Door jumping

[Taqroy]

How do you fix it? Yes, I'm talking about Sadie, no I don't know if we can take her back yet. I need a general idea on how hard the behavior is to fix before we commit because it was the MOST ANNOYING THING EVER for us. I hated it and it has to be fixed if she comes back to us.

So, for anyone who doesn't know about the issue, Sadie door jumps when in the backyard. She does it if you're out there with her, she does it if she's out there with other dogs, she does it repetitively (10+ minutes - the one time we tried waiting it out). My best guess is separation anxiety but that only tells me why, not how to fix it. And it has to be fixed if she comes with us because she will be spending more than five minutes at a time outside. Help??

[PWCorgi]

If she does it while you are out with her, what about teaching an alternative behavior? Like ringing bells, at least listening to ringing bells for 10 minutes is more fun that listening to a door being slammed against :P

[stardogs]

What happens if you block the door? Does she jump on the barrier or go do something else?

Does it only happen on doors going inside?

Will she do anything other than jump on the door when she's out or does she have to be blocked from the door to even go and potty?

[Taqroy]

Originally Posted by PWCorgi

If she does it while you are out with her, what about teaching an alternative behavior? Like ringing bells, at least listening to ringing bells for 10 minutes is more fun that listening to a door being slammed against :P

I thought about that but then how would I reward from inside? We tend to rotate the dogs in and out and Matt doesn't go out with them the majority of the time (neither do I but I'm willing to for training purposes, he's not lol). And we're coming up on cold weather which will probably completely sap my willingness to be outside for long periods of time.

Originally Posted by stardogs

What happens if you block the door? Does she jump on the barrier or go do something else?

Does it only happen on doors going inside?

Will she do anything other than jump on the door when she's out or does she have to be blocked from the door to even go and potty?

Body blocking only worked if you were standing in front of the door and actively discouraging her. She'd wait till you moved then run full tilt at the door then run off again. We couldn't figure out any other way to block the door and we only have the one door to the backyard - I think that's what you meant by doors going inside right? Our child gate wouldn't fit inside the frame and I think she would have ignored it anyway. We have a screen door now which might make a difference but I'm not sure.

She'd go out and potty but as soon as she was done she'd come jump on the door. Then if no one let her in she'd run off and then come right back and jump on the door again. And after awhile she'd just pogo right outside the door scratching and jumping.

[Kat09Tails]

I'd just build it into something else. Put her on a leash, ask for a sit before going through any doorway. Repeat.... repeat... repeat... just keep in mind she's had years of reinforcement on the bouncing on the door getting what she wants so it will take time.

[stardogs]

You know what? I think this is probably a behavior that was inadvertantly, and randomly, rewarded by her original owners - they'd just kick her outside, right? I bet she could get them to let her in by bouncing on the door for long stretches. Being inside = attention, warmth, safety, so that may also explain why it doesn't change when you are outside with her. This brings two things to mind:

1. Kat's suggestion of sits for opening doors every.single.time.
2. Teaching Sadie a better way to ask to come inside - this could be a sit but I think something more active might fit better for Sadie. Maybe putting a paw on a doggie doorbell? I've seen them in stores before for just this use! You could easily teach a paw touch with duration and the bell would ensure that you didn't miss any good performances. Reinforce the longest paw touch holds and suddenly you have a pretty simple incompatible behavior!

[stardogs]

Also we did have some success with this for a dog who jumped fences, might be worth a try to manage the behavior while you work on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Gear-.../dp/B000NPB8T4

[Doberluv]

Is she doing this because she wants to go back inside? Determine her motive for jumping at the door first. Then prevent her (with a leash EVERY time) from doing it. Give her an alternate way to tell you she wants to come back in. You could teach her to speak as a signal. Sit first is good and will work when on a leash especially. But she may need a way to communicate to you that she is ready to come back inside. And of course, when she refrains from jumping (because you're holding her with a leash) reward heavily. Teach her to sit and speak right in front of the door. Reinforce lavishly. It will be a hassle because for some time you'll have to prevent her from engaging in that behavior and use a leash every time she goes out or block the door with some kind of "fence." Teaching an alternative is essential, so she doesn't think the only way she'll be let back in is to jump at the door. I'm sure that is what happened all along. She jumped up at the door and the owners let her in. So, she was reinforced for it for a long time. It will take time to extinguish that behavior and loads of diligence, consistency and patience. But it can be done, I'm sure.