I recently met a opinionated lady who has an older dog herself. I have an 8 1/2 mo. old dachschund who acts like any normal puppy would. But he is in need of training and guidance.

She advised me to make sure that when leaving and entering the house or anyplace for that matter, that the owner goes first!

Is this really necessary? I think that my dog does know who is boss when it comes to scolding, but to make my dog wait until I go?

I'm not sure if this is something that people really do to show who is alpha.

Any insight?

[Piti Longstalking]

Originally Posted by CATorres

She advised me to make sure that when leaving and entering the house or anyplace for that matter, that the owner goes first!

Is this really necessary? I think that my dog does know who is boss when it comes to scolding, but to make my dog wait until I go?

I'm not sure if this is something that people really do to show who is alpha.

Any insight?

Dominance theory = very bad logic. No it is not necessary, but I do believe it is important to teach your dog to wait patiently by the door for safety reasons.

ok, thank you. cause here i am getting all stressed out trying to train my puppy that i'm first. then realized, WHY!? WHO CARES! So figured i'd ask other people for their opinions.

I've trained my dogs to wait until I go through the door first, for various reasons. It's not about being "alpha" or dominant. It's about being my dogs' leader. IMO it helps them remember that I am the leader, I give them direction, and I'm the person they should look to when they aren't sure about something. This makes them feel secure, knowing someone is in control, someone will deal with "scary things", someone is enforcing the rules.

I also do it for safety reasons. A dog that's learned to wait at the door is less likely to bolt out and get into trouble. When I come home loaded down with groceries, for example, I know my dogs will wait instead of running out the minute I open the door. There's less chance of them tripping me.

Good point. I never looked at it that way. Then again, the lady more or less explained it to me that I need to show who was master!
However, I still am not sure how I feel about it. It might be one of those things that I dont enforce too much on him.

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by vetgroomer

I've trained my dogs to wait until I go through the door first, for various reasons. It's not about being "alpha" or dominant. It's about being my dogs' leader. IMO it helps them remember that I am the leader, I give them direction, and I'm the person they should look to when they aren't sure about something. This makes them feel secure, knowing someone is in control, someone will deal with "scary things", someone is enforcing the rules.

I also do it for safety reasons. A dog that's learned to wait at the door is less likely to bolt out and get into trouble. When I come home loaded down with groceries, for example, I know my dogs will wait instead of running out the minute I open the door. There's less chance of them tripping me.

I couldn't agree more with everything you said!.....my dogs are trained to let me go in and out first as well....it lets them know that I'm the leader and I'm in charge of the walk....Doing this also helps with leash pulling issues....for some dogs they take being aloud out first as a sign that they are the leader and the one in charge of the walk and therefore they will pull when being walked...

I also agree with it being a safety issue....I have an Akita and a Husky both large breeds and the last thing I need is to be tripped by one of them in a hurry to get out the door first.

Well, thats something new. I am trying to train him not to pull on the leash while walking. Do you think that by him leading the way out of a door that that has something to do with it? Cause if so, then i'll be sure to allow myself out the door first.

Its amazing how everything is linked. And the things you learn AFTER you get a puppy. Handbooks just dont seem to help with everything.

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by CATorres

Well, thats something new. I am trying to train him not to pull on the leash while walking. Do you think that by him leading the way out of a door that that has something to do with it? Cause if so, then i'll be sure to allow myself out the door first.

Its amazing how everything is linked. And the things you learn AFTER you get a puppy. Handbooks just dont seem to help with everything.

All puppies will pull when first learning to walk but allowing them in or out before you can make it worse and harder to teach them not to do it.

When he pulls you want to stop and wait for him to settle down and then start walking again....It takes a lot of patience and consistency...

Also do not pull back on the leash as this only frustrates them and makes them pull harder.

Another thing you can do to correct pulling is simply change direction. Turn and go another way as soon as he starts pulling. It'll keep him on his toes, wondering what direction you're going to turn next, and he'll start paying attention to you.

Another situation that can happen if you allow him to go out the door without being asked. What if someone accidentally leaves the door open? Working in a vet clinic, it's a sad tale we hear over and over. Someone opened the front door, or leaves it standing open. The dog bolts out, runs into the street, and is hit by a car.

Many pets are lost this way, too. Some are never recovered.

Gee, with all of this discussion about whether or not to teach him to wait, no one has mentioned any methods of doing that. So I'll do that now.

It's really very simple. Put his leash on, go to the door, and ask him to sit, hold your hand in front of his face, palm facing him, and say "Wait". Start to open the door. When he moves to go out, shut it in his face. Put him back where he started, tell him "Wait", and open the door again. Repeat until he gets it. It usually clicks after 3 or 4 tries.

Reinforce this every time you go out. Sit, Wait, open the door. Anytime he moves to go out without being asked, shut the door. Repeat, Sit, Wait, until he does.

This is one time I don't use any treats or rewards. The reward is getting to do what he wanted to in the first place. Go out.

