What rules do you have for dogs in your home?

Look at Bu's tail wag while he waits for Sara to use her treats to help him stay put.

Some people have a lot of rules to feel safe and comfortable in their homes. Some people have none! Most of us, I think, are right in the middle, whether we admit it or not.

I have only 2 big rules for dogs in my home:

1. Don't bug the cat

2. Stay out of the kitchen

Of course dogs want to be in the kitchen! That's where all the yummy stuff is stored and people are clumsy, they drop things all the time! Any dog worth his salt is going to keep an eye on things in there so they don't miss any tasty opportunities.

My kitchen is small, you can have the oven open or the dishwasher but not both! There's only one entrance and it's right near both the refrigerator and the pantry cupboard. Two people can work in there but you better be good friends to avoid spillage.

Now, you could make a long step-by-step training plan to teach dogs about the kitchen boundary but that could take a while before you have success and, if you're like me, you might not follow through if the relief was so far off.

I've used a simple 2 step process and most dogs have gotten it pretty quickly:

1. Put a mat down just outside the threshold to the kitchen

2. Any time the dog is on that mat I feed the dog frequently enough so they don't get up

Here are some things you should know about those 2 steps, though:

• If the dogs come into the kitchen I stop working, protect any food they might steal, and wait until they go back to the mat

• Some dogs need you to put a gate up at first to prevent them coming into the kitchen until they learn how rewarding the mat can be

• At first the dog might just stand on the mat and I would feed for that. As the dog gets more relaxed they might sit or lie down and I'll pay little jackpots for those higher value offerings

• I don't say anything to the dog. I let them figure out what action they can take (getting on the mat) that makes the treats come

• I'm not super strict about how much of the dog's body is on the mat. If you have a paw on and the rest of you is lounging on the cool floor, as long as you're not keeping me from opening the fridge, I'll pay for that

• If you have multiple dogs in the home you need to be much more thoughtful about how you train this and I encourage you to use gates, tethers, or crates to start. The kitchen is high value, the treats are high value, the work is new and I don't want any dogs feeling that they have to guard the food from anyone. (Cats and small children can also fit in the extra exciting or nosy category here so please take extra caution with them around, too.)

What's the simplest way you've taught your dog something? Let me know on Instagram or Facebook!

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