[lizziepooh_1]

Tia has/had (it's winter now so the cold air helps!) this problem. We have to pick her up everytime the doorbell rings until we finish solving this problem.

For now what we did was teach her targeting. Start by holding a treat in your hand and let her sniff your closed hand. When her nose touches your hand, click and treat. Eventually point your finger to the ground and c&t if her nose touches your hand. Work towards standing up and having her sit where you point (instead of touching) and then c&t. Then choose a place near your door and target it as a place for her to sit and stay, increasing the amount of time before you c&t. Gradually add rattling the door handle, or having someone ring the door bell for you (we didn't get this far yet!). If you are going to get to teh point where you are opening your door, keep a leash on her so in cse she makes a break for it you can step on the leash.

I also saw an episode of Dog Whisperer where the following advice was given. Show the dog that YOU own the door (it doesn't belong to your dog). So anytime she approaches the door, to "shush" her and make her sit beside you. Eventually have someone ring the doorbell for you and make sure she is sitting quietly several feet away from the door and to maintain that position while you open the door. He also had the family make the dog sit (with a leash) on the front step of the door, without holding the leash and not allow her to stand or walk away (by using the "shushing" sound). Also the dog was not allowed to enter without looking to the owner first (like for permission). Eventually this dog would not step beyond they doorway.

Hope this helps!