The Great Escape

By Jaime Van Wye, CMDT

Backyard escape artists love to figure out ways to break out of their yard, employing all kinds of mental acuity to dig, tunnel or climb to freedom. But dogs that bolt through the front door seem motivated by a different drive — the thrill of the chase. There’s nothing that compares to a heady game of “Chase me!” through traffic, leaving dogs exhilarated and owners terrified to open the door. The issue is particularly problematic around the holidays, when guests and delivery men descend on the front steps with increasing frequency. How do you break your dog of this bad habit?

Traditionally, dog trainers have resorted to all kinds of booby traps to squelch this behavior, such as launching noisemaking or startle devices at the dog, or tying the dog on a long line of just the right length so that he’s stopped in his tracks (and usually flipped over) when he hits the end of the rope.

These methods work by teaching the dog that hurrying through the front door causes pain, essentially creating an artificial phobia in the dog should he dare venture forth. While effective for some, the problem with this kind of training is that it can deepen anxiety problems for nervous dogs and it can have absolutely no effect whatsoever for bolder pooches. Plus, the timing on the human end has to be completely precise, or it doesn’t work.

A much more effective way of dealing with a bolting dog is to teach a boundary stay. This basically means that your dog will understand that he may not cross the threshold of the door without your permission, usually in the form of a release word such as “Okay!” Boundary stays are particularly effective for multi-dog households where arriving guests can cause even more chaos near the door.

To teach this, the first thing you will have to do is leash up your dog before any arrival or door opening. If your dog gets really excited by his leash, it is not a bad idea for your dog to wear a drag line (sometimes called a house line) or a tab leash. A drag line is simply a very lightweight line between 4 and 10 feet long that is attached to your dog’s normal collar. There is no loop at the end so it won’t get caught on objects in your home. You can step on the line and immediately get control of your dog by effectively “leashing” him when needed.

A tab collar is much shorter, usually between 6 and 18 inches long, and essentially allows you to gain quick control by easily grabbing your dog’s collar without having to grapple with him. It is particularly helpful for dogs with long coats.

Once you’ve set yourself up with a leash system, you’ll start requiring your dog to hold either a sit or down-stay when you open the front door. Begin practicing this without any guests, opening and closing the door, and resetting your dog in the stay position if he breaks (using the leash if necessary).

Never allow your dog to go through the door without your “Okay!” command. Begin moving around near the door, opening it, shutting it, stepping outside and coming back in before trying it with distractions like guests. Your routine should be the same every time: Approach the door, sit your dog, then open the door and pay the pizza guy. If your dog breaks, immediately deal with your dog first, even if it means making guests wait while you regain control. Close the front door if necessary; most people will understand.

If you have a rug at your entry, you can teach the boundary stay on the rug instead of the threshold, which will give you a bit of a buffer should your dog break the stay. This also works well for dogs that get too wiggly at the front door and is great if you have more than one dog in the house. During this training phase, remember that your focus should always be on the dog, not the door, until you have a really rock-solid stay.

It’s important that everyone in the house understands the drill because consistency is the only way to reinforce this behavior. If your dog must sit and stay every time the door is opened, he’ll soon learn that bolting isn’t allowed anymore. This requires that all humans in the house follow the exact same routine, which is sometimes more of a challenge than training the dog.

Nevertheless, the days of chasing your dog down through traffic can be over. Consistency and a concerted effort will eventually allow you and your dog a safer and happier life together.

Jaime Van Wye is the owner and founder of the Zoom Room, a dog training franchise specializing in obedience and agility based out of Los Angeles. She is also the Dog Daycare chair for the Pet Care Services Association. Visit www.zoomroomonline.com.