# Teaching a dog to go away....



## LittleMoonRabbit (Jan 7, 2008)

Does anyone here have a command like "away" or "go"? If so, how did you teach it? I have a small dog and sometimes she just gets in the way... she's underfoot and I almost trip on her, or she's jumping like a mexican jumping bean all around me because she wants my attention or something I have in my hand, or I am trying to watch TV and she's trying to start a game with me... is there a way that I can teach her to give me some space on command? Do I have to designate a particular spot to send her to, or can I just have her back up like 5 feet? I would love to hear what people here have to say about this!


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## Annamarie (Oct 14, 2007)

i taught my dog to back up by saying "back!" and moving towards him. when he jumped back I would reward him. i've also taught him to "go to your room" lol... which sends him to his crate when he's being annoying.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

That's a common problem in the kitchen when we're trying to fix supper and there they are... underfoot. They know we're clumsy and will drop that food sooner or later! My guys know the down "Stay" command and I have them go to their corners in the kitchen. Down stays take alot of practice...putting them on a spot and enforcing the stay every time they 'break' but, eventually they learn that stay means stay.
Start with a very short stay somewhere comfortable and where she can see you. Don't try to fix an elaborate lunch and train at the same time. 
At first, you'll be going back to her every 5-10 seconds because she will probably break her stay but, it gets better with time/practice.


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

I have the "move" command. I just taught it by walking up to the dog and getting in its path until the dog moved instinctively. I do also use the "back up" command, which I taught the same way Annemarie did. >^^;<


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

Ours know "go lay down" which really means, go be anywhere but near me. We'd just say "Go lay down" in a stern voice and give them a nudge with the foot. Then just ignore. If they persist, a little growl and a hard stare is enough to make 'em turn and leave.

They also know "move" which means get out of my way or you'll get stepped on. They learned that by me saying "Move" in a stern voice and anyone who didn't move actually got their toes stepped on if they happened to be where my foot needed to go. They learn pretty quick. We walk around dogs laying on dog beds and such. But, if a dog is loitering in the kitchen or just generally getting in the way, we don't walk around them. We're the alpha's - they move for us. Not the other way around.


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## mom2kdg (Jan 12, 2007)

We use "back up". We did this when he would normally back up and just added the command. Now we tell him to back up or go lay down (like the last post, anywhere but here) and it seems to work.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

We use "out!" which means she had to leave the kitchen. She pretty much figured this one out by tone of voice, and we just reinforced it by praising when all 4 feet were out of the kitchen.

We also use back, which I taught w/ a clicker. I would say "back" and wait quietly. Any movement back, even just a shift in weight, was clicked and treated. Eventually she's gotten to where she takes several steps back...very handy when I'm trying to do something on the floor (say eating salsa at the coffee table) and she keeps attempting to stick her nose it.

As for walking, I basically just wouldn't stop. If she got underfoot she was gently scooted to the side w/ my foot (I didn't look at her the whole time to avoid encouraging getting underfoot by giving her attention). I'm glad I did that when she was tiny so she learned to not trying to walk through my legs when I was walking then...I don't think I could scoot her out of the way with my foot anymore.


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## Shanette Peters (Jan 14, 2008)

I have taught her 'back','bed'(kennel) ,'go lay down'(seperate from lay down), and 'excuse me' (gets her to step aside). 
To teach her 'back' - i'd step toward her and say back then if she backed up I'd praise her. (this one i also used on walks, if she got in front of me i'd say back to get her back to my side then heel/by me depending which side I wanted her on, now I don't even have to say anything sometimes i just stomp my foot and she backs up.) for this one I also used the clicker sometimes.
To teach her Bed -I'd direct her to it after saying it then once she is there I'd say 'bed,then a praise' for this one I also used the clicker training...sometimes with treats. 
To teach her go lay down - I'd say it then with using a leash I'd take her a couple steps away then put her in a lay down position then praise her. over time I didn't have to use the leash. 
To teach her 'excuse me' - I'd say it then keep myself moving and she'd have no choice but to step aside, then after a while when i say it she'd step aside then i'd keep going. 
Don't get me wrong I'm not a trainer, this is just what has worked for me and my dog. I wish you all the best, Good Luck! Don't give up!


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

My dogs know the commands "Bed" or "Kennel up" for when they are in the house and we need them out of the way...They also know "move it" for when they are getting under foot...this simply means go somewhere else but under my feet!!Haha! 

Bed was taught by 'marking' the bed with treats, and leading the dog there, saying "Bed", and then "Stay" which they already knew well. When they had stayed for a few moments I praised and released them from the 'bed'...after a while I didn't have mark the bed with treats anymore, nor use the stay command once they got there. Kennel up was much the same, except I would close the kennel for a few moments and then release them by opening it. 

"Move It" I taught by simply shuffling my feet so I wouldn't actually step on them but kept going, and said move it, move it, move it, until they got out of my way...usually they moved rather quickly once they realized I wasn't stopping for them! Once they moved I reward and praised! If only other owners who are always getting tripped by their dogs realized that simply shuffling their feet while maintaining foward movement will teach their dog that they will NOT move for them! I hate getting tripped by my dog-pet peeve!!


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## Dogstar (May 11, 2007)

My experience is that it is about a thousand times easier to teach a dog TO do something than not to do something- and you can achieve the second by training a behavior incompatible with whatever you want them NOT to do. For example, if I want Mal to not jump on people when they come in the door, it's fr easier to teach him to sit automatically for petting* rather than try and explain "you can greet these people excitedly and they will pet you if you don't jump". 

So, if you want your dog out from underfoot, the easiest way *I* have found is to teach them to go to a specified place. Most people teach this with a kennel informally and the dog learns it through routine. You can also use a dog bed, a mat, or even just a post-it note on the floor. 

I teach this through shaping- I find it's a great first behavior to try and train with a clicker, even if you have no eperience with the clicker. Lizzie has a placemat and the other two dogs have bath mats- these aren't their beds, just markers for where I want them to be in a given space- the mats are more portable than beds, fold up smaller, and are easier to take with me when we go places.

When I want the guys out from underfoot, I put out the mats (okay, realistically, because I am a lazy person, my mats stay out. Mal's (the biggest) is under my desk, Lizzie's is on the sofa (it's easiest to work with her when she's at knee height since she's so small, plus she's less liable to creep if there's clear boundaries like the edge of the couch) and Indy's is in front of the door onto the porch. 

The Training Levels has "Go to mat" as one of their level criteria - http://dragonflyllama.com/ DOGS/Levels/LevelBehaviours/Traininglevels.html


Here's Shirley Chong's article on teaching "settle"
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/settle.txt
(not quite the same thing)

Grace Johnson's "Teaching a dog to go to a mat" (needs some knowlege of clicker training)
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/mat.txt

If that one's confusing, I'll write a version for non clicker addicts. 


*I taught this and then I untaught it to teach him to stand for the conformation ring, and the jumping promptly came back. Oops.


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