Danger, moments before bolting for the neighbors' trash
Here’s one that could be a lifesaver for your dog. The combination of wait and go through is what we use to get our dogs to stop at every doorway, check in with us, and go through only when told. Ideally, these should become default behaviors that don’t require a verbal “wait” cue but instead are cued by the sight of any doorway. This is especially important when exiting vehicles, when an excited pooch might go bounding into traffic. Here’s how to train it.
- With your dog on lead and heeling, approach a doorway. Stop and have your dog sit. Click and treat for eye contact after the sit. Repeat this part of the drill in reps of 10, spaced out with breaks between reps until the dog will sit and look up without the cue.
- Now add the word “wait” to cue this chain of stop, sit, and look up at the doorway. The ADW trainers always position themselves on the hinge side of the door and remember it with the mnemonic, “human–>hinge.”
- With your dog waiting patiently, try adding the cue “go through.” Many dogs will just understand that phrase, and specifically your tone, as a release to go through the doorway, a big reward in itself. If he doesn’t get it, you can add some leash pressure and a gesture to cue the go through.
- Now to get your dog to turn around and check in again rather than just race through the door into whatever fun is on the other side: Click your dog right as he goes through the door. Sue taught me this trick, which uses the clicker as both bridge and cue in one. In this case, the click doesn’t mark the desirable behavior, it precedes it. Danger hears the click and rather than bolting, turns to eat his treat.
Practice this drill every time you go through a door and you’ll have your pal checking in with you at crosswalks, trail forks, and new doors without having to ask.
