Trainer’s Blog

Help My Dog is Door Dashing

by Victoria | Oct 4, 2021 | Training | 0 comments

Help my dog is door dashing! Do you wish your dog would sit and wait nicely when guests arrive? How about when someone is coming or going from your home? Many dogs become over excited and rush the door whenever it opens to get outside or to greet someone. But how do we explain to them that this behavior is dangerous? Unfortunately, we cannot spell things out in words for our dogs. But, it is possible to teach them calm and patient behaviors when it comes to the front door! Dog running in the street with blurred background off-leash

Why are they Door Dashing?

First, what are some reasons why a dog might dash for the front door whenever it opens?

When you think about it, your dog’s world consists of your home and wherever you decide to take them. When you leave, the house is boring and the outside world is simply much more exciting and appealing. This is especially true for dogs that are intact (aka not spayed or neutered). The hormones in their bodies are urging them to roam, which makes it even harder to keep them confined when you are not able to take them out with you. For some dogs, simply the excitement of someone coming over or coming home can be enough for them to dash through the crack in the door or jump on guests.

How do we deal with Door Dashing?

But how do we keep our pets safe?

The best strategy is to teach patience and self-control! I know what you are thinking: “I need help, my dog is door dashing and stubborn and crazy and doesn’t have any self-control!” Instead of teaching them what not to do, let’s focus on what we want them to do. In this case, I usually recommend teaching a dog to wait at the door instead of darting towards it at full, doggy-whirlwind speed. This will take some time and practice, but with the right guidance and consistency, even repeat offender door dashers can learn to wait at the door instead of bolting right through it!

Does your dog struggle with door dashing or greeting guests a bit too enthusiastically? “Wait” is a patience behavior that we teach in our group classes, and it is also a behavior we can work on individually in private one-on-one training sessions as well!