Stop Your Dog From Running Out the Door

It was easy to understand why a dog would want to get through the front door and go outside. But if your dog is running out of the door ahead of you this is a behavior problem you should learn to control. A dog running out like needs some training so that he does not go out the door until he has your permission. This is important in order to avoid him possibly running out and getting hurt or in some kind of trouble.

By utilizing some basic obedience tricks he has hopefully already been taught -sit and stay- just follow these tips.

* Begin the training with an interior doorway. Since the front door is too tempting, it is a lot easier to being the training with an inner door. Approach a closed door somewhere in your house-bedroom, den, whatever-and I bet that before you can even open it you'll notice your wayward dog trying to get in front of you so he can run through that door before you. You shouldn't let this happen-instead command his with a firm tone of voice to sit and stay. Praise him when he assumes the correct position. Wait a bit before opening the door, so he gets relaxed in the sit position, rather than just ready to spring up again the moment you reach for the doorknob. 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. If your dog does try to pass you and go out the door, try to block him using your legs. Use a firm tone of voice and command him to sit and stay once again. Once he has resumed the sit praise him for sitting and staying. You'll have to repeat this exercise for perhaps 15 or so minutes per session several times a day.

* 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. Your dog should not be getting up from his sit position until he is told it is OK by you. By only opening the door a little bit, that opening will be less tempting for him to bolt through. 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. You will have to keep repeating this stage till he demonstrates he has learned to stop running through the doorway.

* It is time to try a harder test-the front door. Your dog knows that fun and adventure await on the other side of that particular door, so don't be surprised if he is harder to control than at the other doors. Be sure you are ready by placing his leash on him before you go to the front door. For a larger breed, it is a smart idea to put one end of the leash around the front doorknob, so that if he does charge out, he won't get very far. Not only will the doorknob trick stop him in his tracks, he'll have some food for thought before trying that again. The good thing is you won't have to worry about him pulling your arm out of the socket.

* If your dog has really learned his sit and stay lesson well from the previous indoor exercises, he might behave just fine. However, if he does run through, just go back a step and keep working on that some more. Keep repeating the exercise at the other doors in the house, and lavish him with praise and affection and a reward each time he refrains from trying to run through doorways ahead of you. He will soon learn that even if he doesn't lunge through a door, that by listening to you-the leader-he will still get the fun of playing.

If you want to use the best online dog obedience training program to train your dog at home, you should check out-Secrets to Dog Training.


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