Puppy terrified of doors leading "inside"

Epicurusepicurus · 10-28-2010

Hey everyone, my newly adopted 6mo old puppy is relatively well behaved however he seem to absolutely terrified of doors leading "inside" such as the door on my apartment stairwell, elevator doors, and generally any other types of doors meeting this condition. Basically once he realize we're approaching a door, he'll simply laydown with a good distance between him and the door(car length?), REFUSE to budge, and start trembling.

I've tried encouraging him verbally in various tones, snapping the leash, and luring him inside with a treat but he merely sniffs it briefly without any further response. Therefore, I've been trying to fix this behavior by carrying him inside myself and spending some time in the stairwell while petting/praising him to make him comfortable. However, he remains to tremble and remains unresponsive to treats.. Claustrophobia doesn't seem to be the issue because he enjoys his crate without a problem(except when I go to work but that's a whole another issue).

I'm wondering if my method is the correct way to go about this or can any veteran dog owners here enlighten me with a more effective method? Thank you.

cigwyllt · 10-28-2010

I don't know what the "right" answer would be but I would be very matter of fact about it - carry him through the door without any fuss and put him down on the other side. No reassurance, no tempting, just pick him up, walk through and put him down. Certainly there is no point in using any punitive measures such as dragging him or snapping the leash. But equally so you don't want to feed his fear by babying him. I tend to adopt the same attitude with my dogs as I did with the children when they are small. We need to do x/y/z - you may not cooperate but it will be done. No anger or discipline - just get it over with!

angiesample · 10-28-2010

I would still try the treat method. What kind of treats r u using? My dog is an extremely picky eater and a milk bone or something like that isnt going to persuade her to do anything. But if i break out the turkey or the cheese and she is just waiting for a command. Perhaps ur dog is toy driven?? Use her favorite toy if that would work better.

This process could take a long time. Just be encouraging and dont push him or drag her through that will just scare him more.

Epicurusepicurus · 10-28-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by angiesample

I would still try the treat method. What kind of treats r u using? My dog is an extremely picky eater and a milk bone or something like that isnt going to persuade her to do anything. But if i break out the turkey or the cheese and she is just waiting for a command. Perhaps ur dog is toy driven?? Use her favorite toy if that would work better.

This process could take a long time. Just be encouraging and dont push him or drag her through that will just scare him more.

I've suspected that so I've tried different treats with him and they're all ineffective in those situations. As for toys, I've dispersed about 5 of them throughout his crate and dog bed but he doesn't even bother with them.

angiesample · 10-28-2010

Well it really sounds like a tough situation. My dog is a fearful dog but she really trusts me, i've had her since she was 5 weeks old, shes a year old now. So i usually can persuade her to do something with enough encouragement. My only other thought is just doing other things to better the bond between u and ur dog. Try an obedience class and are u doing any training with him? These kinds of things really help build ur dogs confidence and better the bond between dog and owner so maybe this will help with the door problem in the long run.

What kind of dog do u have?

Epicurusepicurus · 10-29-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

I don't know what the "right" answer would be but I would be very matter of fact about it - carry him through the door without any fuss and put him down on the other side. No reassurance, no tempting, just pick him up, walk through and put him down. Certainly there is no point in using any punitive measures such as dragging him or snapping the leash. But equally so you don't want to feed his fear by babying him. I tend to adopt the same attitude with my dogs as I did with the children when they are small. We need to do x/y/z - you may not cooperate but it will be done. No anger or discipline - just get it over with!

I don't mind carrying him but he sure likes to create a scene.

Quote:

Originally Posted by angiesample

Well it really sounds like a tough situation. My dog is a fearful dog but she really trusts me, i've had her since she was 5 weeks old, shes a year old now. So i usually can persuade her to do something with enough encouragement. My only other thought is just doing other things to better the bond between u and ur dog. Try an obedience class and are u doing any training with him? These kinds of things really help build ur dogs confidence and better the bond between dog and owner so maybe this will help with the door problem in the long run.

