The Doggy Door: Teaching Your Dog How to Use It

If you have just gotten a doggy door installed, it shouldn’t be too difficult to teach your dog to use it and it shouldn’t take more than a few days. Every dog is different, just like people, and thus while some of them will use it the first time they see it, others might be wary and smell it to see if they can find some information about it. Your dog might not be make the connection that this is a new way of leaving and entering the house and will require time to adapt, and you should be patient with your pet in this process.

Some Simple Training Tips

In reality, it is quite easy to train your dog to use the doggy door that has been newly installed, and if you’ve never got one installed, you can just follow the instructions given when you purchase your doggy door. Keep in mind that this door is new and will make some funny sounds.

The main process involves to place the dog in front of the doggy door and use your left hand to open the flap (or your right hand, if you’re left-handed) and then use your right hand to push the dog gently through the door. However, it would be still better if someone stood on the other side with a dog treat or one of his favorite toys to tempt him through the doggy door.

Another approach that you can take is use your dog’s playfulness to train it. Throw a toy through the doggy door and urge your dog to bring it back to you by making him go through the door. Your dog will go through the doggy door when you hold the flap to one side, but will refuse to go outside on his own. That’s expected, but eventually, he will go out after some time. You can speed up this process by holding up the flap and pushing the dog gently.

When outside, try to get him inside by repeating the same process. However, should your dog be a little troublesome in the beginning, do not show any frustration or punish him in any way, because your dog might relate using the doggy door as something bad, and will never use it again. Instead, reward your dog when it uses the door.

If you know of any relative or friend who uses a doggy door for their dog, it’ll be helpful for your dog to see this other dog, and this will speed up the training process. Very often, dogs imitate other dogs, specially if they are rewarded by their human masters, and it will make training easier for you.