Having fido sit and wait until the door is open, and they have been Given their release cue, to go through the door.
Rewarding the sit in front of the door
To start this cue off – We want to have fido on a harness and leash to practice, and then we want to ask Fido to sit when we walk up to the door.
Once fido’s bum hits the floor, say yes and reward fido with a food treat, step down on the leash and proceed to reach towards the door.
As soon as you touch the door handle, say your release cue (ex. All done), once you have said that Fido is welcome to get up and walk through the door.
The reward for waiting the few seconds to go through the door, is going through the door! This is a life reward!
- Troubleshooting and progressing the cue -If fido pops their bum up before you have said their release cue, close the door. Then cue fido to sit and try again! This will be handy when we progress this cue to having fido wait for the door to be fully open!
Getting the dog to wait until the door opens
To do this – we want to start to slowly build up the time we have them wait. Each time you have them sit at the doorway, wait until the door is a little bit more open, to give them their release cue.
For example: the first time you try, have Fido sit and release Fido as soon as you touch the door handle.
Then the next time you have them sit at the door, don’t release them until you have turned the handle.
Then the next time, don’t release fido until the door is slightly open, then next time have it a bit more open, and continue this progression until Fido can wait for the door to be fully open, to be released.
This way we create a behavior, where we don’t have to cue them. Their cue is approaching the door, they will learn to do an automatic sit, and wait to be released.
This cue could save them from running through open doors, which is why it is important to be consistent and build the cue up to the fully open door. They would see that open door and know they need to be released in order to go through, this is obviously once we have built the cue up solid and have added in many distractions.
It also eliminates them running out the door like crazy dogs whenever we take them out and helps them use their brain and work for their everyday real life rewards! Before you know it you won’t even need to treat fido for the sit at the door, the reward for sitting and waiting is going through the door!
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