How do I stop my dog from trying to get out the door?

[gsdemack]

The puppy is confined to two rooms - kitchen and sitting room (with no doors between). Whenever I try to go out the backdoor the puppy will try to squeeze out or the other door - I don't see the problem going away.

What should I do to resolve this - just about 11 weeks old now?

Thanks.

[doggiedad]

you can teach your dog not to door dash, car dash (jump out
of the car), gate dash, etc. your pup, is 11 weeks old. it's going
to take some time.

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by gsdemack

The puppy is confined to two rooms - kitchen and sitting room (with no doors between). Whenever I try to go out the backdoor the puppy will try to squeeze out or the other door - I don't see the problem going away.

What should I do to resolve this - just about 11 weeks old now?

Thanks.

Wait is the command that stops all of this. Before you get to the wait you probably need to work on sit. You can practice in your door way...stand by a closed door, put your puppy in a sit, then tell her to wait. This should all be done in steps. Teach puppy sit, then teach her to wait. Have lots of treats available and while you are saying wait, give her treats and tell her good girl. That command can be used for doors, cars, etc. Just remember that wait is more temporary then stay. If I want my dog to be in one place for more then a few seconds I use stay and okay as the release word.

[ksotto333]

We started with the sit every time Tessa went outside. In the beginning it was very brief,and she received a quick treat. I built the length of the sit up as she became housebroken. She's almost two, and I still have her sit before releasing her to the yard. To her it's just a way of life. I grew up with a dog that was an escape artist and door dasher, it was awful.

[gsdemack]

I want to start trying this but I can't imagine my dog ever getting what wait means - she's just so enthusiastic. I can get her to sit - she understands that command; when she does it I treat her.

I have tried repeating sit and giving her the treat every time she stays in position while slowly backing off, in the hope she will learn that sit means wait also. i.e. wait for the release command when you are told to sit.

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by gsdemack

I want to start trying this but I can't imagine my dog ever getting what wait means - she's just so enthusiastic. I can get her to sit - she understands that command; when she does it I treat her.

I have tried repeating sit and giving her the treat every time she stays in position while slowly backing off, in the hope she will learn that sit means wait also. i.e. wait for the release command when you are told to sit.

I have 3 dogs and not one will go out the door until I say okay. Its repetitive and routine. It takes time. Do you take the dog to any obedience classes?

[gsdemack]

Originally Posted by llombardo

Do you take the dog to any obedience classes?

No, can I not teach obedience myself?

[MaggieRoseLee]

Originally Posted by gsdemack

No, can I not teach obedience myself?

Because it's much harder, confusing and frustrating for dog/handler.

For example you want 'sit' to mean 'sit/stay'. Which is not only confusing in general it's confusing in specific to such a tiny baby dog.

As we train, when we give a command we actually do mean to 'sit' and don't do anything else until we say something else. But breaking it down to make that clear to our puppy is the hard part. It's hard for all of us which is why making it easier with a great dog class is wonderful.

Specially because even WITH dog classes, the home work/training we do until next class is about us honing our skills.

Best thing with a puppy so they learn and we don't accidentally de-motivate them (specially if we are fumbling along learning ourselves) is positive based training like clicker training. Have you learned this yet?

click this ---> Intro to Clicker Training (perfect for puppies!)

Top Training Expectations for Puppies

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by gsdemack

No, can I not teach obedience myself?

You can, if you know how. But it sounds like you don't have much experience with dog training and behavior, and just asking questions on the forum will get you only so far. As MRL said, if you're not communicating with her clearly, it will be confusing for her, and frustrating for both of you. Wouldn't it be easier to work with a trainer who can show you exactly what to do?

I do a lot of training at home for the first few weeks after I get a new puppy, before starting puppy class. Classes tend to be an hour a week and training should be done daily, so most of the training will be done by you, outside of class. But in a class environment you'll have the eye of an experienced trainer to offer suggestions and answer questions, and also a program to follow. Although I've had GSDs since 1986 and am on dog #4 & #5, I still take lots of classes with my dogs.

The best thing to do with door dashing is to start with her on leash - if you have no way of preventing her from practicing the behavior you're trying to fix, it's going to be very hard to train her not to do it! I train "wait" in a hallway in the house, not even at a doorway at first. If you don't have a narrow hallway, do it against any wall, so she doesn't have a lot of room to move around and can only go forward or backwards. Training this around the house I don't bother with the leash, I use body blocking instead, but at an actual door, you should leash her at first.

Walk a few steps with her next to you, stop and have her sit, then pivot so you're standing in front of her, facing her. Take a step or two backwards, and if she breaks the sit and moves towards you, step forward and back her into position. Do this a few times, until she doesn't move when you back away from her. I use a negative marker ("ah ah") if the dog breaks, and praise when she's back in the sit. I don't reward if the dog breaks, but if she stays in place while I step away, step back, and then pivot so she's at my side in heel position agian, I mark ("yes" or with a clicker), and reward with a treat. Once she'll remain in place in her sit while you step away, stop pivoting to face her, try stepping forward while facing the same direction. If the dog breaks and starts to walk with me, I'll stick my knee out to block her from continuing to move forward. I only add the "wait" cue once the dog understands the behavior I'm trying to teach.

At doorways inside the house (I do this from the house into the garage), I train my dogs that when we walk up to the door and I stop, they need to sit and look at me. If I start to open the door, they must remain in the sit until I release them to go through the door. Start by having her sit, and then reach out to touch the doorknob. If she breaks, use the negative marker and wait for her to sit again. Do this as many times as necessary until she no longer moves when you touch the doorknob. Next, you'd turn the knob and start to open the door. If she breaks, shut the door again and wait for her to sit. Body block if necessary to prevent her from going through.

Put her on leash for training at doors out of the house, because it's going to be much more exciting for her. Every time I take my dogs out for a walk or out to the car to go for a drive, I put on the leash and walk towards the door, then stop. The dog needs to sit and look at me, and then I start to open the door. If the dog remains in the sit until the door is fully opened, I release her to walk through it with me. By now they know what "wait" means, so I can actually walk through the door while the dog remains sitting inside before releasing them to come outside with me.

[trcy]

Originally Posted by gsdemack

No, can I not teach obedience myself?

I trained two dogs myself, but I took our GSD to training class. I figured it would just be rehashing what I already do. I mostly wanted Riley to get some socializing in. I was pleasantry surprised to learn new training skills.

The trainer just makes sure my dog knows the skills I taught him by command and non verbal signal and then we move on to other things. It's working out really well. There are no other dogs in the class so my goal for socializing didn't work out, but we get private lessons and can really work on the skills and techniques.

As far as stopping the dog from going out the door...I just taught him the stay command.