On Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:22:26 +0000, Mike wrote:

A friends dog .. a delightful black Cocker spaniel, has found his way
past the fridge door and now enjoys fine dining whenever he wants ...
nearly.

Discipline the dog. If you (or your friend) let it get away with this
behaviour it'll start exploring what else it can get away with and become
even worse. Dogs are pack animals and they must be kept at bottom of the
human family "pack"(*). If someone in the family ends up below the dog (in
the dogs eyes) they are quite likely to get hurt when they try to reassert
their authority over the dog.

(*) This doesn't mean cruelty or severe punishment but firm and consistent
discipline on it's behavior from all the family members.

--
Cheers
Dave.