Doggie Door Training

[KEN JACOWSKY]

What is the best way to transition a puppy doing their business in the back yard to getting them to use a doggie door.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

A doggy door should be used when a puppy has attained enough bladder and bowel control and is able to walk towards a door without having an accident. The  main problem with introducing a doggy door is teaching the pup to go through it and then using it to go potty. If your puppy is new to a doggy door, he may be hesitant about using it because he neve saw one before.  Once he gets used to using it, the problem is that they may not potty when outside and then have an accident on the floor. A doggy door may therefore risk setbacks in potty training if caution is not taken. 

Another important consideration is that young pups are prone to getting in trouble or engaging in destructive behaviors when left outside unsupervised. It's crucial that the yard is totally puppy proofed (no toxic plants, things pups may chew and ingest) and the pup is prevented from engaging in destructive or other undesirable behaviors (chewing, scratching doors, digging in the flower garden, barking constantly). Make sure there is a water bowl and shade in case he forgets how to get back in and nobody is available to help him get back in.

Here are some steps to acclimatize a dog to a doggy door and further steps to ensure he uses it to go potty. 

First, let's look at what not to do. Forcing the dog through the flap often only makes matters worse. Dogs don't like to be put into situations they are not comfortable with, and if we force them, they may even lose trust in us.

On top of this, if you push your dog through, your dog may become overly dependent on that help, which may lead to a dog always waiting for the push and never taking initiative on his own. Not good! So here are some helpful tips.

1. Use Treats Wisely

While the use of treats may work in certain circumstances, it's important to use them with caution, as there's a fine line between them acting as an incentive and being perceived as cunning tools used to trick your dog into doing something they're afraid of.

Treat-based persuasions can therefore backfire, causing dogs to think along the lines of: "Every time my owners bring out those tasty treats, it's like a siren's call tempting me to face my fears, but I'm no fool! I know they're trying to lure me into those spooky places! Nope, I won't fall into this trap and let my humans try to outsmart me!"

Although treats may work with strongly food-motivated dogs, they often won't work with dogs who aren't too crazy about food, in circumstances where the fear of going through the door surpasses the incentive, or when the dog simply hasn't grasped the concept that, in order to get out, he must push through the flap.

The bottom line? It's important to use treats in a smart and strategic way.

2. Take Baby Steps

If your dog is afraid of the doggy door, then you need to take several baby steps to help your dog out. The process is known as desensitization. Desensitization is often used in behavior modification to help ease a dog's fears (just like in humans!). It consists of splitting actions into smaller, easier steps, versus going all in at once, which risks sensitizing a dog to his fears and leading to a phenomenon known as flooding.

For example, when teaching a person to swim, desensitization would entail a calm and controlled approach, starting with getting the person comfortable in water before gradually progressing to more complex swimming skills.

In contrast, flooding would involve things like tossing a person into the water, which can obviously lead to panic, fear and even trauma.

Desensitization is the go-to method for easing canine fears, and it's what professionals use because it respects a dog's emotional boundaries, prioritizes safety, and fosters a positive learning experience.

3. Tape the Flap Up

This strategy is important because it helps ease a dog's natural hesitancy. By taping the flap up, you are removing the doggy door's scariest components—its unpredictable movement and noise, blocked views, and the general sense of lack of control over it.

4. Reinforce Investigation

Once the flap is taped up, praise and reward your dog for showing any interest or initiative in interacting with the doggy door. Toss the treats away from the doggy door so that your dog keeps on coming back to it and doesn't get startled by a random treat that happens to land too close to the door for comfort.  Always remember to celebrate even the smallest signs of progress and reward your dog's bravery!

5. Use a Helper

Once your dog is comfortable around the door with the flap still taped up, have a helper on the other side of the door entice your dog to come out and play. Your helper may bounce a ball around or talk in silly voices. Once your dog jumps out, your helper should praise and feed several treats and let the dog play with the ball. Something similar should be done when the dog gets back inside.

6. Gradually Introduce the Flap

Over several days, as your dog goes through the open flap, remove the tape and place the flap gently on him as he goes through, starting at his back end and then gradually lowering it earlier and earlier. Once your dog is out, make sure your helper rewards him immediately with a scattering of super tasty treats followed by a fun game, or to really impress him, offer a long-lasting chew that your dog loves. Progress to holding the flap lower and lower until you are just holding the corner open.

