Why is my dog always under my feet
Why is my dog always under my feet. Your dog looks pretty young and goofy (I like goofy BTW). Some breeds are “velcro” dogs- always wanting to be near you. It sounds like you have him with you a lot as well. My dog is like that and it’s not a dominance thing, he just feels it’s his job to always be looking out for me. And it is!
The way I trained my dog to watch out for me moving around was to step on him. Yep, just slightly step on him. Not hard- don’t hurt him, just let him know it’s in his best interest to watch your movements and quickly move out of the way. The easiest times are when he’s walking in front of you and slows down- step on his hind feet enough to pinch him a little and pretend it’s no big deal. Give him a slightly exasperated look and say “Move!”.
Step on his feet just a little bit when he’s laying down in your path, or slide your foot under some part of him a little bit as you are moving and scare him a bit- don’t kick him. Don’t stop or break your stride. Don’t ever put weight on him, but let him think you’re so unconcerned that you just might. He will learn quickly… It’s not about reward or punishment, it’s about a young dog learning consequences.
My dog is now 7 1/2 and he’s a very good boy. He generally gets out of the way. But, we are human and dogs are dogs and we all make mistakes. For me it’s enough that he genuinely tries to anticipate my movements and not to get in my way and I don’t mind if he spaces out once in a while.
As other folks have pointed out, this will take some patience. The liberal use of treats is always useful. I’ve found big bags of tiny treats, about the size of M&Ms, and I try to keep a bag in my pocket.
In my opinion, training to heel is the easiest way to start. Use a fairly short lead, held in your right hand, with your dog at your left. Keep a treat or two in your closed left hand. Start walking, with your “treat laden” hand at a dog-convenient level and tell your dog, “Heel!” There’s a pretty good chance your dog will follow along quite nicely, with an inquisitive nose tucked into your left hand. Reward and praise liberally.
Do something similar with “sit.” Don’t forget to give your dog as much face time as you can stand, but only when he does what he’s supposed to do. (I’ve let my dogs lick my forehead in preference to my face. They’ve all liked it!)
Now, this is something that a lot of people have regarded as silly, but I keep finding it works. If I accidentally bump into my dog (or step on toes, or something like that), I’ll tell him, “Sorry!” and give him a pat or an ear scratch.
Yeah, it sounds silly, but I’ve become convinced that dogs have the concept of an apology. Over the years, we’ve often had two dogs in our “family”, and we’ve watched them rough-housing in the back yard. Samoyeds can get into some pretty rough-and-tumble play, and sometimes some go a bit overboard. When one has accidentally hurt the other one in a minor way (knocking the other one while playing “dog tag” was pretty common), the “offending” dog invariably stops, sniffs the others’ nose and gives a quick slurp.” This is followed by some tail wagging, play bowing, and either more play or a good snooze.
How to Train your dog to not be under your feet
Your dog needs leash/obedience training. I use a cane to gently push the dog into place while walking. This helps them learn what is an acceptable distance to keep. Then when we are in the house, they have learned to give me a little space. Another thing to train is sit/stay.
Have them sit/stay, but when you go to another room call them to you and put them on sit/stay in that room. Have treats in your pocket to reward. Then it becomes a game! You an also train to ‘go to your place’. To do this you have a designated matt or little throw rug. Just reinforce ‘this is your place’. You can use this when people come to the coor as well. Your dog is doing this because he senses your irritation and he is trying to calm you.
Dogs find physical touch reassuring, this is why they make such great therapy/service animals. What your dog is trying to say is he is feeling ignored, and he wants to be with you. He needs reassurance. The training helps give him the positive attention he wants, without rewarding the clingy behavior. If you would play with him for 10–15 minutes when you get home this would really calm him down. If you have kids then include them in this time.
Our big guy Stryder lays in front of the stove when I start cooking breakfast. Every day. I have learned to give him his piece of cheese right away and he will leave me alone to cook in peace. Otherwise, he plops down in front of the stove. Being 95 pounds he is a bit of a problem to lean over to get to the stove! He is 10 years old and just as stubborn as me, so I pony up the cheese first thing and he goes back to the couch.