Shadowing is information, not naughtiness
A dog who follows you to the kitchen, the bathroom door and the hallway is usually doing one of three things: keeping track of his most important person, hoping the movement means food or a walk, or feeling mildly uneasy when the distance grows. Puppies and recently rehomed dogs shadow hardest, because you are still their whole map of a new home. Older dogs who suddenly start following after years of independence deserve a closer look, since pain, failing senses or confusion can make a dog cling. Ordinary shadowing in a healthy, settled dog is not a fault to correct with scolding; driving him away teaches him that distance from you is stressful, which is the opposite of the relaxed independence you want.
Reward the bed, not the doorway
Start by making the place you want him to stay genuinely worth staying in. Put a comfortable bed where he can see household life without being underfoot, and pay rent on it: treats appear there when he settles, a chew is delivered there, calm praise happens there. When he follows you to another room, avoid turning it into an event. Walk back, gesture him to the bed, reward the settle and carry on. The lesson is geography, not obedience for its own sake: good things rain down on the dog lying on his bed, while trailing you produces a quiet walk back and nothing interesting at all.
Practise tiny separations until they bore him
Build distance in slices so small he barely registers them. Stand up and sit down again. Step to the doorway and back. Close the bathroom door for a few seconds, then a little longer, returning each time before he gets up to investigate, and staying matter-of-fact when you reappear so your return is not a celebration he has been waiting on. Leave a sniffing game or a lickable treat smeared on a mat in the room behind you, so your leaving starts to predict entertainment staying with him. If he can relax while you make tea in another room, stretch to a shower, then to working in a different room for part of the morning, always at the pace where he stays settled.
Know when following is a symptom, not a habit
Escalating clinginess alongside panting, pacing, loss of appetite or broken sleep is worth a vet visit, especially in a senior dog, because discomfort and cognitive change often show first as a dog who cannot let you out of sight. A dog who panics at closed doors, scratches to reach you or stops eating when separated needs a proper alone-time plan rather than more door practice. For the ordinary shadow, though, patience works: weeks of paid settles and boring departures add up to a dog who lifts his head, notes you leaving and puts it down again. If a session leaves you torn between stretching the distance and holding steady, put a follow-up question to KinsLe's Kinny; he answers using the KinsLe Answers library.