HELP!!!! New Doggy Door Installed

[keyslammer]

HELP!!!!! We have 2 dogs, Jersey (the mama) is about 1-1/2 years old and Lucy (the baby) is about 6 months. Neither one of them want to go out of the flap of the doggy door. What in the world is going on? We have to hold the flap up for them to go out and in. We should have just kept opening and closing the sliding glass door for them. It's been installed a week now and Lucy (especially) is absolutely terrified of that flap. What can we do? We've tried coaxing with treats, not shoving them in and out, etc. Any brilliant ideas out there? By the way, we like to consider them well-adjusted dogs, but obviously they have some issues. :yikes: One other thing...the kitties LOVE the door. Figured it out the first hour. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmm?????

 

[Herschel]

Coax with treats some more until they do it on there own. It isn't an instinctual thing for dogs to walk into a flap that moves up when they pass through. Keep working on it and make sure you give a lot of praise and treats.

 

[Lizmo]

Well we used treats with our dogs when we got a dog door and this is what we did....

Okay what to do.....

1st.... have one person on one side of the door and one on the other side. One person has treats and the other has the dogs. The person with the treats call one dog through and lift the door up SOME then as they come through to coming out give then TONS of PRAISE and treats (use there fav treats). Now practice that A LOT before going on to step two. Also Repeat with other dog.

2nd.... have the people in the same spots as said above and this time DO NOT open the door ANY just call and praise and treat the dogs when they come through the door!!!!

3rd.... REPEAT STEPS ABOVE A LOT!!!!!!!!

Now if this is going to work you MUST praise then when they come through the dog door right when they do it!!!! And PRAISE TONS and TONS!!!!! In a HAPPY HAPPY viose!!!!

 

[keyslammer]

Many thanks for the replies and ideas. We will try them!

 

[Lizmo]

Hope they will work!!

 

[keyslammer]

UPDATE!!!!! Lucy has FINALLY learned how to come in and out of the doggy door. The flap still frightens her and she has her own little way of opening it, which is pretty funny to watch. Irregardless, she's doing it. Thanks everyone!