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AUTO WAIT AT DOOR, part #2
I wanted to follow up with some additional ideas after posting about this topic on 10/29, which you can see here, and which includes some great input from @jenz.
Here are some things I like to teach my dogs when I approach and then open a door:
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Look at me, rather than focusing on the door. I progress from standing at a closed door, to jiggling the knob, to opening it slightly, and gradually to opening it fully. This way, giving me eye contact is taught and generously rewarded at each of these small steps.
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Once the door is fully open, most treats are delivered for remaining inside, with treats delivered several feet back from the door to encourage more space (and thus, more safety) when the door opens.
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The release cue to permit the dog to go through the door is practiced occasionally, and then treats are delivered immediately upon the dog exiting, to encourage a calmer exit combined with a look-back in anticipation of the treat.
A minute of practice here and there during the day usually gets the job done in short order. You’ll know your dog is catching on (and will be ready for the next steps in training, which I’ll post about next week) because eye contact combined with willingly holding their bodies inside is happening almost every time you go to the door. Below are two clips of Bond and his auto-wait. He’s been rewarded so frequently for remaining inside when the door opens that you see no anticipatory surging.
See Part 3 in this series HERE.
If a dog has problems with this training and keeps trying to dash through the opened door, what steps could you take to help them?
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