Vistor at door taking my attention away from him

[mwiacek10]

Last night, shortly after I got home, there was a knock at the door. Gunny barked and went to the door. He's not a door rusher, so I'm greatful for that. When I opened the door it was a nice young lady asking for donations for the Clean Water Act. Anyway, she's trying to go over her script and Gunny's doing his growling and biting at my shirt sleeve saying "hey, don't talk to her, you are mine" routine. We don't get many evening visitors. They poor girl was terrified (I don't invite strangers into my home, so she remained on the front porch). I tried to ignore him, but he kept going. When I walked away from the door to right a check, he just followed me to the dinning room and waited for me. He could of cared less about the stranger on the porch

I've mentioned before that I've created a monster and he feels I'm on this earth for only him. How do I correct this behavior? I certainly don't mind him being protective, but that's not it. He just wants all my attention. .

[MaggieRoseLee]

All you need to do is start training a nice sit/stay.

Best to do this in conjunction with some dog classes because the added socialization and immediate instruction make the training progress at the right speed and environment.

You go to classes and learn there, and then go home to practice (like homework).

He's just being a bratty attention seeker CAUSE YOU ALLOW HIM to be rude. And it's a bit like parents with rude children who don't allow the grownups to talk... all the other grownups are thinking 'why aren't they dealing with their rude child!' . So all he needs is structure and calm leadership with clear rules and consequences for good AND bad behavior.

Great time to get into the those classes!

[mwiacek10]

Thanks. We've been in classes for a good year. Yes, I know, he rules me. It's just been a while since someone we didn't know knocked on the door. I was so embarrassed when I saw the look on that girl's face and lost focus. We have some work to do on the sit/stay with the door.

[Lilie]

Hondo is a door rusher, but only at night. I suppose he thinks it could be the cat knocking at the door after dark.

Hubby and I are working together on nipping this one in the bud. I used electric tape and made a marker (an X) on the kitchen floor (about 10' from the door). That is just for hubby and I to remain constant on where we want him to sit when we answer the door. Then hubby and I will take turns sneaking out of the house and knocking on the door. It's pretty much turned into a game for us. But the 'X' helps us remember where Hondo is supposed to be when we open the door.

[mwiacek10]

Thanks Lilie! I'll try that. He sits and stays very well for being let out and feeding. I'm sure we can get past this one.

[Anthony8858]

Here's your solution:

I want you to pay special attention to 2:28 "place".

He teaches his dog to go to his "place" on command, when someone knocks at the door.

Dog Training | Board and Train | Michigan | German Shepherd | Rocky - YouTube

Dog Training | Board and Train | Michigan | German Shepherd | Rocky - YouTube

[Cassidy's Mom]

We just got a big rug (cheap - Costco or Home Depot, can't recall) and put it at the end of the entry, where it widens towards the kitchen. It's big enough for both dogs, and it's a good visual marker of their boundary.

We don't get company often enough to work on it to where it's perfect yet, but I'll use it if I have to go to the door to retrieve a package or if we get door to door salespeople. With the latter, both of us will go to the door, and I'll put the dogs in a down on the mat and stand between them and the door, facing them so I can body block and put them back in place if they break, while Tom answers the door. If we're having someone over we leash the dogs first so we have more control while the people come in, and we keep them in a down on the mat until they calm down.



We had 263 trick or treaters this year for Halloween, so from 6:45 to 8:30 we got to practice TONS - so much that the dogs were actually bored when the doorbell rang yet again for the gazillionth time, and they had to go to the mat. I'd reward with treats while Tom handed out candy. Some of the time Halo didn't even get up when I released them, she decided to just stay there and wait for me to come back and give her some more treats!

[fgshepherd]

[QUOTE=Lilie;2299126]Hondo is a door rusher, but only at night. I suppose he thinks it could be the cat knocking at the door after dark.

This is hilarious! ha ha ha! My dog Rocky must think it is a giant chicken wing at the door!

[Caledon]

Place is a wonderful command. I like the X idea.

I don't have it down yet, but I would love it if Dakota would go to our designated spot when the door bell rings and put herself in a downstay.

We don't get a lot of door action, but when we do my kids say that I'm rude to the person on the other side of the door. I always make sure that Dakota is in a down stay before I answer the door. I tell the person, be there in a second, bring Dakota to her door spot and command down/stay. I don't care if I'm rude or not as training my dog to have good door manners is a lot more important to me than answering the door 5-15 seconds sooner.

[Debbieg]

Originally Posted by Cassidy's Mom

We had 263 trick or treaters this year for Halloween, !

Did you count your trick or treaters!


We only had a few trick or treaters and Benny was a bit of a butt head. I need to work on our place command. He barked at the police woman who came on Friday to serve my son a supina for a crime he thwarted last month. Jeremy was not home so she could not serve him and she never came back!