Fred Hassen's Sit Means Sit - Revolutionizing the World of Dog Training - www.SitMeansSit.com

By Fred Hassen, Head Trainer “Sit Means Sit” Dog Training

There are a number of common dog behavior training problems, one of the most frequently seen behavior problems is when dogs charge a door. Dogs can charge the front door leading to the driveway and road putting themselves in danger. Although perhaps the most commonly charged door is the sliding glass door that leads to the backyard. It is especially a problem if the client has multiple dogs. Let’s start with the sliding glass door, and then this training drill can be carried over to any type of door.

Why do dogs charge the door? In most cases people have opened the sliding glass door to allow their pets in and out of the backyard and have set no rules for how the dog goes in and out of the door. Every time that you have opened the door, it has been a written invitation for the dog to come through. In other words: Door sliding open = dog charging. Because the result was what the owner has wanted ( i.e., the dog is in or the dog is out) the exact method has been overlooked. Every time the dog charged in or out of the door without a reprimand it has reinforced this bad behavior.

But don’t worry, there are some basic dog training methods that can help! Don’t forget you can also enroll in a dog training school to support changing the behavior. The first thing we have to do, is to show the dog that (door opening) = (step back). Here is how we do that:

(With your dog outside) The second that you open the sliding door, you are immediately to kick your feet one after the other right into the doorway. Do not give any verbal commands. Throughout the day, when you see the dog standing next to the door, walk up to the door, slide it open and immediately kick your feet through the opening. Do not wait to see if the dog steps back or not. For now, just kick your feet through. Then shut the door and continue going about your business.

With this behavior we are instilling in the dog that door opening = feet are coming out. We are reinforcing this each time we open the door. Around the fourth time that you do this, the door will open and the dogs will automatically step back. In fact, they will probably even step back as they see you approaching the door.

At this time, you want to start overlaying a “wait” command to the opening of the door – or a similar word. Now, once you open that door, and they are waiting on command – they will start to get brave (trust me on this), and when they see that no foot is coming out even though you said “wait”, they will move forward to test the water. Immediately bring the feet back out and repeat the “wait” command. Reinforcement never ends, and it’s under control now – just keep it that way.

When it comes to correcting a bad behavior, dog training must be calm, firm and consistent. We recommend attending dog training classes and getting professional dog training so that you get the best and most lasting results possible.

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