How Do I Get My Dog From Running Out The Door

Every time I try to leave through the door to the garage, Wolfie is always at my feet trying to get out ahead of me.  Many times I have to get to work and sometimes I am late because I have to try and catch him and put him in another room so I can leave.  There must be a better way!

Dogs running out an open door is a very common and really annoying problem that many dog owners face every day.  It is a big problem because is gets us mad (and we dont need that in todays world), hampers our relationship with "our best friend", and poses a safety risk for Wolfie.  So, what is going on here?

As a trainer, I always tell my clients to check out the world through Wolfies eyes.  Wolfie watches our body language to constantly try and get clues as to what we are saying and what we are allowing him to do.  A large part of body language is posture and one of the key factors of that is whether we are facing Wolfie or if we have our back to Wolfie.

When we face Wolfie, we are in a dominant stance.  We are telling him that we are in charge of the room.  He needs to watch us and wait for our commands telling him what to do.  When we show our back to Wolfie, we are telling him that we are submissive and even playful.  Wolfie can take this as a "follow the leader" game, chase after us and pass us (out the door).

With this in mind, lets get an idea of what Wolfie is seeing when we go to the door to the garage.  Normally, we say "goodbye" to Wolfie.  We are facing him at this point.  We pick up our keys, coins, etc., and then walk to the door.  Guess what?  We now show Wolfie our back.  We are now in a submissive, play mode.  We are telling Wolfie that we are no longer in charge so he doesnt have to obey and respect us.  We are also asking Wolfie to play.  No wonder he isnt listening to us and running out the door.  So, what do we do?

We need to let Wolfie know that we are in charge as we are leaving.  We do this by facing him and backing up to the door.  As soon as he starts to move towards the door, tell him "no" in a very low voice and hold our hand out like a policeman telling a car to stop.  Slowly back up to the door so that your movement does not generate any adrenaline in Wolfie.

Open the door slowly, continuing to face him.  Correct him again if he begins to move towards you.  Now, step through the door and close it slightly.  In a high voice, tell him "good boy" as you finish closing the door.

What you have done is to use the body language Wolfie is expecting from a good leader to clearly communicate to him what is right and wrong.  Your actions were simple and consistent.  Practice this for about two or three weeks and Wolfie will understand that your leaving through the door to the garage is not a game.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Puppy Training 2 Housetraining

So ... you dont want your puppy to soil in the house. In order to be successful, you should be able to describe the EXACT behaviors that you want your puppy to display with regard to elimination, and then TEACH your puppy how to perform those behaviors. What are the desired behaviors?

1. My puppy should eliminate only in the outside area that I have designated for him/her.


2. My puppy should ask to go out when s/he needs to eliminate.

How do we teach these behaviors? There are five basic guidelines for successful housetraining:

1. Restrict the puppy to a crate or cage when you cannot watch him or her closely. "CLOSELY" is defined as "with your eyes on him".


2. Feed the puppy at discrete times that fit your schedule. Do not leave food out all of the time. If you control what goes in and when it goes in, you have a better chance of controlling when it comes out!


3. While the puppy is very young, remove water after about 8:00 p.m. at night, but otherwise allow the puppy free access to water. Unnecessary restriction of water can contribute to obsessive water drinking in some dogs.


4. Take the puppy to the elimination area on a leash. Do not just dump the puppy out the back door to hopefully take care of business. You need to KNOW for certain whether your puppy has eliminated.


5. Reward the puppy with a small food treat as he completes each "job" and while the two of you are still in the elimination area. You must associate the positive reward with the behavior and the location.

Fortunately dogs have an instinctive desire to keep their nesting area clean. As any good breeder can tell you, young puppies that have an opportunity to freely move outside of the whelping box to eliminate will begin to do so as early as four weeks of age. To take advantage of your puppys natural desire to stay clean, purchase a cage or crate for your puppy that is just large enough for him or her to walk into, turn around, stand up and lie down. The crate should not be so large that the puppy can soil in one end of the crate and sleep in the other end of the crate. Many modern crates have adjustable dividers that you can use to adjust the size of the crate as the puppy grows. If you have an older crate without the divider, just find a cardboard box to place in the back of the crate to take up the excess room until your puppy grows a little bigger.

