sudden behavioral change

Question
I have read your bio.  I agree to read and rate your response fairly within three days. We have a 5 year old well behaved chocolate lab.  Approximately a month ago he has started to take things off the counter (a whole ham), getting into his treats both in the house and in the car.  He has never done this before and nothing has been changed in his or our routine.  Any suggestions?  Thanks in advance.

Answer
Follow-up revision to reponse below this paragraph:

Hi Connie,

Thank you for honouring our Internet agreement and rating me promptly and fairly for my response to your question!  Next week when I'm there again I will be making a $20 donation to the NO KILL shelter at which I volunteer in the winter months here in Florida, PLUS I've already purchased some chew toys and other goodies for the absolutely awesome and highly adoptable dogs at the shelter as an addition to my monetary donation.  Your Lab sounds like a sweetie.  Thanks for writing in to AllExperts!  Keep me posted if you're able.  If you would like to know the name of the no-kill shelter at which I volunteer and to which I'm donating, please e mail me off list at my Web site.  At that time, I will verify your IP address with AllExperts and then respond to you.

Best, and happiest of holidays,
Madeline at ALlExperts
An Innovative NY, NJ and Florida Dog Trainer (Innovative Reality Dog Training & Behavior Consulting)

P.S.: If you employ the leash training I mentioned with the "off" cue I suggested, REMEMBER to highly reward your dog both verbally and with healthy treats when your dog starts learning the "off" cue and each and every time you have him respond.  In the beginning, you'll be prompting him with the leash, reinforcing with the words "good boy," and popping him a treat for turning his attention away from the counter every time for every repetition.  As he starts learning what you want from him, you'll find you'll need to do less prompting with the leash and will see that your dog will be turning towards you and away from the counter on his own.  Still continue verbally praising and rewarding your dog with treats!  Do this until he's very reilable with this cue, continue giving him the verbal praise every time, but start to give him treats randomly, say two in a row, and then maybe not another treat for three to six repetitions - mix it up a bit to keep him guessing when the treats will come.  All told, this may take about a month or so for him to become fluent at the "off" cue with daily training.  At that point, put him on "maintenance," practicing once or twice a week.  Happy Training!
--------------------------------------------
Hi Connie,

I'm wondering if it's your Lab's behaviour which has changed, or yours?  LOL.  Let me explain:

Being near the holidays, you mentioned a ham, generally a very enticing item for most dogs, and perhaps not something people cook or bring home all that often.  Left on the counter, perhaps this item was too enticing for him to resist, and being of a size to get to it...he did!

Dogs, even well behaved ones, are opportunists, fortunately for us and for them, because in part that's how they evolved to be so close and companionable with us as they are.  However, in a domestic setting, such as your home, most people feel it's not appropriate for their dogs to "counter surf" and take food off the counter.  And, once counter surfing starts, it can be a difficult habit to break.

First, make sure that you leave nothing on the counter which may be desirable to your dog, and in fact nothing dangerous either such as batteries or nails, which your dog may try to get by counter surfing.  

If there's nothing good for him to get by counter surfing for a long time, he may just stop looking there for goodies.

You can also "set him up" by putting something on the counter, and having him on leash disallow him to get to it with an "off" cue, working him this way about 10 - 15 repetitions a day for a week or two.  If you do so, you must make sure that he doesn't accidentally obtain the item!  

Dogs will counter surf, too, when no one is there to correct them - so when you're not around, keep your counters clear, or make sure that he doesn't have access to the counters in order to surf them.

As for the treats, that's crafty canine opportunism at work again!  Keep the treats where he can't get at them and where only you can dispense them.  In the car, that can mean in the glove compartment, console, or in a treat/bait pouch which you keep on you and can dispense to him when you decide.  In your house, do the same and follow the same protocol as I mentioned above with counter surfing, adjusting if need be if he's learned to get into a treat jar.

Most likely this is simply a training challenge of reversing a bad habit that has recently come up.  However, if you feel he's become more hungry than usual and appears to be hungry "all the time," I would suggest taking him in for a medical exam to your vet.  Certain conditions can cause dogs to be hungry all the time, or more frequently, and to eat more.  A foreigh body in the stomach could also cause dogs to eat more.  A short story: One of my dogs some years ago, unbeknownst to us, swallowed a quarter, and was hungry all the time in trying to digest it.  It eventually blocked his pylorus once it became small enough to try to exit the stomach in to the intestine, which became an emergency situation where he bloated.  We had to rush him to the vet to have the quarter endoscopically removed.  My husband, who certainly ended up n the "doghouse" that day, is no longer allowed to bring loose change in to our home in his pockets, LOL!  We were told the quarter must have been in his stomach for months.  I tell you this not to scare you, but to convey that when dogs show increased appetitie there's usually a good reason which should be looked in to.

I'm not saying that this is what's occurring with your dog, it could just be that he's found a new way to obtain access to goodies and is exploiting his newly found skills; but, if you feel he does seem hungrier than usual, you might want to consider a medical cause.

By the way, good on ya for giving your dog treats in the car.  What a great way to have your dog loving car rides instead of dreading them.  Have you done this since he was a puppy?  if so, great puppy rearing on your part!

Since you sent me a great question to which I could respond, I would like to make a donation to an animal charity since this is the promotion I'm running here at AllExperts until the end of the year.  Do you have one to suggest which I might consider, or would you like me to choose one on my own?  My donation for your asking me a question to which I can respond, plus your rating it fairly within three days of my responding to it, will have me making at least a $20.00 charitable donation to an organization whose mission it is to help animals.

Have a wonderful holiday season, and make sure the ham, turkey and other goodies are kept out of your Lab's reach...!

With best regards,
Madeline S. Friedman at AllExperts,
An Innovative NY, NJ and Palm Beach Co., Florida Dog Trainer