Teaching your dog to use a dog door

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Teaching your Dog to Use a Dog Door

Once you’ve got your dog door installed, the next thing is: Teaching your dog to use a dog door. Generally this is not too hard, and this article will take you through several methods you can use to teach them to go in and out comfortably.

The Fast Track

If you have another dog (or if you can borrow a dog) who knows how to go in and out the dog door, your dog can learn to go through the door by following the other dog. Give it a try!

Before you choose a method for teaching your dog to use their dog door, here are a few tips that will help with their training:

If you’re installing your dog door in a door, you may find it helpful to start out by leaving your dog in their confinement area with the door open first. You can start this part of the training even before the dog door is installed. This way,they’ll get used to enjoying indoor/outdoor access and they’ll be more motivated to go in and out the dog door once you start leaving the human door closed.

When training your dog to go through their dog door, be especially careful not to let the flap hit them in the early part of training. If this has happened or if your dog is a fearful dog or seems very worried about using their dog door, you may find it helpful to use duct tape to tape the flap of their dog door all the way up for the first several days so they gets used to going in and out without being scared by the flap. Of course, you should only tape the flap to your door or door frame if you’re sure the tape won’t damage the finish. Once your dog is comfortably using the dog door with the flap taped up, try Method 1 or Method 2 to slowly acclimate him to using the dog door with the flap down.

When training your dog to use their dog door, you may need to step outside to call them through the door. Ideally, if you go outside to call them out through the dog door, you should have another person inside the house to supervise them and encourage them to go through the dog door.

Method 1 – Calling your dog. Good if your dog loves interacting with people

woman-calling-dog-to-use-dog-door
Calling your Dog May Assist Them to Use the Pet Door

Before starting your training, assess whether your dog would be more motivated to come in through the dog door or go out through it. If they love being inside the house, you should start this training with them outside. If they’re the kind of dog who’s always excited to get a chance to get outside, start with them inside the house. If you’re not sure which they  prefer, they can start this exercise either inside or outside. You can do this exercise on your own or you can do it with one person on each side of the dog door, one calls your dog in, then the other calls your dog out.

With your dog on one side of the dog door and you on the other, lift the flap of the dog door all the way up and call them, using an excited voice and lots of animation. Reward any attempt to come toward or through the door with lots of verbal encouragement. When they makes it the whole way through, pet them, praise them and play with them… make a huge fuss over them! Then, leaving them where they are, go to the other side of the door, lift the flap and repeat the same exercise. Do a few repetitions going each way then take a break. This training can be stressful and exciting for them, so you should do short sessions to avoid burning them out – especially if your dog is young..

After your dog has had a break, repeat the exercise. If they’re coming through with no hesitation, repeat the exercise holding the flap up only halfway. They may be troubled by feeling the flap touching them, so you’ll need to use lots of verbal encouragement to convince them that’s no big deal. Continue to go crazy with the praise and play after they come through.

Once they’re going through with the flap halfway up, continue doing short sessions with them, gradually lifting the flap up less and less, until you’re to the point where they’re pushing through the door on their own.

Once your dog knows that they can come through the door, try to get them to do it without you calling him. The best way to do this is to leave them on one side of the door and do something fun on the other side of the door… play with the kids or with your other dog or run around the yard hooting and hollering like you’re having a great time. If they come out to join you, you’ll know they’re getting the idea. Repeat this for a few sessions, and you’ll soon find that they’re using the dog door on their own.

Method 2 – Luring  your dog with Treats Good if your dog is the type who will do anything for a snack

giving-dog-snacks
Using food can be a way to train your dog to use the dog door

For this training, you should have some extra yummy treats with a strong scent… something like hot dogs, jerky treats or freeze-dried liver. Let your dog see you get the treats out and try to get them excited about the treats by holding them tightly in your hand and letting them sniff and lick the treats without actually giving them one.

Before starting your training, assess whether they would be more motivated to come in through the dog door or go out through it. If they love being inside the house, you should start this training with them outside. If they’re the kind of dog who’s always excited to get a chance to get outside, start with them inside the house. If you’re not sure which they prefer, you can start this exercise either inside or outside.

