Puppy tries to dart out front door
 

Leo, my 9.5week old puppy, whom I got last Friday, keeps trying to go out the front door when someone comes in and out. I try to distract him by squeeking his toy and throwing it, which seems to help 8/10 times. Today he did get out, luckily my Grandpa got him back. How can I go about training him not to run out the door? It's a very scary thought he could get out and not come back, or get hit by a car.

Bella does too. Looking forward to suggestions.

You could try a baby gate at the door until he is old enough to train.

Your puppy is still a baby and too young to really learn to stay away from the door so keep him physically leashed when allowing him near the door, behind a baby gate to the room the front door is in, closed in another room or in his crate when you answer it. Once he's a bit older and has more capacity to learn, you can actually teach him not to approach the front door unless you invite him or bring him to it on the leash.

If you'd like, I can give you some pointers on how to do that as will other members but it is simply one of the hardest things to teach excitable, toy dogs and does take some weeks once the training begins before you can successfully keep them from door-darting. Therefore, you won't be able to rely on anti-door-darting training for quite some time to keep your baby safe.

In the meantime, to be safe, keep an ID tag on your little one and keep that baby away from the door as toy dogs dearly LOVE escaping out the front door!!! My Tibbe was just the worst door-darter his first few months here and still is if I don't keep his training refreshed but I have trained him to avoid the door and he's also trained not to leave his front yard. So even the time or two he has door-darted in the last couple of years when there was a crowd at the door(after I had lapsed on refreshing his front-door avoidance re-freshing training), he has stayed in his yard and came back in when called. Training - it works wonders - but for door-darting most of these little Yorkies do and the way they live their lives right under our feet and take part in everything we do, they still can be trained not to approach the door and they remember it as long as you keep refreshing the training - often.

To make the front door avoidance training work better, you need to also start regular obedience training with your little guy so that he'll learn in time to control his impulses, learn to respond to your commands for instant gratification(praise & treats), learn to see you as his pack leader who is to be obeyed at all times for that instant gratification and pride of accomplishment, learns to enjoy the work of training and how proud it makes him to work with you as a team-member. And the magic of obedience training is that over time, your dog learns to see you as his pack leader, respect you automatically, obey you by rote - without really thinking about it - just obeys out of habit when you tell him something. Of course no dog is really perfect - they forget, get badly distracted and can grow sluggish if we let them down by not refreshing the training or do it badly, dully and don't put fun and excitement, pride in the dog into it, but for the most part, training your puppy in simple obedience and simple "tricks" will pave the way for preventing door-darting through some additional, simple training and a create a well-behaved and happily submissive dog who enjoys obeying you for the pride you make him feel when he does. It makes for a lovely pet who rarely gives you problems as opposed to the often frantic, constantly barking, resource-guarding, occas. nipping/biting, destructive-of-your-things, house-peeing/pooping little horrors that many of them turn into from a lack of training or strong leadership.

My place is setup so I can go to the door, push Ruger back and get a gate between him and the door. Usually I throw a few treats into the room and he'll chase those when I go out. Coming in he now stays back a bit because he wants to greet me, but if I put the gate up before I left he stays there till I remove it.

While training is very important, I decided to put up barriers to prevent accidents. My boys were trained to stay at the door. However, a certain human forgot to give the stay command and Teddy followed his impulse to jump out and chase the UPS truck down the street.

We put up babygates to keep the doggies from the doors.

I've already taught him sit. He does really well with sit, and he's fairly good with "come" He's a VERY hyper puppy. Loves chewing, picking up random things outside (I pulled a slug out of his mouth yesterday) :eek: He constantly tries to chew on fingers, and toes. I'll tell him a firm NO, yip, and/or give him a toy to redirect him on what's correct to chew on. I can't wait until he's out of this phase. I'm definitely going to take him to obedience classes. He's the totally opposite of what Zoey was as a puppy. What's a good age to start basic obedience classes? The Petco in my town offers them.

He sounds just like most puppies - hyper, chewers, going nonstop. I usually start to obedience train them as soon as they are done with imprinting and so forth at 12 -14 weeks but you can do some training earlier with the come, sit, stay, watch me type things to get him started off right and for only a minute or two a few times a day. Early and consistent training is so important to build the kind of working team you'll want to become.

