Introducing Your Dog to his New Dog Door PDF Print E-mail
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Monday, 02 February 2009 19:26
Teaching Your Dog to Use a Dog Door

If your dog is anything like mine, you probably bought a dog door thinking, man is my dog lucky, he/she will be able to come and go as they please. Then you tried to get them to use it, and no deal. My Bulldog, whined and barked at the new "enemy" and refused to go near it, my pug was a bit easier because I could just pick her up and push her through, but once she was through, she was still scared of it, and couldn't come back in. So here's what I did:

Nothing is a better motivator than food, so I got together some chicken, (my dogs get no people food, so this was a BIG deal). Next, I lured them over to the door with chicken, and I held up the flap, and put a piece of chicken on the other side. It took some time and coaxing, but eventually the Pug went through, and the Bulldog leaned about halfway through to get the treats. This was a good start. Keep in mind, I can't stress strongly enough how important it is to use a treat with high motivation value, I doubt they would have ventured through for a regular old biscuit. Another important motivator is praise, every time they would achieve the goal I had set, I praised them like they just won the Nobel Prize.

It takes a while for that first timid step, but once they finally venture through the first time, you know that you're on the way to success. Just like in any other training, patience is the key, you have to be prepared to devote several HOURS the first day to this, just remember that this tool is going to make your life easier, once they get it figured out, your dogs will let themselves out, no getting up in the middle of the night or early morning, you can watch a movie without having to pause in the middle (it's always at the best part isn't it?). Probably the number one benefit will be that you do not need to hurry home after work to let the dog out. Feel free to go out to eat with your co-workers, or see that movie everyone is talking about, your dogs will let themselves out, and you won't find a mess on the floor when you return home.

Next step, getting them going in and out fearlessly while you hold up the flap. this step is simply repetition of the previous step, but keep moving the treat further away so the dog has to go all the way through each time. Some dogs catch on faster than others, my Pug got it right away, the bulldog took many tries. I think smaller dogs are used to climbing under things, and squeezing through tight places like under furniture, so that might be why the smaller one got it quicker. With the Bulldog, I simply moved it a very small amount further each time, he only leaned part of the way through several times before it was far enough away he had to go all the out. Just remember that this is a lengthy process so give very very small pieces of treat, so they continue to be interested and motivated. Ignore, false starts, and retreats, and pile on the praise when the goal is reached.

Once you have your dog going in and out while you support the flap, it's time to conquer the scary feat of having the flap touch them as they go through. This step is a tough one, it will be necessary for your dog to conquer his fear. Remember that you cannot force him to be unafraid, he has to work it out on his own. This step was actually day 2 for us, several hours were spent day 1 on getting him to pass through without it touching him, once he could do it, we were all so worn out, we left the next step for another day.

I began by having him go through while I held it up, and I lowered the flap a little and let it touch him. The first few times, he abandoned the treat, and retreated back in. Eventually he figured out that it wasn't hurting him, so he slowly went through. After that, I let a little more touch him each time, eventually getting to the point where I would let go once his head was through, and it rubbed all the way back from his neck to his tail. When he did this he first time, my neighbors must have thought he cured cancer or something, I was shrieking what a good boy he was, and telling him how smart and brave he had been.

The final step took the longest. Now I wanted them to go through all on their own, but they were afraid of the magnetic flap, so what I did was, move treat all the way back to the very front of the dog door, about an inch from the opening. I would let them watch me put it there, so they knew how close it was. Then I let them investigate a bit, sniffing this side of the door, licking the flap, whining, etc. Then when they were thoroughly intrigued, I pushed the flap open about an inch, so they could stick their noses up to it, and smell the treat, as they sniffed at it, I let go of the flap. the first few times, it was like I sealed the treat behind a metal door, but eventually they got it, hold the flap open, pop head through, eat treat. Once they got that part, I began moving the treat further away each time, and eventually they had to push it open and go through. Hooray!

You might think this is the end of the training, but it isn't. Now your dog can go through with you there for reassurance, but probably will not initiate the process on his own. He probably has not made the connection that he can go out to do potty through that little door, so you have to teach him. In order to get him to go through on his own, without you there, you need a "Super Treat". I put a small plate of chicken out there, he saw me do it, he knew it was there, I made a BIG deal about the treat Mommy had for him. He was so excited...then Mommy put it outside, and left, and he had to work it out on his own. He whined and complained, he came into the other room, and let me know he wanted me to open the door, but I didn't. I'd say it was at least 2 hours before I heard that flap clack open and shut, but he went through.

Once your dog begins going through the door, you need to teach him that this is the new way to go potty. The only way to do this is with practice. If you leave your dog alone at this stage, he will most likely not initiate the going out process, it will be like the dog door is not even there, he sees it as a means of getting treats, not going outside. So, you have to practice. Every time you let him out, instead of opening the door for him, you go through, and leave him on the other side. Call him, and encourage him to go through, you will probably need to use treats at first, but once he gets it, wean him off the treats. We would use the treat to lure him through, and after the first few times, he only got the treat on the return trip through, after his business was done. Then he would only get the treat on the last trip of the night, and eventually no treats.

There is no better sound than the first time your dog lets himself out all on his own. He felt the urge to go potty, got up, went out, and came back. This is a triumphant day!

All in all, our dog door was installed on Saturday, and the first time we left them alone for longer than they could hold it was Wednesday. Now I consider our Bulldog to be an extreme case, and out Pug to be a very easy case, your dog could fall anywhere in between. Just remember to be patient, use very special treats, and lavish the praise at every step, and your dog will be going in and out in no time.

*An important tip to remember, I recommend a dog door that you can lock, or slide a door over. This way, when your dogs aren't using it, you don't have to worry about other animals getting in, like neighborhood cats, raccoons, or possums. My dogs don't go downstairs at night, (they are good sleepers, or possibly just bad jumpers, and know that once they leave the bed, they can't get back on themselves) so I lock the dog door at night. I also lock it when we all go out. I feel that with the dogs there, they will chase away anything that tries to come through, but if they aren't there, it's just asking for trouble. Keep an eye out though, dogs will surprise you, my two hooligans adopted a neighborhood, and it was sleeping in our living room under the couch for several days before we discovered it, I guess the dogs made friends, and invited it in, it was eating their food, and drinking their water, thats when we got the dog door, previously we left the sliding doors open for them (I know, huge heat and A/C bills!)
Last Updated ( Monday, 02 February 2009 19:29 )