Teaching Dogs Not to Run Out the Door
The best way to persuade your dog not to dash through
doors is: do not let your dog make a successful dash
through the door. Sounds obvious -- but countless dog
people and their guests have accidentally let the dog
out the door, giving the dog a taste of freedom that
can be exhilarating, but fraught with danger. The dog
does not realize this, but he could get hit by a car,
get in a fight with another animal, get lost and hurt,
knock over children, not to mention alienate your
neighbors. Even after dogs who get hurt after an
escape fail to remember the connection between
door-darting and pain when spotting a new chance to
dash out the door.
When a dog is allowed to dash out the door, this act
reinforces the undesirable behaviors of ignoring the
owner, crossing thresholds ahead of the owner, running
out the door and running loose. Since the dog will
enjoy the excitement of running loose and the
opportunity to chase critters (and sometimes people)
outside, the act of running free is instantly
self-rewarding.
So do all you can to keep your dog from escaping,
including teaching all household members and guests to
not let the dog out -- and teaching the dog to sit and
stay when near exit doors.
Steps to take:
* Establish a pact with all family members and
housemates that everyone will keep the dog from
escaping out doors. This means training the people
and alerting all visitors to your home.
* Teach the Doggie Doorknob Rule. Explain to
everyone living or visiting your home, especially
children: do not turn the doorknob until you know
where the dog is, and you are sure the dog can't get
loose and run out the door.
* Tell visitors when they are preparing to leave your
home not to open the door until your dog is secured.
Make sure the dog is confined in another room, on a
leash by your side, or taught reliably to "stay" or
"wait."
* Do daily practice sessions to train the dog that he
can never go out the door without your express
permission. And/or take basic obedience classes,
which will help you learn to keep your dogUs attention
in an environment of distractions.
* Start by teaching the key commands of RSitS and
"Stay." Remember, you must first teach the dog what
the basic command words and hand signals mean before
you work on training him not to run out doors. Dogs
do not instinctively know what "Sit," "Stay," "Down"
mean; their owners need to teach them. Also, your dog
needs to have bonded with you before you begin
obedience training sessions, or else he will not pay
attention. First build your relationship with the
dog, learn how to be a leader to your dog (see the
Leadership tipsheets), teach him to pay attention to
you (see the Watch Me tipsheet) and that it is
rewarding to pay attention to you.
* During training sessions, do not have guests or
other distractions until your dog demonstrates
understanding and the need to obey the commands.
* Once the dog reliably obeys the basic commands, you
can begin introducing distractions so that your dog
will learn to listen to you even when there are other
people and distractions around. Also, practice the
commands in other locations, starting with other exit
doors in your house.
* Make sure the puppy or dog gets to relieve himself
before you start training sessions for sit and wait by
the door. It is not fair to the dog or effective
obedience training to practice when he really does
have to "go outside."
* If you don't have mental control, you have to have
physical control. So if your dog does not reliably
obey you yet, he needs to be on lead, crated or baby
gated away from exit doors.
* When guests arrive at your home, until your dog is
totally, reliably trained, it's a good idea to keep
your dog on a leash and by your side. That way, you
can more effectively instruct her to "stay," "get
back," "off" (which means no jumping). At the same
time, this will keep your dog from running out the
door.
* If you stop letting a dog escape out the door, and
you teach your dog proper behavior, the dog is likely
to stop trying to escape through doors. However, we
should never let our guard down.
Next: several techniques for keeping your dog from
darting through the door.
Be sure to read through all of them, because each one
contains valuable information.
(1)
* Before you walk to the front door, put your dog in
the "Sit" position far back from the door and tell him
to "Stay!" Extend your arm in a traffic-cop "Stop"
hand-signal. Walk towards the door.
* If she starts moving as you reach for the door
knob, put your hand out in a "Stop" signal and firmly
say "No...Stay!"
* If she gets up (don't wait until she follows you),
take her back to the original spot and place her back
in the "Sit" position. Firmly repeat the "Sit-Stay"
command, while using the "Stop" hand signal.
* Practice until you can open the door slowly, while
watching your dog, without your dog breaking the stay.
Teach the dog it is not acceptable, or rewarding, to
try to run to the door. But remember: even if the
dog gets the concept after practicing, the excitement
of seeing new people will tempt her to break the stay
command. Always watch your dogs.
(2a)
"Wait" is a less formal command than "Stay."
* Go to the door with your dog on-leash. Say "wait,"
then reach for the doorknob.
* If your dog moves forward, remove your hand from
the doorknob, pause, then try again. If your dog
waits, praise and give treats.
* When you can touch the knob without your dog
pushing forward, try opening the door a few inches.
* If your dog waits, praise and give treats. If your
dog moves forward, close the door gently, pause, then
try again.
* Repeat several times, opening the door wider each
time. When your dog waits, praise and treat. If your
dog moves forward, close the door, without treats and
start over.