Once he's gotten more control of his impulses, you can train him to go to a spot of your choice - say his bed or a rug - and stay there when the doorbell rings or your approach the front door and that will prevent door-darting but it takes a dog that has control of his impulses, repeated training and primed to want to stay there for the reward of praise, pride and treats he will get and which he's learned over time are all more satisfying than darting out the door. Once your dog has learned to work for your pride in him and how much he enjoys feeling that, plus the praise and treats as secondary benefits, he will stay where you train him to stay during open-door sessions and comings and goings even though it is very hard for little dogs.

" I usually start to obedience train them as soon as they are done with imprinting" What is imprinting? O_o

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This is a matter of life and death....you may not get a do over! THIS is the one instance when I will take a thin little neighborhood newspaper, rolled up, and I will loudly slap that newspaper on MY LEG first, to startle the pup and stop him from going any further. If he persists in this behavior, and since I do NOT trust "training" when that predator drive kicks in and pup sees a squirrel in the yard, I WILL take the newspaper, hold it down alongside my leg, and when pup starts to bolt out the door, I bring that newspaper down IN FRONT OF PUP, LOUDLY AND FIRMLY YELL "NO"!!!!, AND HE THEN RUNS INTO THE NEWSPAPER, AND STOPS DEAD IN HIS TRACKS! He "thinks" he has been swatted..... If necessary, I will swat the pup in this instance, as this is NOT something I will allow or accept. I have to say, I avoid the swats by putting up baby gates throughout my home, totally keeping my pups away from any and all exits!

Nothing else warrants swats as far as I am concerned, except the "bolt out the door" stunt....that can result in DEATH!!!!

Here's an explanation.

puppy development stages | Wonder Puppy

I have a gate inside too as I just can't trust them not to dart out. All it takes is once, and they end up in the street. Not worth it.

We do have a baby gate across the kitchen. If just one person is leaving, then someone else will hold him, but if we're all leaving we put him in his crate. My grandpa wasn't paying attention, and I think he forgets Leo is only a puppy, and doesn't know better like my adult dogs. I'm definitely going to be more strict/stern with things. =)

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Excellent! Something that a lot of people do not even realize is that some senior citizens are concentratinng so hard on not slipping or tripping, remembering what they are going to get or even where they are going, they can easily forget about pets darting between their legs / feet! With holidays upon us, lotsof people running in and out of doors, this is the time to pull out all stops and do all you can to keep you pet safe! Remember Aunt Lucy's heart medicine in her purse or suitcase, on the floor inthe guest room! Remember all the Halloween candy, much of it toxic to dogs. Christmas thru New Years,each have their own conglomeration of dangers and require a step up in "homeland security"!!

Wow, this is terrific advice. Never thought of it, but oh so true! I'm lucky I live in the country, but if Gunner gets out the front door I cannot catch him since I can't move to fast. Also, when the grandkids come over I sometimes give them treats which are not good for him. Thanksgiving and Christmas? I think I am going to put him in the crate till after the New Year.:eek:

There are many ways to train dogs. Strict/stern is one way but there are better ways of training, such as positive reinforcement to show the dog what you expect, reward and praise him when he does it, say uh oh and no reward or praise when he gets it wrong and train him that way. You don't have to use intimidation or scary noises with a dog to train it or keep it from doing the wrong thing when a dog is well-trained.

Trouble is, most people don't train their dogs that well and use short-cuts that don't teach a dog what to do or how to properly react in stressful situations when outside or at front doors with people coming in, etc., but just stop them from misbehaving each time when the fearful thing is in the hand of the trainer. When it's not - they usually take out on their own to do what they want and haven't been trained how to control themselves and avoid it. They are on their own then and it's dangerous. Takes more time to train positively but most top-notch trainers recommend positive reinforcement to help engender trust and actually teach young or anxious dogs how to obey without any warnings or feared objects in the hand, etc. A dog that learns, actually learns, how to react to you properly when you give a command and KNOWS HOW do it through training for self-control and discipline and wanting to please is a safer dog than the one who is trained only to stop behavior when something he is scared of is around.

