Don't stand so close, pets (4,4)

I believe the answer is:

step back

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'don't stand so close' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'pets' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
an anagram of 'pets' is 'step' which is within the answer.
The remaining letters 'back' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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