* When your dog waits several seconds with the door
wide open, tell him, "OK, go ahead," and allow him to
go through.
(2b)
Put a training collar and leash on the dog. Say
"Wait" as you open the door. If the dog tries to go
out, give him a leash correction say "WAIT!"
This conditions the dog to wait at the door and helps
the dog learn to associate the opening of a door with
something other than "go outside!" Eventually, with
sufficient practice over time, no command will be
necessary. This approach can also work if the door is
accidentally opened.
(3)
Step One
You will have to repeat this step at several doors
before your dog understands that the rule is not to go
through any door to the outside without permission.
Do this step at every exit in your home and anywhere
else where your dog spends a significant amount of
time off lead. (It is best to start with an exit door
that leads to a fenced yard in case you have a
slip-up.)
Put your dog on a six foot leash attached to a buckle
or limited slip collar that you are sure your dog
cannot escape from. If you know your dog is likely to
chew a leash, buy one of those plastic coated steel
cable tie-out leads to use in this exercise. You will
also need a stopwatch or a watch with a second hand
for this exercise. And you might want to have a chair
next to the door you plan to use.
If you are doing this exercise in hot weather, make
sure that the door you are using is in the shade so
you donUt risk overheating your dog. If it's cold
out, make sure it's not too cold for your dog.
When you are ready, silently open the door and let
your dog dart through. Close the door on the leash,
being careful not to catch your dog's tail. Keep an
eye on your watch and leave your dog outside for 30
seconds. It's amazing how long 30 seconds can be, so
use your timepiece to keep track of the time.
When the 30 seconds are up, open the door, let your
dog come in and make a big fuss over him. Make sure
your dog knows he has been traumatized -- ask him
where he was, ask him if he was okay while he was
gone, make your voice high pitched and anxious
sounding. You want him to feel like he's had an
unpleasant experience and you are sympathizing.
After you are done with the big reunion, silently open
the door again. If your dog darts out again, let him.
Close the door behind him (watching for that tail!)
and leave him outside for one minute. When you open
the door again, repeat the big fuss.
Keep silently opening the door and letting your dog
out, doubling the amount of time you leave him outside
each time. Be patient! Don't try to warn your dog to
stay, don't try to prevent your dog from darting
outside -- let him discover for himself what happens
when he does so.
The time will come when you open that door and your
dog stays in the house. Close the door again and
CELEBRATE! Tell him you're happy with him, give him
terrific cookies, play with him, hug him and generally
have a doggie party.
After the big party, give your dog a few minutes to
calm down and then repeat the exercise with the same
door. Most dogs refuse to go through the door without
permission but a few (often dogs who have a door
darting habit) zip out again. Start the clock again
at 30 seconds.
When you get to the point where your dog stands and
looks out the open door without trying to dart through
it, give your dog permission to go through. I use the
word "okay" but any word (release signal) is fine as
long as you use the same word and intonation
consistently.
You may have to coax your dog through that door or
actually go through it with him the first time. This
is fine, this is what you want -- it is much safer for
your dog to be reluctant to go through a door than it
is to have him constantly watching for an opportunity
to slip through.
Goal: when you open the door, your dog stands inside
and waits for permission to go through the door.
Step Two
You will have to repeat this step at several doors
before your dog understands that the rule is not to go
through any door to the outside without permission.
Do this step at every exit in your home and anywhere
else where your dog spends a significant amount of
time off lead.
Get or make a house line, which is an 8-10 foot length
of cord knotted at one end. The other end is attached
to your dog's collar by a snap or by tying it to his
collar. Doesn't have to be fancy -- a plastic coated
clothesline makes a fine houseline.
If you know that your dog is much faster than you,
make a longer houseline -- most dogs can cope with a
houseline as long as 25 feet.
Let your dog drag the houseline around the house for a
few days whenever you are there. Take the houseline
off whenever you are not there to supervise him. Just
treat it in a very matter of fact manner; don't make a
big fuss about it. Act as if it's just another one of
your silly whims (like the way you throw away all that
luscious garbage!).
When your dog is used to the houseline, repeat Step
One with your dog dragging the houseline. Do not pick
the houseline up with your hands, just step on it.
You might want to do this with shoes on, rather than
barefoot or wearing socks!
Goal: when you open the door, your dog stands inside
and waits for permission to go through the door off
lead (dragging the houseline).
Step Three
For this step, you need a helper -- someone to pretend
to be a guest.
You will have to repeat this step at several doors and
with a few different helpers before your dog
understands that the rule is not to go through any
door to the outside without permission. Do this step
at every exit in your home and anywhere else where
your dog spends a significant amount of time off lead.
Give your dog a review of Step Two with your helper
standing next to you.
After your dog shows he remembers Step Two, have your
helper open the door and walk through it. Be ready!
About half of all dogs follow the helper right out the
door. If your dog follows the helper, just step on
the line as you shut the door.