The crate should always be a "happy" place, so each time you place the puppy into the crate, give him a food toy to work on. Some good suggestions are beef shank bones filled with kibble moistened to a formable consistency or peanut butter, a rawhide chew, a nylabone, a kong stuffed treats and peanut butter or can squirt cheese, and other treat dispensing toys. For safety reasons, dont leave fabric or fabric stuffed toys in the crate when your puppy is unsupervised. While a crate may be used to temporarily remove an overstimulated puppy from a bad situation when you do not have time or energy to otherwise train the puppy, it should not be used for "time out", as that is an ineffective method for dealing with unwanted behaviors.

Put your puppy on his feeding schedule. Feed your puppy in the crate. About 15 - 30 minutes after his meal, put your puppy on a leash and take him directly to the elimination area you have chosen. Stay in the elimination area. Do not allow the puppy to pull you all over the yard. Each time the puppy eliminates, reward the puppy with a "Good Puppy!" and a bit of treat. Give your puppy about 5 -10 minutes to produce something. If he doesnt produce, take him BACK TO THE CRATE. Do NOT allow the puppy to wander loose in the house. Even if the puppy produced, it is not unusual for a puppy to have two bowel movements in quick succession following a meal. Dont hurry the process.

When your puppy has urinated at least once and has defecated at least once, you may bring the puppy into the house, but keep a leash or houseline on him and keep him in your sight. If you see signs that he is sniffing for a place to go, immediately gather him and take him outside to the elimination area. After 30 minutes - 1 hour, depending upon the age of the dog, return him to his crate for an hour or two, then repeat the process.

If you are housetraining your dog, then presumbably at some point in time you would like to allow your dog to move freely within the house. While that is a long-term goal, while your puppy is young, it is critical that you restrict the size of the area in the house in which he is allowed to wander. One of the most common mistakes in housetraining a puppy or dog is to allow the dog more freedom than s/he can handle during the early stages of his/her training.

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Dog Training Tips for Bad Behavior At The Door and Guests

Quick things you can do every time someone comes to the door and your dog displays bad behavior.

I was at a dog training session in Cooper City last week and we were just finishing up the session.  We had covered everything the client had on his wish list for that day and everything was just great.  As I got up to leave, a friend came to the front door and rang the door bell.  His dog went completely nuts.  He ran to the front door before we could even stand up, barking and jumping at the door like a crazy person.  I told the client that we had something else to work on…

What we first must understand is that just about all dogs are excited when new people are coming into the house.  This is not always a bad thing because our dog’s action can also act as a defensive/protective mechanism to an unwanted situation. What is important is that we are not embarrassed when anyone enters our house because they are jumped on, licked, and generally harassed the unruly dog. The best way to accomplish this is to nip it at the bud. Here are some tips that I have given my clients over the years:

• Put your dog on a leash. As your guests’ arrival time approaches, make sure that your dog fully engaged with toys or other distractions.
• Play with your dog outside for 30 to 45 minutes before your guests arrive.  This will help get the “excitement out of him”.
• As soon as you hear the doorbell or you get a call from the front gate, grab your dog’s leash by first putting you foot on the handle.  Then, calmly reach down and pick up the handle.  Have your dog sit next to you.
• Once you hear your guests at the front door, make sure your dog is still in a sit position.  Calmly command him to walk with you and go to the front door.  Have him sit again.
• Open the door and greet your guests. If your dog starts to become unruly or leaves the sit position, correct him and place him in the sit position.
• If your dog is still unruly, ask your guests to stay at the door for a moment.  Walk your dog around the room and have him focus on you.  Once he is calm, walk back to your guest and place your dog in a sit position.
• Have a short conversation with your guests while maintaining a close watch on your dog.
• Walk with your guests and dog into the house and to the area where you will be spending your time.  If the dog does not show signs of excitement or misplaced focus, calmly drop the leash.
• If your dog begins to go crazy again, pick up the leash (method described about), walk around for a moment or two until he is calm, and drop the leash.

You are teaching your dog is to be calm when you are meeting guests. The leash serves as a simple, non-physical training aid for you to direct your dog to make the right decision. It also allows you to be consistent in your management of him.  This is how your dog learns and how he associates leadership.

For more information on this subject or any dog training issue, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in Cooper City and South Florida.

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Puppy Training 1 How Soon Can I Begin

How early can you begin to train a puppy? Even though you may not deliberately set out to train your puppy as early as seven or eight weeks, you can be guaranteed that he is learning how to best interact in your world as soon as you bring him home. He is learning from every interaction with you, and as your dogs owner, its your job to make sure that he is learning the right things!

As a dog trainer, the most common training questions that I hear from puppy owners are about house training, jumping up on people, and puppy biting. Usually the question is framed in this way: "How can I teach my puppy NOT to jump on people, bite me, or soil in the house?" These problems can definitely be solved, but we must first learn to rephrase our question: "What can I teach my puppy to do INSTEAD of jumping up, biting me, or soiling in the house?"

