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This sounds counter-intuitive, but what if you made it easier for him to get on that counter? He's more curious than anything. If you make his approach to the counter predictable (easiest path because there's a table or tree or something), perhaps he won't plot blind jumps to counter he cannot see. You might be able to erect simple barriers to allow him to watch from a safe distance.
One of the more effective barriers I used was a bin with water in it. She would have to walk through the water to get to the other side of the sink where I was butchering meat to prepare her raw food. She wanted to see what I was doing but she respected the barriers I placed in her way.
She was welcome, most of the time, on the sink counter. Except when I was making up a batch of her raw food. Then I would place the bin to block her path.
I did however block her from the stove counter. Most of the time she wasn't interested while I was cooking. She wanted to get up there after I finished cooking. She wanted to clean any splatter and the trivet. She forced me to keep a clean stove. But if I did want to keep her out of my cooking, I blocked her path with her timed feeders. She could see what I was doing. But she knew she wasn't welcome to join me.
I wish she was that polite when I wasn't in the kitchen. She would get up there when I wasn't watching her. It was far easier to change my own behavior (e.g. keep a clean stove) than to change hers.
One of the more effective barriers I used was a bin with water in it. She would have to walk through the water to get to the other side of the sink where I was butchering meat to prepare her raw food. She wanted to see what I was doing but she respected the barriers I placed in her way.
She was welcome, most of the time, on the sink counter. Except when I was making up a batch of her raw food. Then I would place the bin to block her path.
I did however block her from the stove counter. Most of the time she wasn't interested while I was cooking. She wanted to get up there after I finished cooking. She wanted to clean any splatter and the trivet. She forced me to keep a clean stove. But if I did want to keep her out of my cooking, I blocked her path with her timed feeders. She could see what I was doing. But she knew she wasn't welcome to join me.
I wish she was that polite when I wasn't in the kitchen. She would get up there when I wasn't watching her. It was far easier to change my own behavior (e.g. keep a clean stove) than to change hers.