This is a huge issue with many pups and can be very difficult and hazardous if they are not trained properly. I never had much of an issue with mine until four yrs ago when our little Ruby came into our lives. She riles up the gang and than even thou they knew better they would try to go out the door every chance they got. It became very frustrating after a while. They were trained to go in the house when told so it was only a very short trip out but still just as frustrating. I had had enough so after almost two years of intense training at the front door and them learning the new command (back) before everyone, including Ruby would no longer go out of the door when its opened. I could stand there with it hanging open and they will not leave the house.

They were also taught to be on there spot when they hear a knock at the door. They all have to be sitting behind the divider that separated the hard wood from the carpeted area in the entryway before we open the door. They can bark as much as they want but they don't move past that spot. All we need to say is "back" and they move back away from the door and sit. Of course Ms. Ruby has to test her limits every so often, but she quickly learns that mamma don't paly that. LOL and sits where she is suppose to be. Yay... success ! :D

The first thing and most important thing that you need to do is to teach your pup his name and the come command !! (you can find a quick and easy way of doing this on my web site) www.dawnsyorkies.weebly.com/training-tips

Once you have accomplished those two things you can than move onto the sit and stay or the back commands. Which will help when it comes to the door issue.

You may also want to try the leash training method to help train your pup. I an be helpful when teaching him his boundaries. The front door being one of them.

This might give you some ideas of how to train the dog to stay in one place when the door is approached. It is from an old post about a female dog:

I apologize - this is very long but is a step-by-step way I train dogs with door darting issues. As far as the door darting, it is possible to get a dog to change that behavior but I'll be honest, it takes work and repetition. It takes you staying in training mode, matter-of-fact and not losing patience as it is hard to train the greeting excitement reaction out of a dog. To train her from the start, use high value treats she will "kill" to get - her very fav's that she sits up and takes notice over - something like turkey hot dog pieces or boiled chicken. Desensitize and redirect her energies to the door by repetition of having a family member knock on the door/ring the bell, take a treat in your closed fist and guide her after your fist carried low beside you near her nose to a spot you want her to go to when someone is at the door. Make it a spot where she can see who is at the door - don't frustrate her by putting her in another room. Let her door spot be within sight of the door and the newcomer. Anyway, guide her with the closed fist full of a treat to the spot you want her to go to, have her lie down and treat her, rub her back in praise and smile. No excitement here. Don't amp her up by wild praise here. Just treat and praise when she lies down. Keep repeating this over and over - at least 4 - 5 minutes at a time a few times a day.

At the same time, if she doesn't know the "stay" or "wait" obedience trick, teach her that and keep the training fun and upbeat. You want her coming along happily with the learning process. Smile when she gets it right. Praise with really loving feeling, looking her in the eyes and treating. This will help her start to learn there is such a thing in her life as impulse control and that if she goes to and waits in place when someone comes to the door, she gets that lovely treat and makes you proud and happy. Here's the trick - don't treat every single time after the first few days of training. That expectation of when she might get a treat is wonderful to dogs and they work hard in hopes that this might be the time. It is more effective than treating every time after the first few days of teaching a trick.

Once she is able to control herself and has learned the "stay", start to desensitize her to staying in place in her door spot, the place you are teaching her to go for a treat when someone comes to the door. When the doorbell rings and she goes to her door spot of your choice and lies down, treat her and say "Stay" or "Wait", hold her eyes with yours and hold that treat in your fist before her as someone else answers the door and lets the person in. Herd her back into place when she tries to get up and go greet. And she will. Over and over she will try. THIS IS WHERE SHE WILL TRY YOUR PATIENCE TO THE DEATH! And here is where the success comes in - just stay in training mode, say "Uh oh", go retrieve her, herd her back with your arms and hands outstretched to the side, looking into her eyes with intent, and when she is backing off, grab a treat from your waited treatbag and guide her with that fisted treat back to her door spot and treat her instantly when she lies down. Say "Stay" again, holding another treat enclosed in your fist before her, holding her eyes with yours. When she does stay for as long as even 1/2 a minute, treat and praise her with a gentle pat, smile and release her with the word "release". Now she can go greet the newcomer. Gradually increase her "stay" times in her door spot before you release and allow greeting. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Stay upbeat, fun, smiling.

