Is your dog one of those that is so excited to get outside that he runs out the door in front of you? If so, you will be glad to learn how to stop this problem. Happily, you can easily learn how to correct this behavior with some practice.
- Start this training with your house’s inner doors-not the front door. Since the front door is too tempting, it is a lot easier to being the training with an inner door. A dog with this behavior problem will try to get ahead of you so he can pass through the door before you can. You shouldn’t let this happen-instead command his with a firm tone of voice to sit and stay. Once he is in position, make sure you give him a reward and lots of affection and praise-make him feel good about the training. Make sure he is relaxed in the sit position long enough that is not acting like a coiled spring, ready to launch up and run out the doorway. OK, when he relaxes, go ahead and open the door. Once he sees the door opening he will probably leave his sit position and lunge towards it to run through it. This will probably happen at first, but don’t let it upset you. Keep working on getting him to sit and wait until you are sure he has it down.
- Once you have retrained him to stay in the sit position when you open the door, try to open it just wide enough for you to pass through. Opening the door only partway is a little less temptation for him to try to follow. He may try to get up from his sit and stay position, but quickly return him to his spot and again command him to sit and stay. Keep working on this exercise until you can pass through the door without him leaving the sit position.
- Now itt is time to try a harder test-the front door. Since he knows fun and adventure wait for him through that door, he will probably be much more eager to cross through it. Therefore, be ready and put his leash on him before going to the front door and opening it. If yours is a big dog a good idea is to attach his leash to the doorknob- instead of you having to yank on him. The leash will stop him much easier than your arm, and it’ll teach him not to try that a second time. Go back to the above step in case he tries to run out.
- Keep repeating the training several times daily until it is well learned. To really reinforce this behavior, every time you come to a door (or curb or a boundary) make sure your dog sits and waits for your command to move forward. Making your dog stop at each curb is also is relevant to boundary training your dog.
Well, now you know that it is a simple process to train your dog not to run through the doors ahead of you. If you haven’t previously obedience trained your dog, this article should have showed you that obedience training is a priority to enjoying a fun and trouble free relationship with your doggy. For more articles on solving behavior problems and for good dog training advice please click here- www.BehaveDoggy.com.
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