Food stealing dog

How do we stop the counter surfing dog?
The answer is two-fold.
First, we must do our best to ensure that food is unreachable to your dog. Either it is put someplace where the dog can't reach it or, your dog is removed from the area all together by baby gates or a crate.
Secondly, we can try to set up the situation to make dog counter surfing scary instead of rewarding. Make sure to do this while you are home so you can be there to witness whether or not it is working. You will need to make a few penny cans (empty coke cans with either a couple of pennies or rocks inside and the top taped off to create a loud rattle).
The Set Up
Put some highly desirable, but safe for consumption, food out on the counter to entice your dog. Put the food close to the edge of the counter and tie a few penny cans to the food and push these to the back of the counter where your dog won't see them right away. When your dog jumps up and steals the food off of the counter, the penny cans will follow and come crashing down around your dog. This is your cue to enter the room and remove the food the dog tried to steal before your dog goes back in to eat what is left on the floor. If all goes well, your dog will not still be in the room and will be startled by what just happened.
Repeat this over several weeks on varying days. Change up where and what food you leave out and remember to be at home when you set him up. If you find your dog won't surf when you're around, try acting as though you are leaving but only step outside and don't actually leave the vicinity of your home. Always isolate your dog from the kitchen when you are away to avoid him getting rewarded for stealing food when you're gone.

Dogs are opportunists and many will try anything once. Does your dog jump up and steal food off of your kitchen counters or table? Has he become so brazen as to do it when you are in the room? If so, you have a bona fide counter surfer!
Dog counter surfing is a behavior that, in itself, is very rewarding. The dog smells something good up high and decides to put his paws up to investigate closer. When he discovers that the enticing aroma is coming from food that is reachable, he takes a bite. One bite alone isn't sufficient so, the dog goes back for more and proceeds in eating his fill. If we understand that dogs do what is rewarding, we can understand how a dog will continue to steal food until it is no longer rewarding. The danger lies in the fact that he may eat something that can be life threatening or, if the behavior continues, the owner may get fed up and decide to get rid of the dog. Either scenario is far less than desirable.
So, how do we stop the counter surfing?