Dog Owners: Train Your Dog to Wait by the Door

One of the biggest fear for pet owners is that their beloved pet will get run over. If you have a dog that sprints for the door every time it is open, this could be a real possibility for your dog. Training your dog to wait by the door can be hard work. It is well worth it, knowing you may have saved your beloved pet's life.

The very first thing you want to do to train your dog to wait by the door is buy some treats for your furry friend. Make sure you use something a dog should ingest. You will be using a lot of treats. Human food should not be used for training purposes.

The next thing to do is to start working your dog. You will want to go to the door and if your dog runs for the door, be careful not to trip. Do not open the door. You are going to start your training by going to the door. When your dog follows, stop about arms length from the door. Make sure you are able to touch the door knob.

As soon as you get to the door turn and say "wait" or "back". As you say "wait" or "back", you need to push your dog back by "walking into the dog". Bump your dog with your leg until you are at a desired location and tell your dog "wait". Then, give your dog a treat. I suggest laying the treat on the ground where you want the dog to stay so it will smell its surroundings. Through observation of my animals, I think smell makes everything register more quickly for dogs even though I cannot find it as a written fact.

Continue to tell your dog wait as you get closer to the door. Give (throw) your dog a treat after every wait command they listen to. If your dog moves, put the dog back where you want your dog to wait and give the dog a treat. You will have to repeat this step until you can actually open the door with your dog waiting where you want the dog to wait at. Eventually, you will be able to get to the front door and open it. Continue to tell your dog to wait even when you open the door.

Be sure to give your dog adequate exercise. The more supervised exercise your dog is getting the more content your dog will be to listen and the more likely your dog will be to run. Continue using treats when you open your door and your dog waits nicely. Some dogs may be a little harder to train than others, but this seemed to work for me.