What kind of dog do u have?

I am definitely considering obedience school in the near future but in the mean time, I'm gradually teaching him commands and establishing myself as an alpha figure. As for my dog, he's a Yorkie/Daschund mix but judging by his coat, I'm pretty sure he's much more than that.

reeskujo · 10-29-2010

The problem with carrying him is that eventually it's going to reinforce the behavior because he's learning that when he behaves that way he gets carried instead of having to walk..carrying him is also the same as affection to a dog so by picking him up and carrying him he learns that since he's getting positive reinforcement then he must be justified in his fear...

I agree with simply being very matter of fact about it...don't baby him,or speak encouring words like it's ok. that will encourage his fear as well...

When puppies or dogs have a fear that there's no reason to have the best way to help them get over it is by ignoring them when they're acting fearful..

I also agree with continuing to use treats..If he's not interested in regular dog treats try using something like chicken,cheese or hot dogs..

This will probably require quite a bit of time and patience so don't give up and try and hang in there.

Lunareclipse · 10-29-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

I don't know what the "right" answer would be but I would be very matter of fact about it - carry him through the door without any fuss and put him down on the other side. No reassurance, no tempting, just pick him up, walk through and put him down. Certainly there is no point in using any punitive measures such as dragging him or snapping the leash. But equally so you don't want to feed his fear by babying him. I tend to adopt the same attitude with my dogs as I did with the children when they are small. We need to do x/y/z - you may not cooperate but it will be done. No anger or discipline - just get it over with!

I agree. You absolutly want to make sure you are rewarding for the right thing. I wouldn't reward for a fearful behavior. It only enhanced the fear.

angiesample · 10-29-2010

Oh i had a thought. Is your dog friendly with any dogs? I know ppl with multiple dogs many times use the other dogs to get there new dogs to do something. My sister in law had her older dog teach her puppy potty training. She would just say "take her potty" and they would go potty together, that puppy didnt have an accident inside after 7 weeks old!!

My point is if u know of a dog that gets a long with ur pup maybe u can ask the owner to borrow the dog for a few hours and practice with both the dogs. Maybe u will puppy see the other dog walk through the door and realize theres nothing to be afraid of.

cigwyllt · 10-29-2010

That's a great idea about borrowing another easy going dog - that never occurs to me because I have a houseful of dogs anyway. But what about getting someone who is a stranger to the dog to help you, someone who can hold the leash while you go through the door, maybe even out of sight. If you call him or whistle (lots of dogs find whistles irresistable) he may interested enough to follow you. Something I use for recall with my terrors which might be useful is a squeaky toy - the sound of a squeaker sends them mad and anything else in the vicinity is forgotten in the effort to reach it.

Lunareclipse · 10-29-2010

Using another dog is a great idea. I remember when we took Buster for his first walk. He was scared. Sammie grabbed his leash and drug him down the sidewalk until we got to Ed's house. After that Buster didn't have an issue going for walkies.

chiclet · 10-30-2010

What about doors inside of your home? How does he react to those? He must have had a bad experience with a door when he was younger.

Epicurusepicurus · 10-30-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiclet

What about doors inside of your home? How does he react to those? He must have had a bad experience with a door when he was younger.

He's fine with my apartment door leading to the hallway and every other doors inside. Also, he'll try to muscle his way out if he sees that the door leads outside.

Also, he'll be having a friend over on Wednesday so we'll see if another dog can show him the way.

Deafdogsrule · 10-31-2010

he has no issues going out the door that he has issues going in? if that's the case, he either doesn't want to go inside and is making an issue of it, or something may have happened to him before you got him. will he take a treat from you when you're no where near the door? will he take a treat once you're past the door and have put him down? have you tried hot dogs, lunch meat or canned salmon?

Consider taking a clicker training class. I clicker train, and would probably use clicker techniques to teach him how much fun it is to go through doors. if you're interested, I'll go into more detail.