At some point, stop holding the flap. Stand outside and make your dog feel as if you are having the time of your life (if you live with other people or dogs, invite them all out to join the party!). When your dog manages to come out, make sure that you make a big deal of it, praising lavishly and giving your dog several treats in a row and then playing fun games in the yard.

7. Invite a Demo Dog

Do you have a friend or neighbor who has a dog who knows how to use a doggy door and enthusiastically uses it? Does this dog get along with your dog and has been a playmate for some time? If so, excellent! Sometimes, other dogs are the best teachers.

Have this dog come over and show your dog how to use the doggy door. Many times, dogs are intimidated by doing certain things; if they see other dogs perform behaviors with confidence, they are more likely to give things a try. Of course, it helps if this doggy guest flies out the door and then eagerly waits for his pal, barking in anticipation.

Playing with this guest dog outside and making noises suggesting loads of fun often helps the tentative dog gain enough courage to get out to see what all the fuss is about. Because coming out of the doggy door leads to a fun play session with his buddy, your dog will likely feel more inclined to go out again in the future.

8. Use Target Training

Target training means your dog learns to touch a target and is rewarded for that. You can find a guide on how to teach targeting here starting with a Post-it note: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

The goal is to teach him to touch the doggy door with his nose and then push it open and eventually get out to get a reward. Make sure that, upon pushing the dog door with the nose and then getting out, you feed a jackpot of treats (several small, high-value treats given in a row).

9.Craft a Fake Door

Sometimes, it helps to recreate something similar to the doggy door and flap and practice with that inside. For instance, you can try to mimic a dog door by cutting a box into the shape of a frame which your dog can jump through. Practice having your dog go through this frame over and over, using high-value treats to reward your dog each time he passes through.

Next, glue a sheet of paper or some large piece of cloth to the frame to mimic the flap of the door. Glue it high to start with. Practice having your dog go through this, always rewarding generously when he does. Remove the sheet of paper/felt and then glue it lower and lower until your dog must go through it completely. Then, practice near the dog door and even hang it by the door.

Alternatively, you can try having your dog jump through a hula hoop and then attach several strings to it to desensitize your dog to the feeling of something on his shoulders as he passes through.

10. Increase the Level of Motivation

Sometimes all that's needed is to increase the dog's level of motivation. If your dog is super attracted to food, hide treats in the yard, keep the door flap open and let your dog go on a treat scavenger hunt around the yard.

Basically, it works like this: Get some irresistible treats and show them to your dog. Get him really excited about them. Then, have a helper hold him while you go outside to "hide" the treats in the yard. Once you're done, call your dog and have your helper readily release him.

Repeat this for several days, always with the door flap lifted, until you get an eager, strong response to wanting to go out upon hearing you call him. You want him impatiently fidgeting against the helper holding him.

When that becomes easy, lower the flap a bit more each day until it's completely down. Your dog's impatience and motivation may get him through the hurdle.

11. When All Else Fails

If you are out of luck trying the above methods, you can try a different doggy door make and model. Look specifically for a doggy door that activates and opens upon detecting a special sensor that is in the dog's collar. Problem solved!

Using the Doggy Door to Go Potty

Once your puppy is comfortable going through the doggy door, the biggest problem owners encounter is getting puppies to use it to potty. Many pups may go outside with an intent to potty, but then they get distracted and forget about it and then have an accident inside. So you will need to go physically outside with him to ensure he goes potty for the initial stages and praising him and rewarding him for going. It's important that he goes potty first thing once outside and then moves on to exploring or playing. Establishing this routine should help him/her learn to do this all times. 

It will help to train a go potty cue: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/advanced-potty-training/potty-on-command/ so that he is prompted to go potty right away outside and then is praised and rewarded and goes on to play, explore. Once he goes out on his own, you can remind him to go potty from a window or door at a distance, to further help him establish the routine.  Eventually, he should learn to do this all on his own as going potty acts already as a form of reinforcement of its own. 

It's therefore important to ensure the puppy applies all the training done so far when going outside to potty in the yard, but now with the doggy door and without our physical presence. This should be done initially with our presence, which will be gradually faded more and more until there's no more need for us to be reminding them what to do.