Originally Posted by reeskujo

Also do not pull back on the leash as this only frustrates them and makes them pull harder.

I'm glad you said this. Cause in fact, that is what I was doing not knowing that it was wrong. So thank you.

Originally Posted by vetgroomer

Gee, with all of this discussion about whether or not to teach him to wait, no one has mentioned any methods of doing that. So I'll do that now.

It's really very simple. Put his leash on, go to the door, and ask him to sit, hold your hand in front of his face, palm facing him, and say "Wait". Start to open the door. When he moves to go out, shut it in his face. Put him back where he started, tell him "Wait", and open the door again. Repeat until he gets it. It usually clicks after 3 or 4 tries.

Thank you. I tried that this morning and IT WORKED! He caught on quick! I'm sure in no time at all I wont have to keep saying "STAY". He'll just do it.

The only thing I believe he needs work on is pulling while walking and getting mad at me for leaving.

yeah i dont think that is necessary..

Originally Posted by jv17

yeah i dont think that is necessary..

Exactly what part do you think isn't necessary? The "who goes first" or worrying about the pulling?

Cat, I think it's important to teach both "stay" and "wait" as separate exercises. Stay means hold your position and don't move until I ask you to move. Wait means pause and wait.

Here's why I think they need to learn both. When I put my dog on a stay, he knows he's to stay there and not move. I can put him on a stay and leave the room, and he knows he's supposed to stay there until I get back. If he's sitting, he's not supposed to lay down, if he's down, he's not supposed to sit or stand. It's a formal obedience exercise.

On the other hand, when I leave the house to go shopping, I use "wait" rather than stay. That means he should pause and not try to go out the door as I leave, but he's free to go do whatever he's allowed to do while I'm gone; play, chew a bone, find a comfy spot to rest, that sort of thing.

For all three of my dogs, I always make sure I walk outside first. And yes, for me, the main reason is to establish dominance. Though my two German shepherds do not really need that, as they always see me as their alpha, my wolf dog, Malice, must constantly be reminded. However, that’s not because he’s a very, very dominant boy, but because he’s a wolf cross and he thinks differently than the other two GSDs. For example, my shepherds are allowed to sleep in bed with me, while Malice is not. They are allowed to lay on top of me when we’re playing, but Malice is not.

And actually, I have another reason for making sure my dogs leave the house only after I do. That’s because I don’t want to open the door and have them rush out eagerly onto the road while I’m putting on my shoes or jacket. :O

I have trained my dog this way just so that he doesn't dart out the door when I open it.

I've been teaching dog walking to clients and animal shelters for years. While there is some debate as to whether or not entering and exiting doorways is important, I will say that pack leadership is. If you are the leader or teacher or whichever name you want to apply, your dog will be better on the walk. There are a couple recommendations I have that will help though:

1. Use a dog back pack. Fill it with water bottles (appropriate weight for your partcular dog). This gives the dog a jo and he will focus on carrying the pack instead of other distractions.

2. Before leaving the house, make sure your dog sits at the door and has a calm energy. Too many people make the mistake of saying Let's go for a walk, or Wanna go for a walk?! I understand that they are trying to make the dog happy but it only creates excitement and leads to eratic and difficult to control behavior on the walk.

3. Make sure the collar is high on the neck. When the collar falls on the low part of the neck, it creates a natural instinct for the dog to pull. This is why handlers at dog shows have the collar high on the neck. It also gives you more control over the dog.

4. Be sure the walk is long enough. When a dog doesn't get 30 to 45 minutes of walking each day, the excess energy builds up. If the dog had not been on a wlak for three days, your dog will try to release that energy as quickly as possible and that leads to pulling.

5. Be firm (no intimidation!) with your rules. It's okay to let the dog sniff around about an effective dog walk is at a solid pace with little room for distractions. Letting a dog sniff as he pleases puts him in control of the walk.

Chad E. Thompson
www.EasyDogWalking.com

Originally Posted by CATorres

I recently met a opinionated lady who has an older dog herself. I have an 8 1/2 mo. old dachschund who acts like any normal puppy would. But he is in need of training and guidance.

She advised me to make sure that when leaving and entering the house or anyplace for that matter, that the owner goes first!

Is this really necessary? I think that my dog does know who is boss when it comes to scolding, but to make my dog wait until I go?

I'm not sure if this is something that people really do to show who is alpha.

Any insight?

I have an 8 month puppy who is starting to learning a little self control. I have been working on Mindy getting her to wait until I tell her its ok to go. I see it as a safety need. When she sits and waits I praise her and even once in a while give her a treat.

This alpha thing is crazy. I am not a dog and Mindy is not a human. I give her all of life's necessities which includes love, food, exercise, play time. If she doens't comply I give her a "time out". All our critters are unique and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. We learn thru trial and error but let's keep our buddies safe.

The wait command is essential for my pup to learn, as I would prefer not to end up getting bumped onto my rear when he grows up.