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Training To Stay Out Of The Kitchen


Wendie

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9 years ago when I got my first greyhound, I spend the months leading up to his adopting reading all sorts of dog training books and of course, every book that was published about greyhounds.

 

He came home and turns out he walked perfectly on a leash, was scared of non-carpeted floors, had zero prey drive, and we flunked out of obedience class at 6 weeks :lol He learned "lay down" and didn't go in rooms he didn't belong and I considered him "trained" :lol

 

Friday night we brought a foster (to fail) dog home and it's suddenly very apparently how very very long ago it was that I read all those dog training books. This dog is about the polar opposite of Joe. Confident where Joe is shy, "naughty" where Joe is good.

 

Anyone care to give me some tips on how to keep him out of the kitchen? He has free roam of the rest of the house and our kitchen is smalllll. It also has two entrances and one of those is both too large for a gate and also leads to outside, so we couldn't totally block it even if we wanted. Any dogsitting dogs we've ever had here (and Daisy) just kind of took Joe's lead and steered clear (Joe is afraid of the floor, so he's never showed any interested) but the foster dog wants to hang out there and use it as a shortcut.

 

Right now I'm using barricades to show him where he can and cannot go and a firm "Eh eh" when he passes them and guiding him out with his leash if that doesn't work. So far, it doesn't seem to be clicking but it's only been two days.

 

So, GTers, save me a trip to the library - what are some pointers you have for me?

 

 

Forever in my Heart Joe T Greyhound, Charly Bear, Angel Daisy, and Katze & Buzz Kitty.

 

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It's simple if you follow two rules:

1) Remove rewards for unwanted behaviors. First, make sure that there is NO food available to him in the kitchen. Keep your counters clean and avoid any risk of counter-surfing or stealing food from the floor. Then, physically block his entry to the kitchen, and make the kitchen a very undesirable place to be. Every time you see him heading towards the kitchen, immediately body block him or walk into his space and use your body to guide him out. Then...

2) Reward the desired behaviors. As soon as his 4 feet exit the kitchen threshold, immediately say "Yes!" and toss a few treats backwards, away from the kitchen. This will reinforce the idea that being away from the kitchen is what generates rewards whereas being in the kitchen generates no rewards.

 

Dogs only perform behaviors that "work". If being in the kitchen generates no rewards, he won't want to be in there anymore. But if avoiding the kitchen generates rewards, then, he'll choose that behavior because it "works".

Edited by Giselle
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And here I am laying meat trails... to entice my girl INTO the kitchen. I'm using to have dogs underfoot in the kitchen and I find that I miss it. But mine won't go in the kitchen.

Edited by OwnedBySummer

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Lisa B.

My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer

Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance

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Every time you see him heading towards the kitchen, immediately body block him or walk into his space and use your body to guide him out.

 

This worked very well for me.

 

The first day my Hester arrived, as he explored the house he attempted to enter the kitchen. I walked toward him forcing him to back out of the kitchen. My body language was firm and upright. No harsh words or sounds. He hasn't set foot in the kitchen since. Our layout is open plan so he can see the action without entering, so floor plan could be a factor.

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Years ago, I was chatting with my mom while baking something. I used the edge of the counter to crack the eggs. Well... while looking at my mom, I cracked an egg and it didn't sound.... correct. My mom instantly starts LHAO and I look down to see Sammi with egg dripping down her face. Apparently, I had cracked the egg on her kissy spot. For the longest time, a raw egg in view on the counter kept her clear of it. She hated the sight of that egg!

 

Dogs only perform behaviors that "work". If being in the kitchen generates no rewards, he won't want to be in there anymore. But if avoiding the kitchen generates rewards, then, he'll choose that behavior because it "works".

Sammi's "reward" for wanting to be in the kitchen was getting to be with me (apparently, the world will collapse if she cannot see me 24/7 :lol) No matter how much I tried to correct her out of the room, she'd be right back in.

 

I solved her issue by dropping a dog bed out of my way in the kitchen area. She tries to get up under me or behind me at the counter, and I would lead her back to her bed. If she stayed on her bed, she got bits of what I was prepping to cook. If I had to correct her to the bed -because whatever I was prepping required closer inspection- then I ate it.

