You need to go out the front, so you try not to let your dog notice & you begin to sneak out so your dog doesn't notice. He sees you anyway & runs over excitedly to go out the front with you. You now try to squeeze out the narrow gap in the door as you push him back, closing the door quickly while hoping you haven’t caught his nose in the door.
How do we stop this behaviour?
·Firstly, put your dog on a leash if you are opening the door. This allows you to have control of him.
Set your dog up in training situations. Don’t just do it when you need to leave the house.
Open the door & let your dog walk out, when he walks out the leash will be tight as he is at the end of it when he rushed our the door, which is uncomfortable
Lure him back inside with food & reward him when he comes in.
When he is back inside the leash should also be slack, as he is no longer pulling.
Repeat & increase distractions over time
Eventually the dog would rather be on your side of the door, as the leash isn’t tight and he gets rewarded. Then eliminate other things that might make him think its okay to leave out the front door
Open & close both wooden & fly screen doors
Have a family member or friend walk in & out the door
Walk in & out the door yourself
When you are outside the door be fun & exciting to see if he will make a mistake & come out
Put him on a long line (3m-5m) to practice distance of you walking out the front door
When you want him to walk out the door have a command that means he is now allowed out. Examples are: Free, Break, Okay