Hi Myra,
This may sound a little obvious but the best way to prevent your dog from stealing food off tables and benchtops is to make sure there is no food available for them to take. A dog’s instinct tells them that if food is left unattended then obviously no-one wants it and it’s free to take. Remember that dogs are opportunist, scavengers by nature and this is how they are built to survive! So even if we walk away from our food for just a few moments, that may be enough for a dog to think that the food is free to take……this can also explain why dogs will raid the rubbish bin/trash can.
Another thing you can do is teach him to stay out of the kitchen when you are in there preparing food….my website TheOnlineDogTrainer.com shows you very clearly how to achieve this…maybe take a quick look as we have a trial offer available…All the Best Doggy Dan