Gina
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My Almost 2 Year Old Dog Has Started To Nose His Way Out The Door When I …
My almost 2 year old dog has started to nose his way out the door when I leave the house. This has only been going on for about a week. There are two people who live in the house with him. This problem started when I was leaving for a weekend. His other person was here for the whole time I was gone I have been gone for weekends before. I need help to try to stop this behavior so we don’t have to keep him locked in part of the house so we can get out or in the house.
Please help
6 Responses
I’m not sure what your question is.
Are you worried about him escaping while you are out? If so then I do think that placing him in a cage while you are away is the safest thing to do. If you are away all weekend and this is your dog and your responsibility for his care and safety then this is another question you must answer as his primary care giver. If you share custody of this dog with someone in the house then I think you both need to sit down and discuss the situation.
It sounds like your dog knows you are leaving and is upset about it. We don’t want to discourage that kind of loyalty and love do we?
How is the dog getting out? At what point of your departure is he leaving? I suspect this needs to involve a behavior change in the humans as well as the dog. Reevaluate HOW you leave, and what you focus on as you’re leaving. Make sure the door is closed securely when you leave. If the door doesn’t close securely, look into fixing that issue.
I would also make sure the dog understands that we don’t go outside without a person. Take the dog outside, spend time outside with him, and bring him back inside when you come back in. (Dogs shouldn’t be unattended outside anyway, so this is a safety thing beyond training.) Work on barrier training – train the dog not to cross exterior doors without being told to do so. Look for a training club to find a good trainer to help you work with this issue. (In the Baltimore area we have Oriole Dog Training, which offers a wide array of training classes. Most major cities have at least one training club.)
Thank you for your comments. He tries to get out as we open the door to leave. For almost 2 years we have always have him sit and stay telling him we love him and will be back. My question is how do I stop this behavior. He is way to strong for myself with a shoulder injury to walk him so taking him even to the car to take him for training is not what I can do or even afford. Just looking for an idea
The other person isn’t willing to work with him?
Making a big deal out of leaving is part of the issue. I have a shelter mutt who came to us with some separation anxiety (on top of everything else) and she absolutely door dashed when we first got her. We built a routine of giving a high value dental chew just before we leave, and we require her to go to place (go to her bed) before she gets it. Until he has a better grasp of not door dashing, use a barrier! Baby gates are relatively expensive and very, very useful. Crating is also a good skill every dog should have, and should be practiced regularly – don’t discount this as an option.
There’s a LOT of training you can do at home. I mentioned a local training club for the widest variety of training options available, but you don’t necessarily need to go someplace to get a trainer in your home. Additionally, you can investigate Denise Fenzi’s dog sports university online at https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/
Thank you again. My dog is a very larg boy! He seems to be getting a little better! ( he dies not like the door being closed) . The other person ( my brother who is his actual owner) does work with him just not enough to my liking. The dog and I play out in the yard all the time. We are going to try again this weekend to see if the behavior is better. I just can’t do it by myself.
Set up a daily training routine with him. At least 5-10 minutes a day will work WONDERS for his overall behavior.