Today somehow the door of the yard opened, either my mom didn’t close it well since she was doing something on the street and going in and out, or the dog somehow opened the knob since the door wasn’t locked and it was easy to do so, either way the door got opened and he got out to the street and got a street block away, he didn’t run, he just wanted to walk around, sniff everything,etc.
Is it possible to teach the dog to not do that? The door opening like that pretty much never happens, but nonetheless I’d like to be certain that he wouldn’t go out if it were to happen again.
Getting an adult dog to do this is very difficult. Even dogs trained with an electronic fence are likely to eventually figure out nothing is really stopping them, and like my neighbor’s dog can easily be provoked to cross the invisible line by a squirrel or a cat.
My rhinking is yes you can. How easy is a different question. My neice, who does socialization and other reacue dog actuvities part time has had tremendous success with one of her permanent dogs and zero with the other. In her case its down to personality of the dogs as far as I can tell. The failure-to-adapt pup is just a happy spastic loving wanderer (her permant pooches are extremely social and extremely opposite persons and act as teachers aides for her project pooches). The well behaved dog is an older German shepherd who matches her energy and acrivity output to yours exactly.
It’s possible to teach them to stop and sit at the open door. I personally would never trust it 100%. I have seen dogs far away from their owners and a voice command to sit/stay works.
Border Collies/ Sheep dogs respond to long distant hand signals and whistles. They are really smart animals.
I think you might be able to do it with patience and lots of treats.
It’s almost certainly possible, whether or not you have the time and ability to do it is a different question.
While not the answer you’re looking for, it’ll be easier to tell your mom the door has to be closed/locked every single time or adding a dog proof lock to it.
I’ve had some dogs who have learned this without being explicitly taught, and some dogs who instinctively regarded a fence as something to be on the other side of.
Things like this are easiest if you have multiple dogs, with a continual overlap of old dog and new dog: That way, the old dog will teach the new dog the rules, without you needing to be involved at all.
(The dog that learned it on his own, also wasn’t allowed in my sister’s room. So he’d sit in the doorway, with the tips of his front claws exactly touching the line where the floorboards changed direction. Totally not over the line!)
My dog learned it on his own. When we return with groceries it’s easier to leave the porch door open and relay back and forth. We used to always close and reopen it. But then one day we realized the dog would stand in the doorway, with the screen door wide open and just watch us unload the groceries, never crossing the threshold.
Now, if he saw a dog he knew and liked, like my friend’s dog, I’m pretty sure he’d be out the door. He wouldn’t run off, just rush over to greet Scout.
I agree with - it all depends on the dog. We had 2 boxers that never went out of the yard. We never trained either of them to stay in the yard. The older one taught the younger one. They would sit in the sun in front of the garage which looked out onto a busy street and sidewalk. They’d watch people walk by and never budge. Of course, we were always outside with them and always kept an eye on them. As good as they were, I would never trust them 100%. The 2 dogs we have now, would never stay put. They’re way too interested in other people. We had to put up a fence for them.
I have two dogs and was babysitting my son’s dog and I went out on an errand and something happened that allowed the gate to bounce open. When I got back, the two herding dog crosses were right there, one inside the yard and the other standing with half her body outside watching my car pull in and the oldest dog, a husky mix, was nowhere to be seen and wasn’t responding to vocal calls either. Had to resort to my do-or-die trick and pulled out a squeaky toy I keep for just this purpose because he kills those toys in seconds and isn’t allowed to have them but he waaaaaants them very much. Squeaking frantically AND calling brought him back from where he’d wandered, about three streets away.
This is consistent over a lot of time and a lot of dogs–some will stay right there and some are off like a shot and good luck trying to override that wandering feets trait.
I had a German Shepherd cross Corgi (no idea who stood on the box) who would never dream of leaving the property until a Beagle arrived. Then she had someone to blame everything on. Suddenly there were holes dug all over and she would be the filthy one playing innocent etc. One day I came home to find them both missing, I found them romping around a local park carefully staying inside the borders, never mind the fact they had crossed two major roads to get there. Guess which one was muddy from digging under the fence? So yes, you can train them to stay on the property but if they can find a good enough excuse they will leave. Maybe put an auto closer on that gate as well as doing some training.
God I miss that dog, she helped with many other rescue critters before she died. Cats were constantly wet from her cleanings and all.
Yes, I’ve trained several dogs to stay in the yard and to stay inside even with an open door. It takes more time with some dogs than others, but it can be done.
