since it was my first time catching her in the act, it was a good moment to tell her "no" and reinforce that this was unacceptable behavior. As usual, Laika loved to please, so she immediately sat down, tail-wagging and was given a treat. She seemed to get that she shouldn't be counter-surfing and the positive reinforcement helped.
After a few days, though, she was back to her old ways. At this point, even if there was nothing to motivate her nose, curiosity of the possible existence of treats manifested itself in exploratory counter-surfing. I would sometimes catch a glimpse of her with both front paws on the counter, just surveying the situation. Upon her recognition that she was discovered, Laika would quickly sit down and look at me with the most innocent look she could muster and wait for a treat. It was naughty, but also very hilarious. Most of the time, I would give her a treat, though. I think I was actually the one being trained, it appears.
Laika's interest in things on the counter came in waves. She would be good for a few days and then fall back into her old ways for a few days. Then again, I was not watching her 100% of the time that I was home, but since she was still being crated at this point, I knew that she was not getting into trouble in the house while we were away (unless during one of her great escapes). Still, when my roommate Kyle was at home, Laika had a bit more freedom to roam around and...well...get into trouble.
One of these times, she did something that could have ended very badly. Kyle had been making food in the kitchen under the ever-watchful (and ever-hopeful) eyes of the Counter-Surfer. He hadn't used the stove, but prepared everything on the counter next to it. After finishing the food prep, he put away all of the ingredients and left the room to go eat on the balcony (the furthest area from the kitchen). Laika, always waiting for an opening, took this opportunity to launch an investigation...only this time, instead of putting her paws on the counter, she put them on the stove. On the dismount, she must've accidentally turned one of the knobs. Poof! She accidentally lit one of the burners and turned it to low!!! She then left the kitchen to go spy on Kyle while he was eating.
As luck would have it, I came home about 10 minutes later to give Laika her lunch. Obviously, she was pumped and wiggled excitedly the entire time we walked down the hallway. As we entered the kitchen, I was very startled to see the burner on. I quickly turned it off, as it was not safe in the least (especially with Laika around). I thought maybe Kyle left it on, but as soon as touched the stove, Laika immediately sat down and wouldn't make eye contact with me. This was a sure sign that it was her doing! Kyle had also just come back to the kitchen and I asked him about it. He hadn't even used the stove. So, this left only one suspect. The four-legged, curious pitbull!
Since Laika was acting guilty, I figured it was no use to yell at her. Instead, I did what anyone else with ingenuity and a naughty pup would do...I took an old skateboard deck and bungee-corded it to the front of the stove to protect the burners. It fit perfectly! Kyle was impressed with my problem solving. As I learned with Laika, crates and gates were no match for her, so something more clever was necessary. This solved the problem and, soon, the incorrigible counter-surfer-turned-fire-starter actually started to overcome her bad habit (for the most part). Years later, she did eat some bread that was left out by another roommate, but I think that was just a way for Laika to test us again...to show that she was still able to hang-ten (or is it eight?) on the countertops!
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