As you begin to identify positive behaviors that the puppy can perform that PREVENT the unwanted behaviors, you have taken the first step toward teaching your puppy to be the best family companion that he can be.

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Dog Training Tips from Weston Florida about Walking Your Dog

I was at a dog training session in Weston the other day and the client and I were walking his dog down the street.  We were walking on a short leash and everything was going great.  This was a larger dog and the client was right handed, so we decided to walk the dog on the client’s right side.  As we were about half way through the dog walking exercise, a neighbor approached us and said he was doing it all wrong.  He told my client that all dogs should be walked on the left side.

We politely acknowledged the neighbor and tried to get away from him as quickly as possible.  When we were out of earshot, my client asked me if there was a correct side to walk the dog.  My answer was “It depends”.

I always tell my clients that it doesnt necessarily depend if they walk their dog on their left or their right unless they are going to be in dog shows.  In a dog show, you walk your dog in a counter-clockwise circle around the judge.  You have to keep the dog on the inside of the circle (on your left) so that the judge can easily view and grade your dog.  If you don’t plan to be in dog shows, who cares…

With that piece of information, let me add some general tips about picking the right side for you and walking your dog.

• You pick the side you want to have your dog on when you walk.  You can pick the left or right side, it doesn’t matter.  The important thing is consistency in the walking process.  When you finally pick your side, you will always walk your dog on that side.  This allows your dog to establish a perspective of where he should be while walking with you and will make the entire experience far more enjoyable.
• If you have a big dog, walk him on your dominant side.  If you need to correct him, it is important that you do it from your strong side.  (i.e. Are your right handed or left handed?)
• Once you have picked a side for your dog during the walk, everyone will walk him on the same side.  If you allow different friends and family members to walk him on different sides, it will add to his confusion and extend the time it will take him to “walk well”.
• He should always walk by your side.  When he walks ahead of you, it is far harder to have him obey you when you encounter a distraction such as a duck or squirrel.
• (My pet complaint!)  Use a regular six foot leash when walking.  NO EXTENSION LEASHES!

Follow these simple suggestions and your "walkies" with your dog will be a great experience! For more information about dog training, canine obedience, or dog behavior, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida or call us at (954) 424-0170.

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Your New Puppy Pool Safety

I just got a new puppy and I want to make sure he is safe in the back yard.  What sort of things should I do to make sure he is OK around the pool?

The first thing that I always tell my clients is that their dog doesnt have to love the pool, he just needs to know how to get out of the pool if he ever falls in.  

We have to remember that dogs still have that innate canine mentality and perspective.  To them, the pool is the same thing as a lake or stream.  The bank is sloped and they have the ability to walk out anywhere along it.  Unfortunately, a "pools bank" is a straight wall.  You can not easily get out where ever you want.  There is usually only one or two places where you can easily exit a pool.  Since Wolfie doesnt understand this, he will be splashing and clawing at the pools side, never being able to get out.  He will eventually tire and possibly drown.

What we must do is to train Wolfie how to locate the exits to the pool and what he must do to get out.  Here is what you do:

• Put Wolfie on a leash and gently place him on the first step in the shallow end.  Sit with him and even have some of his toys there.  Give him some treats.  What we are doing here is to introduce the pool to Wolfie so that if he does fall in, he doesnt become so scared that he cant focus on the exits.
• Now have Wolfie jump out of the pool from the first step.  Praise him when he does it.  If you need to guide him with a little tug of the leash, that is fine too.  We are teaching Wolfie the first step of getting out of the pool.
• Now hold Wolfie and slowly move him away from the first step and around the pool.  Always do this slowly and NEVER let go of him.  We want to make sure that Wolfie is building a larger perspective of the pool while still feeling safe.  Always end "your little trip" back at the shallow end step and then guide him out.  Praise always follows.
• Move Wolfie about five feet away from the shallow end step and let him loose in the water.  Use the leash to guide him back to the step and then out of the pool.
• Repeat the above process until you can be at the other end of the pool and Wolfie will return to the shallow step and then out of the pool. 

I want to emphasize that you should move slowly through these steps.  The longer we give Wolfie that ability to feel safe at each step of the process, the better he will learn.  Also, I would suggest that you keep distractions to a minimum while you are working on this.  Having crazy kids or other dogs around could easily detract from the learning process.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Dog Training Tips to Keep Your Dog from Running Through The Door Ahead of You

My dog always runs through the door ahead of me!  I can just be walking from the kitchen to the living room and “boom” he has to shoot past me like we are in a drag race.  This is just crazy!  What is going on here?