Repeating this process over and over with patience, love and gentleness is how you can help your dog achieve impulse control and desensitize to the whole idea of a visitor coming to the door without her going wild. It is EXTREMELY work intensive and requires you to absolutely keep it fun and rewarding for her, staying patient and never losing your cool because I find this is the single hardest thing to teach a dog and keep it reinforced.

In the natural world, the dog's impulse is to greet newcomers to the pack, go and sniff the behind, lick the lips of the other dog and often they will jump up on people trying to get to the lips to greet as in the wild, though in the dog world they don’t have to try to jump up to do this. But this process of teaching the long down "stay", the controlling of her impulse to get up and working to stay down to get that reward of the treat and your smile and pleasure - that will go a long way toward helping her concurrently learn to stay down in her "door spot" as a new visitor comes in and deter her from door-darting. EVENTUALLY, she will get that going to her spot, staying down gets her rewards and she will still get to go greet the newcomer, but only after the "release".

It is a lot of work and takes about a year if you don't work at it a lot but one day it will all come together and you will have a dog that controls its impulse to dart out the door just like dogs control their impulse to bite, pee where they want, walk beside you on the leash and not pull you down the street - all of those things they learn to do despite their natural inclination. But training them to stay calm and in a safe spot as the door open is entirely possible if you keep patiently at it over and over and over, keep it fun and loving and don't give up.

Most people give up and give in to the dog's way and go buy gates. This type of training or some modified form of it is not for the faint of heart and really only for those who love to work with dogs and keep it fun, positive and rewarding and are far more determined than the dog. :)

It is funny that Huey is well trained to not approach the basement door, which is our main entry/exit location. The front door, on the other hand, is a nightmare, because that one only gets opened when the doorbell rings or someone knocks. Huey goes ballistic! Before we learned better, the pizza guy had to catch him one time. Huey just ran out to see who was there, but will not return when called...he will go to the stranger calling him, though, so I have to be even more careful because he could be dognapped in an instant. If the doorbell rings, we will open the main door but keep the storm door locked. We will then indicate to whomever is there to wait - they understand when they see the barking, freaking-out furball. Huey then gets put in the bedroom or on the deck until the person at the door has entered or completed whatever transaction they came to complete. If we are expecting workers like the cable guy, Huey gets leashed before the appointment time and remains leashed until that person is gone.
Halloween is a nightmare because of this. We love to dress him up and we buy candy, but my DH usually gives up very quickly because of the hassle with the dog, (or so he says...I think he wants to eat all the candy himself...:rolleyes:)
I am usually at work by the time the trick o treaters show up, so it is all DH with handing out candy and controlling the wild beast. I have tried putting up a gate at the door, and Huey just wants to play with the kids, but the barking usually freaks them out.

Aw, tell him to try putting little partyboy Huey on a leash secured to his belt and let Huey enjoy his party around the kids. :)

Oh my
 

Cant believe I read in puppy developement stages, on previous page..
"The optimal time for puppies to be placed with their new human families is at 7-8 weeks of age"......

Now tell me how to work in breaking her submissive peeing at people greeting time.she is 5 months but does well with the meet and greet as far as not jumping up on people but oh boy piddle piddle piddle.....

She also did well with petsmart obedience training , especially stop and wait at door , I can open it wide , go out and STAND there until i say ok then she comes out....I really like that....

But am struggling with the pee and greet:(

My Tiki used to do the excite pee, but she grew out of it. I'll bet your pup does too. Congratulations on your training of stop and wait; that is fantastic.

Possibly that applies to larger breed dogs, but we all know that for Yorkies and small dogs it is 12 weeks.

Here's a good article about submisive urination, explains it and how most train a dog out of it.

01 Submissive Urination - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company!

Thank you for the article
 

It is one of things where it happens so fast, I have been approaching it calmly but I have to be careful not linger too long even if she wants to.and I wasn't rewarding good behavior immediately after and that was what was missing...

Someone comes thru the door and if I'm not there FAST enough THEY have to know to make your discouraging sound, calmly put hand on her wiggling body then AS soon as she calms down a little..which is seconds....praise and reward and distract.
Got It!
It just happened again and she stayed that way ...yayyyyy
We'll keep reinforcing it and see what happens!
I' ve got plenty of paper towels and OderBan:)
Thanks YTJ

hehe, my grandparents aren't THAT old. In their early 60s (I'm 22) :animal36