Board and train for destructive chewing and counter surfing

Board and train for destructive chewing and counter surfing in Gloucester, MA: leave-it, settle and an enrichment plan in a fear-free one-week stay.

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A small curly-coated apricot puppy lies on a rug beside a roll of toilet paper it has shredded

The short answer

Chewing and counter surfing are normal dog behaviors that have been rewarded in the wrong places: shoes are satisfying to chew and kitchen counters sometimes have chicken on them. A one-week Foundation stay teaches leave-it, place and settle, and a structured routine of enrichment, but the biggest change comes from managing your home afterwards so the old rewards stop. Chewing that happens only when a dog is left alone may be separation distress, which needs a different plan.

At a glance

Usual program: Foundation, 1 week
Key skills: Leave it, drop, place, settle
At home: Management first: nothing worth stealing in reach
Chews only when alone?: Check for separation distress

By the Dogtown Training team in Gloucester, MA · Last reviewed October 28, 2026 · Our trainer and methods

Why dogs chew and steal

Chewing is how dogs explore, relieve boredom, calm themselves and, for puppies, soothe sore gums. It is not spite. A dog that chews the remote while you are at work is not getting back at you; it found something interesting and nobody stopped it. Puppies lose their baby teeth from around three to four months and, according to the AKC’s teething timeline, usually have their adult teeth by about six months, but many adolescents keep a strong urge to chew as those teeth set in, well into their first year.

Counter surfing is simpler still. It is a scavenging behavior with an excellent payout. One successful raid on a cooling roast teaches a dog that counters are worth checking forever, and because the reward is occasional, the habit becomes remarkably persistent.

What the stay teaches

Foundation builds the skills that make these habits easier to manage, and gives the dog a week of practicing good choices in a setting without old habits attached. Advanced suits adolescents who already know these cues but need them proofed around real temptation.

Leave it: turning away from something interesting and getting rewarded for it
Drop: releasing what is already in the mouth, in exchange for something good
Place and settle: a default spot to go and relax while food is being prepared
Impulse control: waiting rather than grabbing, at the counter, the bowl and the door
Chew habits: learning which items are for chewing, with plenty of appropriate options

Management at home does most of the work

No training survives a kitchen full of unattended food. For the first months after the stay, management is the plan, and training fills in behind it. If nothing is worth stealing, the habit fades; if the counter pays once a week, it never will. Our article on management versus training explains why you need both.

Think of it as dog-proofing for a toddler with a very good nose and a long reach. Large breeds can reach the back of the counter, so clear surfaces, not just edges.

Problem	Management	Training to pair with it
Counter surfing	Clear counters; baby gate on the kitchen while cooking	Place on a bed outside the kitchen; reward four paws on the floor
Shoes and socks	Closed closets, laundry in a lidded hamper	Trade games; leave it
Furniture and woodwork	Crate or pen when unsupervised; bitter spray as a short-term deterrent	Appropriate chews offered at chewing times
Trash	Lidded or cupboard bin	Leave it; settle when you are busy

Enrichment prescriptions

A dog with a job chews less of your stuff. Enrichment gives the chewing and foraging drive somewhere legal to go, and it is a big part of a stay’s daily structure. At home, a few minutes of setup turns a meal into twenty minutes of work.

Rotate chews and puzzles so they stay interesting, and supervise new chews until you know how your dog handles them. Ask your vet which chew hardness suits your dog’s teeth; very hard items can fracture teeth.

Frozen stuffed rubber toys for longer chewing sessions
Lick mats with a spread of wet food or yogurt
Scatter feeding in the grass or a snuffle mat
A cardboard box with food wrapped in paper inside, for dogs who love to shred
A short sniff walk before you leave the house

What a stay cannot fix

A stay cannot remove the reward of a stolen sandwich from your kitchen. If counters still pay after the dog comes home, the habit comes back, often quickly. It also cannot speed up teething: an adolescent will chew because its mouth needs to, and the answer is better things to chew, not less chewing.

Destruction focused on doors, windows and crate bars, especially only when the dog is alone, is a different problem. That pattern often points to separation-related distress, and our page on board and train for separation anxiety covers the better routes. Eating non-food items such as stones, socks or fabric can be a medical concern and deserves a vet visit, because swallowed objects can block the gut.

Do not punish after the fact

Coming home to a chewed shoe and scolding the dog teaches nothing about the shoe. The dog connects your anger with your arrival or with whatever it is doing at that moment, and may start greeting you anxiously. If you catch a dog in the act, interrupt calmly, trade for a chew toy and close the closet. Then ask how it got access, and fix that.

The program for this

1 week · Puppies, young dogs & foundational manners Foundation Board & Train A one-week stay for puppies, young dogs and dogs missing the basics: obedience, leash skills, place, stay, recall, impulse control and household manners, with daily updates and a go-home lesson. Read about Foundation

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