Jul 20 2010
The Doggy Door: Teaching Your Dog How to Use It
If you have just gotten a doggy door installed, it shouldn’t be too difficult to teach your dog to use it and it shouldn’t take more than a few days. Every dog is different, just like people, and thus while some of them will use it the first time they see it, others might be wary and smell it to see if they can find some information about it. Your dog might not be make the connection that this is a new way of leaving and entering the house and will require time to adapt, and you should be patient with your pet in this process.
Some Training Tips
Actually, it’s not difficult at all to train your dog to understand that a new door has been installed, although it may take some patience of your part, just follow the instructions that come with the door on how to install it and train your dog. Remember that when you install something new and movable, like a doggy door, it will make sounds that your not familiar with, and that your dog might find scary.
The main process involves to place the dog in front of the doggy door and use your left hand to open the flap (or your right hand, if you’re left-handed) and then use your right hand to push the dog gently through the door. However, it would be still better if someone stood on the other side with a dog treat or one of his favorite toys to tempt him through the doggy door.
You can also train your dog by playing with him. If your dog likes to play fetch, throw a toy or a stick inside the house through the doggy door, which will be held open by another person. Your dog will go through the door to fetch the object, but it will hesitate to go out again if someone doesn’t hold it open. That’s expected, but eventually, he will go out after some time. You can speed up this process by holding up the flap and pushing the dog gently.
You can use the same process to make the dog come into the house for foor or rest. It’s important not to punish or scold the dog, because it might associate the doggy door with something that’s wrong. Instead, reward your dog when it uses the door.
If you have a friend or relative that has a dog that uses doggy doors, then bring your dog over to watch. Generally, if a dog watches another dog doing something - that will push him to do the same and you’ll soon have your dog fully trained to use a doggy door.
