How to keep your dog out the kitchen

How to keep the dog out of the kitchen

A very common issue that people are faced with is how to keep the dog out of the kitchen and other certain areas in the house.

In this video you'll meet Stanley. He’s a great Wheaten Terrier. However, he loves nothing more than to get on people’s feet in the kitchen, especially when they’re trying to make dinner.

Here, I demonstrate a very simple way of showing your dog exactly where it is and isn’t allowed. To Stanley’s owners, it seems like either he doesn’t know where exactly he is allowed, or he doesn’t care. In this case it's probably a little bit of both.

Make it clear

Firstly, we establish the line that demarks where the dog can and can't go. In our minds we know exactly where the line is, but the dog can’t really see it. So to make it really clear to the dog, all we do is put some sticky tape on the floor. This is absolutely crucial. Now there may be a very obvious line for your dog, such as a change in the floor surface, from wood to carpet. But if there isn’t, you need to make a clear dividing line using tape. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be forever.

Then we encourage him to come in. The dog reacts immediately, knowing there is something there. Without even really trying, and the line’s only just gone down, he knows. Then I repeat “Outside. Out of the kitchen… Good boy.”

I then drop some food on the floor to demonstrate just how clear the message is to Stanley. Most dogs won't come over the line, it's hugely powerful. I continue with “Out of the kitchen. Out of the kitchen… Good boy. Good boy.” When he’s out of the kitchen, we praise him.

Now, what we don’t want to do is get him to think that everytime he comes in here, if we chase him out, he gets a treat. So, what we do is we can him, just give him a “Good boy”.

Take a zero tolerance approach

Remember, we don't want him in the kitchen at all. He’s not allowed to touch that line with his foot, because what dogs love to do is edge further and further into the kitchen. The message must be clear: you don’t even stand on the line. And, you can see you can use any sort of energy to drive him out, even just stamping your feet a little bit, moving towards him, “shhh shhh”, “out of the kitchen, out of the kitchen”.

And I’m not looking at him at all: you look at him, you invite him. So, I deliberately ignore him. If the dog becomes tenderly persistent, coming inside, across the line, then just isolate him, for a very short time. This will get him to get him to realize that he’s not allowed to be there, and if he continues to come in, he will be outside then.

As with any training, it’s going have maximum effect only if your dog listens to you because you’re the pack leader. Make sure you continuously implement the 5 Golden Rules.

In essence…

Giving your dog a calm, consistent consequence of actions will mean that your dog eventually gets the message and is more than happy to stay on the right side of the line.

Looking for additional dog training resources? Find out more about how I've trained over 88,000 dogs here!

Or, if you have a puppy, get started with my Puppy Coach training program!