Dog Ownership 101 - May/June 2016

your giving them permission. This can be very
dangerous and can even cause your pet to be
run over if she is on the road at any time. It can
be dangerous to you too because you might get
pushed down the stairs or knocked over. Avoid
possible accidents by educating your dog in the
‘Sit and Stay’ commands when you open and
close your door.
TEACH YOUR DOG THE ‘SIT AND
2 STAY’ COMMAND
They should only move after you tell
them it is ‘OK’ to. Once your dog understands
Sit-Stay, it is simple to teach them the basics of
door manners. Leash up your dog and use the
training collar. Carefully fold the leash into your
hand and walk to the door like you would when
you let them out. Make sure there is only the
lightest upward tension on the collar and tell
them to stay while you open the door. Let go of
the tension. The ultimate goal is for them to stay.
If they lunge forward, tense the leash once again.
Shut the door and repeat the process. Once your
dog has learned to stay without pushing towards
the door, go ahead and step through it.
YOUR DOG WILL BEGIN TO CATCH
3 ON WITH PRACTICE
If your dog tries to follow you, try
pulling up on the leash to remind them they
need to stay. Keep doing this until they don’t
need anymore reminders. Go through the door,
release the leash and allow her to follow you.
You’ll begin to notice as you repeat this, they
will start to understand what is happening and
remain in place in their den until you make the
command. Movement means more to your dog
than an actual word, so be sure you keep still as
you release the dog. It’s important to remember
that you don’t want to create the connection of
you moving during the dog’s release. They are
also sensitive to amounts of time, so change up
how quickly you release the dog. Decide whether
you want to go through the door first or the dog,
then practice that regularly. Every time you take
control and make your dog stay, you cement
your position as the alpha of the pack.
TRY AN EXERCISE WITH YOUR
4 STAIRCASE
Teach your dog to stay at the bottom
of the stairwell as you walk up the staircase.
Command the dog to sit and stay, then walk
up a few stairs. If the dog is shadowing you up
the stairs, walk it back down and repeat the
command. Keep this going until you can make it
to the top of the stairs with the dog not following.
The dog will be antsy about being set free from
its position and might not wait for you to give it
the command to get up. It will take some time,
but she will start off by staying briefly before
choosing to release herself. Sometimes once the
58 DOG ownership 101 | MAY / JUNE 2016