door bell/leaving the house help I'm looking for step-by-step instructions to help me train Tia with 2 issues that are sort of related and totally bugging me and my husband these days....so if thyere are any trainers out thgere, or if anyone has had to solve a similar problem, your input would be greatly appreciated!
Situation #1: The door bell rings
TIa makes a beeline for the front door. She is really excited to great guests, but more often than not she scoots right by and flies out the door. I know that we're not supposed to do this, but right now our solution is to pick her up and try to hold her while she squirms dangerously in our arms while we frantically ask our guest to quickly shut the door behind them. By this point Tia is being held by one hand and my cheek.
Situation #2: Leaving the house
Not always, but sometimes when one of us leaves the house she will sit right by the door until it opens and then fly right out leaving us to coax her back in with many promises for pupperoni. And if there is someone outside, she will go stratight to them for attention. They are usually pretty good about helping us "nab" her, but I'm afraid she'll cross the street in bad timing (we live on a very quiet street) or come across the wrong stranger. Our solution right now is to leave by our garage door...but neither of us believes that our dog should dictate which door we get to use in our house. And she has now figured out that the garage door is a point of exit, so she'll stand by there, forcing us to leave by the front door.
I'm "this" close to hiring an in home dog trainer for a few sessions because I feel that we really need to nip this in the bud.
Tia works well with a clicker and treats.
Can any one help? Please?
__________________ Hope in a jar: Where there is hope there can be faith; where there is faith miracles can occur. Liz and Tia |