That's why I trained our Gizmo not to cross the space behind the island. I do all my prep on that granite-counter island, situated so that the range and the sink are all right there to hand. Gizmo usually perches just at the end of the island, watching with his biggest "feed-me–I'm-so-neglected" eyes. Puss In Boots has got nothing on Gizmo! LOL

But, he's the very bestest best little dog and stays out of the space between the island and the range. So, he's never underfoot in the critical workspace.