 

I learned pretty fast that she was calmer if she could see me.

She learned pretty fast that tripping me didn't produce noms.

 

Moved in with DF and he was having issues with Sammi just standing and staring in the kitchen. Occasional pitiful whines would be emitted. Told him, "she wants her bed" :blink: So I walked into the laundry room and brought the bed into the kitchen. (laundry room is HUGE and has a halfbath and also the computers the boys use, so Sammi had a bed in there). Dropped the bed down in the corner leading out the the dining room. She calmly went over and laid down facing us. :)

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giselle spelled it out nice and clearly. i would add going to his spot- either bed or crate after the reward for leaving the space. then reward again for going to his "spot".

 

your kitchen can't be smaller than mine- 6x9 unless it's a galley kitchen. for fosters believe it or not i keep them with me, gate closed and in the kitchen when i cook. this way i can teach them NOT to go into the fridge, not to counter surf, not to go near a hot stove and i even keep my garbage can out when i'm cooking. in a short time they seem to get the hang of it and i don't worry about their kitchen manners, they are established. it's a real service to some hounds and their future owners.

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Aluminum foil on the ground is a good deterrent. They also sell "scat mats" if it became a really big behavior problem. Mine recently decided to try to recover his clepto days and started counter surfing (he hadn't since he came home off the track), and we tied a can with pennies in it to a tempting tidbit, and now he pretty much steers clear of the kitchen, if you needed another idea!

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Just a note: If you can, try to accomplish both #1 AND #2. Just doing #1, without #2, often impedes efficiency and efficacy. For really good and precise training, we have to show the dog what works, as well as what won't work.

 

It's the difference between a highly skilled dog v.s. your regular ol' family dog. There's nothing wrong with the latter. I just think it's better to build smart, creative, responsive dogs that make other people go, "Wow!" ;)

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To add to what Giselle said, I always used the technique I picked up from Jean Donaldson's Culture Clash where the dog gets rewarded for laying down outside of the kitchen. However, in the future I will think more carefully about where I want my dog to lay down. Yes outside of the kitchen, but maybe not right outside. :lol

 

Unfortunately right outside of the kitchen in our current place is in the way of EVERYTHING. There's only one way in and out and with Zuri laying there, not only do I have to step over/around him, but he's blocking the access from the lr/dr space to the hallway into the bedroom so the other dogs get stuck. It's the DUMBEST spot ever to teach a dog to lie down. And it doesn't even keep him out of the kitchen anymore. :P He'll lay down out there when the gate is closed, but too many times of accidentally allowing him access to the cat food in the kitchen means he could care less any more about the rules he learned so long ago. Hint: Rewarding for laying down in his spot - wherever you choose - with canned cat food may be the smartest thing you ever do because cat food is apparently VERY high value. :lol

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Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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Guest Wasserbuffel

Exactly what Giselle said. Worked like a charm with my grey.

 

When she would come in while I was working I led her out, said "out" once we got to the carpet (we don't have a doorway), and rewarded her. If she stayed out for a few seconds I tossed her another treat until I worked her up to staying out the whole time I was working in the kitchen.

 

The training was also a fun process for each of us to learn what the other would/should do.

 

She learned that I would allow her to lay on the carpet with her hear on the linoleum watching while I worked. I wouldn't shoo her away, but I also didn't reward unless she was completely in the living room.

 

I learned that she's a clever little animal that will combine behaviors on her own to see what I'll reward. Early on I was working with raw meat. She was very interested in getting some in her mouth. She had been popping back into the kitchen every few minutes that day. At one point I noticed a much longer delay, and thought she had finally given up and lay down. I was wrong. She'd stopped coming back into the kitchen, sure, but she hadn't given up her meat quest. When I went to reward this long "out" I found her in the middle of the living room, ears up, eyes locked on the kitchen, and holding the most beautiful sit I hadn't asked for.

 

 

It's now three years later, and we're used to each other. Because she generally keeps out from under foot, and isn't a giant pest, she's allowed in the kitchen, and does occasionally get a taste of what we're working with; but she leaves and stays gone if we tell her to.

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