How do I teach my dog to not run away when the door is open?

Answer 1

This is a fun behavior to teach.
1. Have a hungry dog.
2. Get yourself a bowl full of very tasty, irresistible treats. Give your dog one for being a dog, and to get him interested in what you're doing.
3. Go over to the door, and be sure dog is watching. Bring the bowl with you and set it where you can reach it.
4. Have a treat in your hand - then, place you hand on the doorknob, and throw the treat in the other direction!
5. Repeat a few times. Soon, you'll see that your dog watches your hand approach the knob and backs away or otherwise moves away from the door. If he's just hanging out back in the place where you throw the treats, break off the game, play tug, do whatever, and then go back to the game.
6. Start to turn the doorknob. Keep on throwing those treats. If you haven't ended the session for the time being, now is a good time to do it (dogs learn a lot during the breaks they have in between sessions)
7. Go back to your game and start to open the door. You may see that the dog is overstimulated by that and tries to go out - no need to get emotional or punish. Just block him and shut the door. Go back to repeating the 'easier' parts of the game. If he still insists on trying to go out, get better treats. You may want to keep him on leash for his safety.

What you do by playing games like this is associate the opening of the door with him getting paid for not barreling out of there. Dogs learn by repetition, and this game is an effective way of showing him that he's going to get paid for staying away from the door, and he simply won't get paid for running out.
You can start to say "Get back" or whatever you'd like when your dog is doing what you want with just the visual cues.
I hope I helped!

Answer 2

This is what worked for my dogs.

1. When going for a walk, have them always sit before you open the door w/ the leash on. Tell them to wait or stay. Open the door you go first then tell them to exit.

2 Having the door open - you outside and they don't run off!

With the leashes on open the door, repeat the wait as stated above and stand there. When they try to come through correct them by reminding them to sit.

If they try to dart through close the door. Don't be rough because you dont want to cause any pain if they get stuck in it.

They learn that the door can close at any time. It took ...oooh 3 - 15 min sessions before I left the door open, got the mail, set up the sprinkler, took the trash out, and cleaned out my car (all in one foul swoop) with the door wide open, my dogs sitting right there w/ NO leash on!

Good Luck

Answer 3

Don't ever hit your dog, not even "just a little"!!!!!
First you need to teach him/her to sit. Then teach him/her to stay. When he/she has done what you want, give a little treat. Then open like a back door, where you might have a fenced in yard, tell the dog to sit and stay as you walk out the door. Even a bedroom door. Just go a few steps at a time, making distance between you and the dog further and further.
Each step (sit, stay, open door) will take awhile, however in baby steps with patience and a few treats you will see improvement.
Dogs learn from reinforcement not hitting. If he/she learns that when he does what you want he gets rewarded with a treat (not a whack) he will be your best behaved friend!!!!!!
Working with a leash sometimes is helpful depending on how much your dog needs to learn.

Answer 4

Don't think that a dog has kept any scenario in his head for weeks or months about finding help for someone in another town, or being reunited with some puppies. You've only had him 2 weeks, some dogs take months to adapt to a new home. Put up a barrier like a baby gate or keep a leash on him before any doors to the outside are opened, while you are working on training him. He needs training, because one day he is going to get out into the road. It doesn't matter why he's escaping or where he's going, all that matters is that you work on it with him.

Answer 5

Teach your dog to stay.
1. Get a treat you dog likes and have it broken up or small treats.
2. Make your dog sit and take a step back and say stay (you may need to hold your dog back from comming towards you)
3. Repeas step 2. but each time step farther back until your far enough away so you can say stay when your on your couch and your dog will stay. Remember to tell your dog to stay every once in a while so he/she will remember the trick

**After you teach your dog to stay, next time you open the door say stay and he/she should stay and not run away. Good luck!

Answer 6

Teach your dog to sit at the door. If your dog gets up when the door starts to open, say un huh and close the door. Ask him to sit again. Start to open the door, if he gets up, close the door. The idea is teaching your dog to stay put when the door opens.
What you want is to be able to keep your dog in a sit/stay while you open the door and step outside.

Then you can call your dog outside with you.

Answer 7

Firstly, You must put a dog that has flight instincts on a leash when training. (For obivious reasons I guess)
Okay now your dog is on lead get him/her to sit. Offer cheese treat. Now say stay and go to open door, if your dog moves at all say NO and say STAY again. When the dog is in stay position and is calm go to open door again, REPEAT this until your dog is in stay position without moving. Then open the door. Say STAY straight away so dog understands, if it moves repeat above. If it stays give cheese treat. Now repeat above about five times and leave. The day after repeat the same thing again. (do not walk through the door at this point) Okay - after three days and your dog is staying walk out door. If dog is okay with that now try with lead off.

Answer 8

Put a leash on him, and open the door inch by inch. You need to take his attention off the door. Give him a tap with your hand on the neck and make a sound. Then open the door a little more. Everytime you go to open the door, and he seems interested, tap him on the neck, and make the sound "chh". That usually gets their attention. Then instead of letting him go first, you go first.

Teach your dog that you're the pack leader, not him. If he's a more hyper breed, then you need to teach him, that he doesn't need to bolt out the door, everytime it's opened. Put him on a leash, and leave the door open. When he learns that he can't get outside, then he won't be as interested. He'll eventually learn that just because he CAN be out side, doesn't mean he HAS TO be outside. You're not teasing your dog, you're training your dog! Teasing is something totall different. It may not sound like a good way to train him, but that's the best way I know how. It will make him to where he's not interested in going out the door, unless you're out there. When you go outside, take him with you. Don't touch the leash unless you're going to walk out the door, and off the porch. Standing in the doorway, or a step or 2 in front of the door, is fine. Any further, and I'd take him with you. That way he'll know, that when you go outside, he gets to go outside.
You might want to teach him stay, if he doesnt' know it. That way, when you don't want him to go outside, just tell him to stay. Always put a leash on him when you go outside, and ask him if he wants to "go outside". He'll put those 2 together, and will learn that they mean going outside. That way, when you go to walk out the door, and you don't ask him, or put the leash on him, he'll know that he can't go outside.

You never said how old, or what breed, your dog is. Certain breeds NEED to be outside, almost all day. Retreivers, Shepards, Hounds. These are all breeds that were made to get things, from outside, and move them to somewhere else, or hunt. One way or the other, they were bred to be outside, and being inside only makes them a total pain in the rear! If it's a young pup of one of these breeds, then it's only going to get worse! If it's a young dog, of none of tese breeds, then he just thinks he needs to be the first one out the door, and ready to play.

Take him for a long walk in the morning, and a regular walk in the evening. By teaching him who the leader is, will make him a happier dog, and less of a pain, and he won't have as much energy to charge out the door when you open it.

Leash training, and training a dog isn't fun. But once you get it down, you ALWAYS walk with pride, when you have a dog that listens to you, and doesn't lead you. It's totally worth the aggrivation, and the headaches! lol

Good luck to you!

Answer 9

I just saw a dog whisperer episode on this. I can't remember the details, but you need to have the dog on a leash and have training sessions where you open the door and when they try to bolt, correct them. If you don't use a training collar of some sort, I would look into that, and the proper way to fit it and use it, it encourages the dog to pay attention to you, makes corrections more effective and it keeps you from strangling a stubborn dog on a flat buckle collar.

Answer 10

Teach your dog to sit and stay, and practice it esp when people come to the door. Make sure you reward the good behavior with treats and lots of praise.