Clear the counters your dog can actually reach
Dog-proofing a kitchen starts with an honest look at nose height, not human eye height. A medium dog standing on hind legs can sweep a surprising stretch of counter, and a determined dog will drag a stool or nudge a chair to reach further. Move bread, butter, cheese, cooked meat and fruit bowls to high shelves or closed cupboards, and never leave a cooling roast, a butter dish or a plate of bones unattended while you answer the door. Cooked bones deserve special attention because they splinter, so scrape plates straight into a secured bin instead of stacking them by the sink. If your dog has already scored from one corner of the counter, that corner is now a habit, so keep it completely bare for several weeks until the checking behaviour fades.
Lock away the foods and chemicals that can harm him
The theft problem and the hazard problem share the same cupboards. Grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, chocolate, sugar-free sweets and gum, raw yeast dough, and coffee grounds can all seriously harm a dog, yet they often sit in a low pantry or an open fruit basket. Move them behind a child latch, and do the same for dishwasher pods, oven cleaner, bleach sprays and bin liners stored under the sink. Fit a latch or a pedal bin with a locking lid for kitchen waste, because yesterday's packaging, skewers, foil and chicken carcasses smell like food to a dog. Check the floor after every meal prep too, since a dropped grape or onion slice under the kickboard is easy for you to miss and easy for your dog to find.
Give scavenging nowhere useful to go
Barriers work best when they remove the reward rather than just blocking the dog. Use a baby gate or a closed door while you are cooking with hot oil, carrying full pans, or unloading shopping bags onto the floor, and teach a solid settle on a mat just outside the kitchen doorway so your dog has a paid job instead of hovering underfoot. Feed meals and chews in that same settled spot, away from the cooker, so the kitchen itself stops being the place where food appears. Sweep and wipe surfaces after cooking, store pet food in a sealed container inside a cupboard rather than in an open sack by the back door, and take full trash bags out promptly instead of leaving them by the bin overnight.
When a kitchen raid means a vet call
Most counter theft ends with a messy floor and a guilty look, but some thefts need prompt veterinary advice even before symptoms show. Call a vet straight away if your dog has eaten chocolate, grapes or raisins, onions, sugar-free products, raw dough, cooked bones, or any cleaning chemical, and take the packaging with you so the vet can see exactly what was taken and how much is missing. Do the same if you see repeated vomiting, drooling, a swollen or painful belly, wobbling, or frantic pawing at the mouth after a raid. Do not wait for a quiet dog to prove he is fine, because several kitchen hazards get harder to deal with as time passes. Give relatives you pick access to his profile via KinsLe Family Sharing, so chosen family members can open the profile of the dog whose never-feed hazards fill your latched cupboards.