Invisible line / border

[MungoPungo]

Hi,
I would like to eventually train my dog to stay out of the kitchen preparation area when I am cooking (We have an open plan kitchen/diner) as she likes to be very close and sit on or around my feet and I’m worried that one day I’ll trip over her and spill some boiling water on her or something. However I don’t mind so much if I’m just in there making a cup of tea etc. and obviously don’t mind her wandering in on her own. Is there a way I could indicate that “at this moment in time you’re not allowed in”. I was wondering about putting down a small mat and using that as an indication of a threshold she now can’t cross. But then I’m thinking that she may well just pick up the mat and run off with it and chew it.
She is just a puppy, and obviously this will take time and a lot of patience to train, but in some ways I want to think about it now and maybe make a start because they can still start to learn things even at this age, with a lot of repetition and get into good habits.
The difficulty is the inconsistency of what I’m asking of her. The “sometimes you’re allowed in kitchen and sometimes you’re not” which is why I was wondering about a physical indication (eg a mat) but then I can’t see this working either because she will pick it up.
Maybe there isn’t a solution. It’s just something I’m thinking ahead about. Maybe she might just learn that when I say “out of the kitchen” she has to stay out, but that is harder for her, I think, than having a physical signal she can see that will tell her “now I’m not allowed in the kitchen”. But I can’t think of a physical symbol.
Any ideas of how to achieve this? Or Perhaps I should abandon the idea of training this?

 

[JoanneF]

I think a mat is a good idea. Even better if you could train her to lie on a towel that you can fold up and take with you if you are going to another place.

I do get your point that she will pick it up and play with it but I think with consistency your training will pay off.

I think you could adapt the principles in this video.

 

[JudyN]

I've taught my dog 'out of here' with no problem, but then I shut the stairgate because otherwise he'd probably come back in purely so he could get another reward for leaving again. At least then I don't have to worry aobut him sneaking back in again when I'm not looking. But it's always worth trying to train an alternative!

One way to avoid her playing with the mat is not to worry too much on training this while she's very young - when probably won't have the self-control to stay out of the kitchen for any length of time anyway. A tiny bit of training when she's in a calmer mood, then removing the mat/towel before she decides it would make a good toy, would stop it developing into a habit.

 

[Mad Murphy]

At training with Murphy we used a folded towel which means you can take it anywhere with you and the dog knows thats his safe place.
With Benny I used to say óut of the kitchen' and he would back up until his little paws just touched the strip where the living room carpet changed to the kitchen lino!

 

[Aurora Pets]

We also wanted to train this, we started with "out" and when the dogs were sat at the doorway of the kitchen or went to their beds we gave them a treat. If they crossed the line whilst cooking we repeated saying out and then they had to wait for a treat.

Now our boy goes straight to his bed where he can see us when we start cooking and our girl sits at the kitchen doorway, she will sometimes test her luck but if we say out she runs to the kitchen doorway sometimes we then treat them both and sometimes not.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

I just use a guiding hand on my dogs when they are young (they are still pups but not,if you know what I mean). As they walk in to the space,while they are still walking I guide their head around and turn them around and say..go on..giving them some gentle taps on their back end. When they keep walking I ruffle their hair and praise them. I find for training this its good to mix it up using different places around the house. I've found that its also important to welcome them into a space as well,it helps with the other side of the training. Now I just say ..go on..a ruffle and praise and they happily just move on. Some dogs pick it up quickly,while others it as taken some time to achieve but its key to stay nice and calm.

 

[JudyN]

Bear in mind that dogs don't have a sense of 'right' and 'wrong', only of what works for them and what doesn't work for them. So if, for example, you're on the far side of the kitchen and there's a bit of chicken close to the door, and she sees her opportunity for a smash and grab, she's not been 'naughty', she's been resourceful So take that big stick... and hit yourself over the head with it for giving her the opportunity

This can be influenced by breed (and height, of course - she might not be able to reach the worktops) - in my case, my dog is a lurcher and they were bred to be stealthy conniving poachers' dogs so I fully expect him to take opportunities if he can.

 

[Buddy1]

We have a large dog with a very long reach and, I am embarrassed to say, owners who seem to be inept at grasping that fact! Hence why he has stolen rather a lot of food in his time. I have also tripped over him in the kitchen; quite a feat not to notice a 37kg dog sat right next to you, but I seemed to manage it.
I think training a dog to settle on a mat is a really useful tool and something I wish we had started sooner. We use a door mat as we have wooden flooring and the mat does not slide underneath him. There are many dog training books that teach settle, but one that is quite user friendly and teaches how to train settle on a mat is ‘Calm Down!’ by Beverley Courtney.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

@JudyN....they are ace are lurchers,they make the Artful Dodger look like a saint.

 

[Biker John]

I'm not suggesting you do it, but I accidently taught Folly to keep out of the kitchen when I'm cooking. In the 8 years I have had her I have twice set the smoke alarm off, she now is happy to be in the kitchen while I make a brew or snack but as soon as I start cooking she wants to go outside. Yes even when its raining or cold which for a Whippet says a lot. And JudyN, I think all sight hounds are the same, I'm sure that Whippets get their name as any food around they will whip it.

 

[JudyN]

'Whip-its' - I love it!

 

[MungoPungo]

Thanks for all your responses about what worked for you. It’s very helpful. I think what I will use is a mat and “out”. I think I’ll use a different mat to the one I use to try to get her to “settle” on in pubs and cafés, because I want her “settle mat” to be a place where she has to stay put on it till I say she can go. So I want to use a different mat for the kitchen border thing because I don’t mind if she gets up off it and walks away as long as she doesn’t walk forward toward me in the kitchen.
I like your idea of it being foldable so I can take it to other places and use it there. That will be very useful for when my elderly in-laws look after her sometimes for us, because I don’t want them tripping over her in the kitchen which they could easily do as their mobility, hearing and eyesight aren’t so great these days. I might use a door mat or some vet bedding so it grips to the floor. I think she might be less likely to run off with it then. Maybe the vet bedding might be more transportable. It’s also a different texture to anything else she has so hopefully she’ll begin to associate it with a no-go border and learn the word “out” as well.
It’s going out take a lot of training! Ugh! I’ll need a lot of patience! Ha ha!

 

[JudyN]

If you run out of patience, and don't want to set her up to fail while you're training (unfair to expect her to stay out for a half-hour if you're cooking up a big pan of meat), I find freestanding gates are invaluable.

 

[MungoPungo]

Oh that’s a very good idea. Like you say, there may be times I really need to get something in the oven under time pressure and won’t have time and/or patience for dog-training. Can anyone recommend a good one? I have a 102cm wide access from dining area into kitchen. It’s not a proper doorway, wall one side and edge of kitchen cupboards another side. It would need to be easy for me to take up and down (I’m very impractical!) and not fall over if dog pushes against it.

 

[JudyN]

I bought this one recently, so my son could have his bedroom door open without having to keep his room Jasper-safe: Barkshire 2 Panel Folding Dog Gate 132 x 91cm on Sale I'm wondering if you'd need a wider one: Barkshire 3 Panel Folding Dog Gate - 136 x 61cm on Sale

(The latter is cheaper, so might be flimsier.)

How shove-proof they are I'm not sure as J is very respectful of barriers - he once got stuck in the kitchen because I left a mop bucket in the doorway, despite his legs being long enough that he could have stepped straight over it. He has worked out how to nose his way past the one that is supposed to keep him out of the cat's domain, but it does still slow him down...