How To Stop My Dog From Running Out The Door

On a daily basis at our dog training camp in Alaska, we work with dogs so they stop running out of the door.

This is what we call “door manners.”  In my opinion, teaching your dog door manners is essential for numerous reason, you will see I discuss this in our numerous training articles.

Importance of Door Manners:

Pack Leadership: It teaches your dogs that you are the first one to do everything.  You go inside first, you go outside first, you go  up the stairs first, you go down the stairs first, etc.  This is a very simple thing you can do to help show pack leadership with your dog.  As I explain to our clients, “You never see pictures of ducks lined up and the mother is in the back of the line.  You never see packs of lions and the biggest alpha lion is behind all of the  small ones.”  Why? Because it’s very basic pack leadership, the alpha male and dominant member is always in the front.

Manners: Doing door manners does just that, it teaches them manners.  There are few things I hate seeing more than a dog literally almost knocking someone down trying to go out the door before them (or in the door).  This should never be acceptable for you or your dog.

Safety: By doing door manners, you have taught your dog that “just because the front door opens, does NOT mean you are free to run out it.”  So, when you incorporate door manners in your obedience training they become desensitized to the door opening; therefore, it prevents them from running out it like many dogs do.

Did you know that in 2012, approximately 1.2 million dogs were killed from being hit by a car?  Many of them from running out of the front door or chasing something into the street.

ANYONE who has trained with us, has seen us incorporate the door manners into our training, we literally do this with every single dog we train.  That’s how important door manners is to us, we do it with with every dog at camp several times a day.