This is a natural canine behavior for dogs who think they are the boss.  In your dogs world, the leader, the boss, must always be out front to check out that everything is safe for everyone else.  As you go from room to room, that is a new place and a new opportunity for your dog to do his job and make sure everything is safe for you.  As I mentioned earlier, this action demonstrates that your dog thinks he is the leader.  Here are some quick and easy steps you can perform to stop your dog’s “door drag race”:

• Put a leash on your dog and slowly approach the door.
• Stop when you are about two feet from the door and tell him to sit and wait.
• Slowly open the door.  As you are doing this, keep an eye on your dog to make sure he is not getting ready to bolt through the door.  If you see that he is getting ready to move or if he has already moved out of his Sit/Wait position, correct him and have him return to the Sit/Wait position.
• Continue to open the door.  Once it is completely open, slowly and calmly step through the doorway.
• Make sure that your dog has not moved for several seconds.  Now invite him through the door to be with you.
• Once your dog is in the room with you, have him sit next to you for several seconds.  Give him some praise “Good puppy!” for obeying you.
• You are now done.  You and your dog can now do whatever you want.

You will be amazed on how this will turn a normally crazy time into a quiet and respectful moment!  If you have any questions or need additional dog training information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Training at the Firehouse

This week Jade and I will be doing some training at the firehouse, for a couple of reasons.  Ive already taught her to run and get the phone if I fall, and become incapacitated, which has happened more than once before.  Jade will run and find the phone, bring it to me, and lie down next me until I can either move, or help comes.  Theres only one problem. Due to the past trauma that Jade and I went through, she has a fear response to men in uniform. This is a major problem.  If I were to be in this situation again, Jade would be a tremendous help, until someone in uniform arrived, be it the paramedics, or firemen, or policemen.  She doesnt discriminate, its all men in all types of uniforms. *sigh*  I cant say I blame her after what she went through with certain men in uniform, and now she has learned to generalize to ALL men in uniform.

A police officer had to come to the house last week, and I just knew Jade was going to lose it, and she did.  She is so afraid of them, that all of her training just goes flying out the window, and I cant get her to perform her "door etiquette." Her door etiquette is when she goes to the door, when someone rings the bell, and barks. I tell her "thank you," which quiets her and sends her to her place to lie down until released. Were still working on that, but shes getting better...except when its a man in uniform, which sends her into a fearful, barking, mess, that cant be redirected no matter what.

So I spoke to my trainer about this, and she thinks itll be great for her to get some up close and personal training with men in uniform, actually letting them train her a bit.  Were going to practice "treat and retreat," which is when the man in uniform will toss Jade a treat, then take a step backward, allowing her to come forward and take the treat.  We keep doing this as Jade gets closer and closer, until shes finally eating out of Mr. Uniforms hand. Now wont that be nice! We also plan to plead with the firemen to allow us to borrow one of them to stop by my house a few times in uniform to practice this door etiquette with first responders. I dont know if theyll do this, but I would imagine they might welcome this type of training, as many first responders have issues with dogs upon coming into a home to help a downed person, but who knows, well see.  I figure we can help each other in this training, and maybe theyd be willing to help Handi-dogs do this type of training for the disabled.  Were definitely going to pitch the idea to them and see what happens.

Last week we trained at a bookstore doing down/stays, step-overs by strangers, and a sit and get a pet by a child. All went very well.  I was amazed at Jades down/stay, while she waited patiently for me to go to the counter and purchase a book. She laid quietly while I walked away, and mustve been gone a good 5 minutes. The trainer stayed with her, but never had to touch her or say a word to her.  Children ran past her, and people walked by, some stepped over her tail, and she stayed put waiting for me to return. Pretty impressive.  Im very proud of her.  We had her do a sit/stay and let some children come up and pet her, and she always welcomes a pat on the head.  She did great!

Ive really been noticing also that Jade seems to be getting over her defensiveness with other dogs.  She seems more interested in meeting other dogs at the park when shes off duty and even had a good sniff with another yellow Lab tonight.  She let the dog sniff, she sniffed and gave a play bow.  Im so glad that she seems to be moving past that.  Now, I have hope.  I have hope that she can move past just about anything, so Im hoping it wont take long to move past her fear of men in uniform.  I think its all gonna work out.  Sure am proud of my girl!!!

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