How to stop Xander from jumping on sliding glass door HELP

[GSD_Xander]

OK - so, here's my problem. Sometimes when Xander is outside he will jump on the sliding glass door. Sometimes the cat goes over and lays in front of the door and this seems to make him excited and he jumps on the door, however, sometimes he does it randomly too (it's probably 50/50).

Things I've tried:
- Keeping the cat away from the door (she's an indoor only cat...and, unfortunately, not the brightest thing - either that or she's an evil genius).

- When he jumps (like if he wants in or wants our attention) I ignore it. If he keeps doing it I still ignore it. I absolutely don't let him in if he just jumped on the door. I wait at least two minutes (but not too long, usually no longer than about three min, because I don't want him to jump on the door again and restart the cycle) then go to the door, use NILIF and have him sit, and then let him inside. The two minute wait was something I read about online...that way they don't associate the door opening with the jumping.

- I filled a metal can with beans/rocks and if he jumped on the door shook it loudly and told him "NO". That didn't really work...he just looks at me with a WTF look.

- Spray bottle filled with water. Yeah, that definitely didn't work. Water + GSD = fun.

- I've been religiously using NILIF for letting him in, giving food, treats, etc. It seems to have helped - he has started going to the door and points at the handle with his nose.

I guess what I want to know is...what am I doing wrong???

The behavior has definitely gotten better over the past couple months but he still does it sometimes. Ideally I would rather he not do it at all - mostly for his safety - I don't want a sliding glass door to break and him get injured.

I've actually though about "painting" or "frosting" the window somehow - maybe if he can't see in he won't do it?

Ideas??? Suggestions???

[MaggieRoseLee]

I just leave my slider open when weather allows.....

Can you prop a baby gate against the door or prop it on the outside so that gets the impact and not the glass?

[Ace952]

lord knows I feel your pain........
I would say a e-collar would be your best route. It is hard to stop a routine when they are outside and your inside. A remote collar would work best in this situation.

[Zoeys mom]

We got Zoe to stop by not opening the door when she lunged for it because she would jump on it to come in, or the minute our hands touched the handle in excitement. We wouldn't move but just take our hand off the handle and wait for her to stop on her own...that was the patience piece. Then we would put our hand back on the handle and if she budged take it off over and over until she sat nicely

[onyx'girl]

I tell my dogs OFF and they will possibly still jump, but not touch the doors. They have to be calm before the doors open.
I have more problems with them constantly nosing the glass. I'm a slave to my sliders & I have three sets to deal with.

[Lilie]

I had the same problem. And I have a custom sliding glass door with three large panes. I learned this trick from someone on this forum. I wish I could remember who so I could give them credit.

It is difficult to enforce not jumping as you are on the other side of the glass. When you open the door to enforce, you've rewarded the behavior. As you've learned, shouting only engages the behavior as well. I was concerned with using an e-collar as I didn't want him to fear the door, that is where he goes when he has to go outside.

So what I did was first make sure he had a solid sit. Then I taught him to sit using sign language. If I point my finger up, he is to sit. Once that was solid, I would ask him to sit when he was outside jumping on the door. Only using my hand. I wouldn't shout or threaten, I wanted to pull my hair out in the beginning, but if you are patient, your pup will catch on. The very moment he sat I'd rip the door open. Therefore, I'd have to stand there with my other hand on the door waiting for the moment he'd sit.

It isn't a quick fix, but it truly works. Sometimes he forgets himself still (20 months) but he will sit as soon as he sees my signal as if to say, "Oh yea, sorry I forgot."

[GSD_Xander]

Originally Posted by Zoeys mom

We got Zoe to stop by not opening the door when she lunged for it because she would jump on it to come in, or the minute our hands touched the handle in excitement. We wouldn't move but just take our hand off the handle and wait for her to stop on her own...that was the patience piece. Then we would put our hand back on the handle and if she budged take it off over and over until she sat nicely

Maybe I'll start doing that because what I have been doing is if I walk up to the door and he jumps on it I just turn around and walk away.

Originally Posted by Lilie

I had the same problem. And I have a custom sliding glass door with three large panes. I learned this trick from someone on this forum. I wish I could remember who so I could give them credit.

It is difficult to enforce not jumping as you are on the other side of the glass. When you open the door to enforce, you've rewarded the behavior. As you've learned, shouting only engages the behavior as well. I was concerned with using an e-collar as I didn't want him to fear the door, that is where he goes when he has to go outside.

So what I did was first make sure he had a solid sit. Then I taught him to sit using sign language. If I point my finger up, he is to sit. Once that was solid, I would ask him to sit when he was outside jumping on the door. Only using my hand. I wouldn't shout or threaten, I wanted to pull my hair out in the beginning, but if you are patient, your pup will catch on. The very moment he sat I'd rip the door open. Therefore, I'd have to stand there with my other hand on the door waiting for the moment he'd sit.

It isn't a quick fix, but it truly works. Sometimes he forgets himself still (20 months) but he will sit as soon as he sees my signal as if to say, "Oh yea, sorry I forgot."

I've taught Xander hand signals for sit and down - I should give that a try too. He has to sit before he comes in but I've always been opening the door to give him the verbal command.

===

Thank you ALL for your responses!

One of my friends suggested an e-collar but...I'm not sure if I'm ready for that because I know he's making progress but, like lillie said, sometimes he forgets...I figure he isn't even a year old (not that that's a total excuse) but I hope that with lots of work, patience, and consistency over time he'll just stop entirely. Admittedly the door isn't nearly as dirty as it used to be so...that must mean something; right?