Nana, our New Foundland mix, has a bad habit of stealing food off the counter when home alone. I would describe her food drive (a better word might be passion) as relentless. A notable example happened last summer. I was super hungry from just finishing a long ride and had cooked a Kashi Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza to eat on my way to work. I left it on the oven to cool while I loaded my bag into the truck. When I walked back into the house, less than 1 minute later, she already had it more than halfway down. Time was short, so I went to work hungry that night.
Dogs are products of their training so I have only myself to blame. I have tried several methods to stop Nana's counter surfing, but they have all ended in failure. In the attempt below I tried a product called a Scat Matt. It's a thin strip connected to a 9V battery that shocks you when touched. I tested it on my finger tips and it scared me, but it didn't really hurt. I doubted it was enough overcome Nana's food drive. The video proved that theory correct and also reveals what a professional Nana is.
Watch as I set the camera up and walk out. The bait is a piece of bread, the Scat Matt is on the edge of the counter. All of the dogs follow me to the garage door then move to the front room to watch out of the front windows. Nana stops on the way to the window to take an initial smell to see if there is any food. Then she continues to watch me pull away. Once I'm gone (at about 1:45) they all loose interest. She comes back into the kitchen, sneaks around the table and makes another pass to identify the target. Once it's identified (at 2:19) she is surgical and precise in her strike. She makes a clean entry, grab, and exit, then heads outside to eat her prize.
Dogs are products of their training so I have only myself to blame. I have tried several methods to stop Nana's counter surfing, but they have all ended in failure. In the attempt below I tried a product called a Scat Matt. It's a thin strip connected to a 9V battery that shocks you when touched. I tested it on my finger tips and it scared me, but it didn't really hurt. I doubted it was enough overcome Nana's food drive. The video proved that theory correct and also reveals what a professional Nana is.
Watch as I set the camera up and walk out. The bait is a piece of bread, the Scat Matt is on the edge of the counter. All of the dogs follow me to the garage door then move to the front room to watch out of the front windows. Nana stops on the way to the window to take an initial smell to see if there is any food. Then she continues to watch me pull away. Once I'm gone (at about 1:45) they all loose interest. She comes back into the kitchen, sneaks around the table and makes another pass to identify the target. Once it's identified (at 2:19) she is surgical and precise in her strike. She makes a clean entry, grab, and exit, then heads outside to eat her prize.
1 comment:
You better wire up some more batteries on that thing. Pretty funny!
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