Explain to your helper ahead of time that if your dog
follows her out the door to keep on walking away from
your dog and try to get out of a sight as soon as
possible, either by walking around a corner or by
getting into a car. When your dog's time outside is
over, signal your helper to come back so you can try
again.
Goal: your dog waits for permission to go through an
exit, even if someone walks through the door ahead of
him.
(4)
Copyright 2002 by Tracy Doyle. Originally written for
use with deaf dogs, this technique can work with
hearing dogs as well.
There is nothing scarier than to see your deaf dogs
running ahead of you toward a door that was
accidentally left or blown open. With just a little
bit of work every day you can condition your dog to
understand that an open door is *not* an invitation to
go through it.
It's this simple:
Do this with every door he goes through -- car doors,
the door to his crate, etc. Do it every day and every
time he has to go through a door.
If your dog charges out of his crate whenever you open
it, make him sit before you open the door. If you
start opening the door and he starts to bolt, slam the
door shut in his face! You won't hurt him, but you
will confuse him.
Do this until he doesn't bolt out of his crate until
YOU say it's okay. Do the same thing with the car
door, both in and out. Do this when you go to your
training classes -- at the house door, the car door
(in, then out), at the training facility (in and out),
back to the car and at the house door. Do this at your
backyard gate, too, even if you don't regularly go
through it -- your meter reader and delivery people
are infamous accomplices in dog escapes!
I can't stress how important it is that your dog
automatically sits for the door and waits for you to
tell him it's okay to pass through -- all the time,
every time. Once he gets the idea, make it tougher on
him.
Put him on a long lead (10 foot or more), make him sit
for the door, open it, and you walk through, leaving
him behind. If he follows you, put him back and start
over. If you use correction methods, give him a
correction before you put him back. He'll get the
message rather quickly.
If you do sit-stays and down-stays in obedience,
practice them at home in doorways. Put the dog on a
long lead drag line (and be ready to grab it or step
on it if he bolts!). Put him in a stay a few feet
away from the door and open it. Walk in and out.
Walk away from the door behind the dog (close to the
line so you can step on it), so the dog is between you
and the door. Praise him profusely if he maintains the
stay.
Keep up on this routine all the time -- once they have
the idea that they can't go out for potty or a walk or
training or ball playing unless they sit calmly and
wait to be invited through the door, it takes no time
at all. Of course, at first you have to make
allowances for the time it takes to settle them.
Don't fret if people think you are being a control
freak. Be proud of it! Someday your dog *will*
encounter an open door that he shouldn't go through
and you will be thankful. If you start getting lazy,
just picture in your mind turning into your hallway or
coming down the stairs with your dog ahead of you --
and the front door is wide open. It happened to me
and my dogs stopped dead and sat. Sure beats being
stopped dead by a car in the road.
So, why not just let him bolt out of his crate? If
you're traveling on the road, it's really great to
have your dog sit there quietly in his crate while you
put his leash on. What if a stranger decided to
release your dog? Or a little child wanted to pet the
doggie? What if you had guests over and he's a jumper
or a biter? Guests are notorious for accidentally
releasing dogs.
Why in and out of the car? Because your dog could
easily escape...even be stolen if he jumps into any
open car door. Did you ever have your dog jump out of
your open car door before you had your hand on his
leash? It's much better to know he will wait for you
to be ready to take him out of the car.
There are a thousand reasons to train your dogs this
way, and you don't have to go out of your way to do
it. It can save his life.
------
And don't forget...
* If your dog escapes, never scold him when you
finally get him. Dogs associate reactions to what
they just did in the last few seconds. If you scold a
dog when you catch him, youUre actually teaching him
not to let you catch him.
------
For more guidance on what to do if your dog escapes,
see:
Preventing and Responding to Escapes
Finding a Lost Dog
Fence Jumping Solutions
-----
For more Dog Tips about pet
care, adoption and the work PAW does, visit our
website at:
Partnership for Animal Welfare, Inc.
Teach Stay with Verbal Command and Hand Signal
From canine behavior specialist Kathy Graninger:
Teach Wait at Doors and Gates Using Positive
Reinforcement:
From "Teach Wait" by September Morn, in the June 2003
Dog Fancy.
Teaching Wait using Collar Correction:
If the approach above does not work for a dog not
motivated by praise and treats, Karin Anderson offers
this alternative approach to training the "Wait"
command:
Training Escape Artists to Not Want to Go Out the Door
Without Permission
Copyright 2000 by Meesoon Shirley Chong
Training Your Dog Not to Bolt Through Open Doors
Every time you (or even just your dog) are going
through a door -- any door -- make him sit. Then open
the door, but keep him in the sit position. If he
stands up, close the door and make him sit again. Then
do it again. Do this until he sits calmly at the open
door -- then give him an "OKAY" signal to go through
with you.
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_HowtoPreventEscapes.php
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_HowtoFindaLostPet.php
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_FenceJumping.php
www.paw-rescue.org
P.O. Box 1074, Greenbelt, MD 20768