pet connection

I’ve been teaching my dogs to sit at open doors and gates for many years. All of my dogs , when approaching an open door, gate, or garage door, will sit and wait for permission to go out. If permission doesn’t happen, they won’t move.

One Sunday my husband and I came back from a motorcycle ride and, as we pulled up in front of our house, I saw the front gate wide open. I was so startled I almost dropped my motorcycle as I tried to get the kick stand down. But as I ran up to the gate I saw our dogs sitting nicely in the opening — all three of them! Whew!

Some kids were playing ball in the cul de sac in front of our house so I asked them, “Did the dogs come out of the gate at all? Did they come play ball with you?”

The boys each said, “No. They didn’t come out at all!”

I don’t know who opened the gate; we kept a clip on it but after that we replaced the clip with a lock.

Another time my friend and dog training partner, Petra, was over at our house. She brought three of her dogs. We left all six dogs in the back yard to play. After visiting for a while, we went out to check on the dogs and at the open garage door (we hadn’t checked that the latch on the lattice gate across it had caught) there was a line of six dogs sitting very nicely watching the kids playing in the street. Petra teaches her dogs the same lesson, and  they observed it even at our house.

I start teaching this lesson in puppyhood, but reinforce it often as the puppy grows up. With the puppy on leash, I approach a closed door or gate, and ask the puppy to sit. He’s praised and rewarded for sitting. Then I open the door or gate. If the puppy moves from the sit, I use the leash to stop him and ask him to sit again. I close the door and repeat the exercise.

When the puppy will hold the sit, I stop that session and release the puppy for a play time.

When the puppy will hold the sit reliably when the door is opened, then I make it more difficult. After opening the door, I step through the door myself. If the puppy follows, I stop him, ask him to sit again and repeat the exercise.

In subsequent training sessions, I walk completely through the door, do jumping jacks when I’m outside the door, and then practice it when the neighborhood kids are playing out front. I also practice it with any outside opening to the world. Front door, garage door, front gate — anywhere. At the training yard I do the same thing with all the gates.

Then, to make sure the puppy understands, every time I go to walk through the door or gate, I ask the puppy to sit, open the door, and give him permission to come through with me, “Okay, let’s go!”

Not only is this training skill a potential life saver, but it’s wonderful for day to day living. When I’m taking trash cans to the curb or bringing them in, I can leave the gate open and not worry about the dogs dashing out. I can bring in the groceries from the car.

When our next door neighbor moved into her house a few years ago, my husband and I went out to introduce ourselves and left the garage door open. All three dogs sat in the garage, looking out, but didn’t move. I saw her keep looking back to the dogs and then back to us; back to the dogs and back to us. I didn’t say anything; I was waiting for her to say something.

Eventually she did, “Why are the dogs just sitting there? Why don’t they come out? What’s wrong with them?”

I love it!

Photo: Good dog, Bashir!

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