Ahhhhh! We constantly trip over him!

[smartrock]

It's definitely not something they "learn". Lark loves to check the dishes in the dishwasher to see if there's anything tasty remaining before they get washed. Chase, who is 8 sticks his head in the refrigerator every chance he gets. One or the other is usually either lying right between the stove and the sink or right in front of the sink on the dark blue rug where sometimes I do not even realize they are lying. Yep, it's a bad place if I have to drain pasta or otherwise move something hot from the stove to the sink. Plus, Chase's fat butt is right there blocking the cabinet with the cutting boards or most of my pans. I've gotten accustomed to working around them.

They also eat in the kitchen, so it would not work well to keep them out at all times except their own meal time. I spend so much time in the kitchen that if they weren't allowed in, they wouldn't be hanging out with me for much of the day. Sometimes it's a pain but I just deal with it so I can enjoy their company.

[MightyThor]

Some of my favourite moments are cooking in the evenings with Archie laying on the floor keeping me company, or wedged in between me and the counter (his personal favourite position).

That's Thor's favorite spot and I agree! I'm used to him being underfoot so I never step without thinking anymore. However we DID train 'go to bed' which used to mean his crate and now is literally the dog bed in the living room. If he's being especially obnoxious or I'm moving heavy/hot/sharp things around I'll tell him 'go to bed' and he'll sit there looking at me with his sad "you don't love me anymore" eyes. To Snowshoe's point, it's important to have this backup command for safety.

[ZoeysMommy]

Ive learned to manuver around the dogs, they are always under my feet. It takes practice but i havent tripped over one or kicked one in a few years.

I do allow Zoey (lab) in the kitchen but i also kick her out if i need to. If there is boiling water, hot oven, etc she has to go. She is a big girl and its a small kitchen

It takes time but figure out if you want him in there or not, if you dont mind then you need to very observant and watch below at all times or train him to stay out or to lay down in one spot

[Labradorks]

I actually like mine in the kitchen too. They generally lay down and watch me. So does the cat. The way my kitchen is situated, it's pretty easy for them to stay out of the way and they seem to gravitate toward the right spots. They always lick the dirty dishes; I've just gotten used to that. Sometimes they stick their faces in the refrigerator. If I am say, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, I usually kick them out. Actually, I get them tired at zero-dark-thirty, give them a special bone, and then kick them out. Otherwise, I'm generally OK with it. I did teach them out mostly because it's good to know!

[LucyTudeOn4Feet]

I wouldn't count on him learning on his own that you don't appreciate him under foot, or that there are times when it's unsafe. He IS learning now - learning that there are awesome things in the kitchen everywhere he sticks his nose. He's old enough for you to start shaping his behavior and teaching him good habits - the ones YOU want him to have.
If you don't mind him in the kitchen, give him a rug or mat that is his spot, somewhere off to the side, and teach him the word you want to use when it's time to be there.
Lead him there, and keep returning him there when he leaves it. Since he's young, his baby mind has a short attention span, he'll need to be patiently and matter-of-factly put back there from time to time. Then when he hits his teens, he may suddenly forget all this and you'll work on training it again.

[doubledip1]

Luna learned on her own because I didn't avoid her. If she was in the way, I would walk right into her until she moved. She learned quickly what "back up" and "out of the way" means. She's occasionally gotten splashed with hot water. She knows when the colander gets out she should go lay on her bed.

[barry581]

You mean like this??

[Georgia]

You mean like this??

Hilarious! Or this?

[Yolie]

Okay so we are new puppy owners. Boomer is 14wo LR and weighs 31 pounds as of last weekend.

He is very well behaved. Despite what everyone warned us about he doesn't chew everything in sight and is very calm. Because we are first time dog owners, the breeder selected a pretty docile, or 'soft' dog, for us and it has made his transition into our family a wonderful experience.

He is a kitchen hound. Always wanting to be where the family is and of course where the food is. My issue is he is always underfoot. If we are preparing food (our food) he is right there. We open the fridge, his head goes inside. We open the dishwasher his starts licking the plates. We open the trash compactor, his nose goes in deep and he starts sniffing away. We have learned to be careful not to catch the little guy's head in any of the doors.

We seem to constantly trip over him. He is like ninja dog that sneaks up behind us and gets bumped into.

Today I was getting a plate out of the microwave and I backed up, tripped over him, stumbled and stutter stepped, and luckily made it to the counter without dropping the plate. I barked out at him in spontaneous frustration and he went cowering into the den.

I guess I could use a gate to keep him out the kitchen but I dont really want to.
I assume he is just kinda oblivious, and I realize he is still so young.
Will he learn or grow out of being under foot as an adult? Or just mind/predict where we are a bit more?

First of all, I'm so jealous that Boomer doesn't chew everything. That is a GIFT.

I always describe my Onyx as a Ninja, too. One minute I see him go under the bed to go to sleep, the next minute he's right next to me in aother room. For a minute I thought he had someone cloned himself because he seems to be everywhere and I never hear him go from point A to point B! I've gotten use to it and now, I find it amusing. I'll never be alone again! LOL

[Doreen Davis]

Our trainer taught us to 'move through' our dogs and not around them so that they understand they need to get out of the way. Ours hang out, clean the dishes in the dw.........until Anthony steals a knife or fork.