With your dog on one side of the dog door and you on the other, lift the flap of the dog door all the way up and call them, using an excited voice and lots of animation. Wave the treats so they can see them on the other side of the dog door. Reward any attempt to come toward or through the door with lots of verbal encouragement, but don’t let them have the treat until they makes it the whole way through. When they come all the way through, pet them, praise them and letthem have some treats! Then, leaving them where they are, go to the other side of the door, lift the flap and repeat the same exercise. Do a few repetitions going each way then take a break. This training can be stressful and exciting for them, so you should do short sessions to avoid burning them out – especially if they are young.

After they have had a break, repeat the exercise. If they’re coming through with no hesitation, repeat the exercise holding the flap up only halfway. They may be troubled by feeling the flap touching them, so you’ll need to use lots of verbal encouragement to convince them that it’s no big deal. Continue to go crazy with the praise and play after the they come through.

Once they’re going through with the flap half way up, continue doing short sessions with them, gradually lifting the flap less and less, until you’re to the point where they’re pushing through the door on their own.

Once they know that they can come through the door, try to get them to do it without you calling them and offering them treats. You can do this by leaving them on one side of the door and scattering some treats on the ground on the other side of the door or you can do something fun on the other side of the door… play with the kids or with your other dog or run around the yard hooting and hollering like you’re having a great time. If your dog comes out on their own, you’ll know they’re getting the idea. Repeat this for a few sessions, and you’ll soon find that your dog is using the dog door on their own.

If your Dog Knows How To Go Through the Dog Door, but Doesn’t Want To!

Once your dog learns that the dog door gives them the freedom to go in and out at will, they’ll probably just love it and start using it appropriately. In rare cases, you might find you have a dog who doesn’t want to go outside on their own and won’t use the door even once they know how. Needing to go to the toilet won’t be reason enough for them to leave you or go out of the house on their own. If you find that to be the case, you’ll need to find a way to make going out through the dog door appealing to them.

For most dogs with this problem, putting their water bowl outside is an easy fix. If you do this, they will start going out when they want a drink, and, over time, they’ll start sniffing around, hanging out and realizing it’s not so bad out there! During the initial phase of this training, your dog’s only water bowl should be the one outside. Of course, you need to make sure they are getting sufficient water, so remember to take them out periodically to get water until you know you can count on them to take themself outside every time they need a drink.

If the water isn’t an interesting enough lure to get them outside, feeding them outside can be helpful. Let them watch you prepare their food, then leave them inside and take their food just outside the dog door. Put it down and come back inside. If this is going to work, you should find that they go outside on their own within 30 minutes. If they don’t, time to move on to Plan C!

The next thing you’ll try if they don’t want to use his doggy door is playing hide and go seek with some treats out in the yard. Get some yummy, strongly scented treats and show them the treats. Try to get them worked up and excited to get the treats. Then have someone hold them or tie them back while you “hide” the treats in the grass or landscaping (the first few days you can just let them see where the treats are hidden). Once the treats are “hidden”, take your dog back into the house and leave them inside while you go out in the yard and wait for him to come out. If you wait too long, you can go back and tease them and call them through the door. In either case, once they come out, run around the yard with them and act like you are looking for treats too! Make it lots of fun. In a couple of days they should be coming out without any tempting and you can stop helping them to hunt. They should get very good at finding the treats using just their nose.

Once they are really into the game, set it up without them watching you hide the treats by leaving them inside the house with the dog door closed or in a crate. Before you go out to hide the treats, show them that you have the treats and tell them that you are going out to hide them by getting excited and calling your dog as you go. Once the treats are hidden, come back in the house and let your dog out of their crate or open the dog door. Stay in the house and let them decide on their own that they wants to go hunting.

Conclusion: Teaching your Dog to Use a Dog Door

Most dogs adjust and start using their dog doors fairly quickly, but as for dogs that are more timid, spending more time training them and using many different tactics can be beneficial.

Afterthoughts: Are You Yet to have A Pet Door Installed?

For those people that actually haven’t had a pet door installed yet, installing a pet door is something that can be done by homeowners if they have the appropriate tools and experience.  However, if you aren’t able to do it yourself or don’t have the time, a professional pet door installer can do the job.   For those people in the Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula area of Victoria, please feel free to contact us here at Affordable Pet Doors Melbourne if you’d like a quote or more information.

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