Train a Dog to Wait at the Door Using Positive Dog Training

For this LA Dog training session we worked with a mixed breed puppy named Scout; going over how to train a dog to wait at the door and tips to boost fearful puppy confidence.

Scott was adopted a couple of months ago and was playing a little bit rough with her roommates Sybil and Sven, a pair of Border Collies.

Normally I would recommend Scout get enrolled into a puppy class, but she was clearly fearful and anxious of my presence. Her body was stiff, she darted around the room, her eyes were big / unblinking and she had difficulty settling down.

I spent a good portion of this session doing things to help her feel more comfortable. I sat down in the deepest corner of the room so I wasn’t blocking her access to the exits. I made sure to move as little as possible, avoided eye contact and positioned her on my side as much as I could.

Once she had relaxed a little bit, I pulled out some treats and started tossing them behind her. Many people try to lure a fearful dog closer to them by dropping the treats in between. As a dog behavior expert I have found it’s much more effective to toss the treats slightly behind the dog each time it looks at you.

Adding in space helps fearful dogs feel more comfortable and tossing the treat right after the dog makes eye contact is a nice way to reward that engagement.

As I practiced, Scout started to drift closer and closer to me after retrieving the treat that I tossed behind her. She didn’t come all the way, but the fact that she was approaching me on her own was a wonderful indicator that she was feeling more comfortable.

At the end of the session, I spent some extra time sharing tips that will help friends and family members meet Scout in a positive way.

But before we got to that point, I knew I needed to go over a number of things to help scout build up her confidence. I ran through a number of fundamentals that many people disregard because they don’t seem related.

But establishing a solid foundation of clear communication is incredibly important anytime you’re trying to rehabilitate a fearful dog or puppy. This includes exercises that you’d use if you want to train a dog to wait at the door.

Since Scout was overly fearful, we let the other two dogs out so that I could demonstrate some techniques and exercises with them. As soon as the other dogs came out, Scout showed a lot more confidence.

We ran through the importance of using marker words, how to load a marker word properly, how do use hand targeting to perfect their timing but also because it’s a good consent check.

I would like to see the guardians teach all of the dogs hand targeting and then practice calling the dogs back-and-forth using this exercise. Once the dogs, particularly Scout, are comfortable touching their nose to the person’s hand, the guardians can use this to determine how scout feels about a new person.

I recommended that they play the game amongst themselves (guardians only) while their guest sits in the corner quietly watching. Once Scout is running back back-and-forth easily to touch her nose to their hand, the guest can try playing the game as well.

The nice thing about the hand targeting game is that the dog only has to touch the person’s hand rather than the person reaching out towards the Dog. Sometimes it takes fearful dogs quite a bit of confidence and time to approach a stranger. The stranger means well by reaching over to pet the dog but it usually causes the dog to lose all of their confidence.

Being passive is one of the best things you can do when dealing with a fearful dog.

I made sure to go over the importance of celebrating desired behaviors as this is another sneaky good way to build dog confidence. It also teaches them manners and helps the dog have a little bit more respect for their humans leadership. This can also help fearful dogs with their self esteem

One of the dog’s guardians has some issues that a service dog could assist with. One of the things a service dog can do is lay across a person who is feeling stressed or anxious. Just like a weighted blanket, this extra pressure can help them feel comfortable. We call this deep pressure therapy for service dogs.

I recommended that the guardian mark and reward the dogs anytime they lay across her lap and showed her how to lure them up so that they’re laying across her body. This is a wonderful exercise that is almost tailor made for the celebration game.

I suggested the guardians tell the Border Collies to sit or lie down anytime they are demanding attention. Often when dogs bark, nudge or paw at us for attention, we respond – which reinforces the behavior. I have found it much more effective to redirect the dog into a sit or down position and only reward them if they comply with your first and only request.

I suggested the guardians switch over to feeding out of snuffle mats versus using a slow feeder and recommended that they use this brand of snuffle mat. The one they had had really wide tassels which isn’t as useful as other others.

Knowing that Scout and the other dogs could use a little help with their impulse control, I walked the guardians through a couple of impulse control exercise exercises.

The bucket game helps the dog practice sitting while a bowl of food is gradually lowered, but teaches the dog to stay in a sit and wait for the human to deliver the food.

I also went over The it’s yer choice game. This is a different variation of an impulse control exercise where the dog eventually has to sit and wait while the human holds treats out in their hand.

I usually recommend my clients practice and master the bowl exercise before they do it’s yer choice as it seems to set them up for success.

How to Train a Dog to Wait at the Door

Since Scout is a fearful dog, the guardians definitely wanted to make sure that she doesn’t run out the front door. We call this door dashing and its a faily common dog behavior problem. This issue starts with the dogs people. Many people make coming or going through the door super exciting by excitedly greeting thier dogs when they come home.

Many people get mad when their dogs jump up at the door or does some door dashing, but usually this happens because the dog has not been trained on what the humans want them to do.

Stopping door dashing is all about teaching the dog what you want them to do instead, providing motivation, and then helping them practice. I always laugh a little when people realize they are getting mad at the dog for “making mistakes” when the problem is they havent started with the obvious first step, train a dog to wait at the door.

It’s not hard to train a dog to wait at the door if you use positive dog training and go at the dog’s pace. Since Scout was uncomfortable with me, we decided to practice with Zven.

If you want to learn how to train a dog to wait at the door, I suggest you check out the free positive Dog training video below.

It took a minute to get Sven to sit on the rug near the door due to it being a confined space. I recommended the guardians practice that step on its own until it’s easy to get him to sit there before they move onto to the next step, opening the door.

It didn’t take long for him to learn that it was more rewarding to sit and wait versus trying to run out when I partially opened the door. Normally I practice until completion but I ended up spending an additional two hours for this session and I could tell that one of the guardians was a little fatigued so we called it early.

But if your dog is a door dasher, this is an easy way to stop that behavior. It just takes some consisrtent practice in short, successful sessions. First you need to teach the dog what you want (sit and wait as the door opens) when you arent planning on going out the door. Practicing when you dont need to is usually the best practice.

After we finished filming this tip to stop door dashing, I coached the guardians up on this method of how to train a dog to wait at the door. I recommended that they practice with each dog individually at least once a day in short one to two minute practice sessions.

People often try to teach groups of dogs together but I have found that working with them individually is much faster. Doesn’t matter if your goal is to train a dog to wait at the door, stop pulling on the leash or fetch you the paper.

Each dog learns differently, so working with them individually and going at their pace will always result in faster results.

If the guardians are able to master the ball game and it’s your choice first, it should be easier for them to train a dog to wait at the door instead of running out.

Since this turned out to be nearly a five hour dog training session, I wanted to make sure that the guardians could remember everything we covered.

I set up my camera on a tripod and sat down to try to summarize all the things we went over as well as some instructions for guests who are coming to stay with them as as well as how to practice introducing scout to new people.

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