How To Train Your Dog To Wait At The Door

Teaching your dog to wait at the door is a crucial part of house training. When I say house training, I mean teaching a dog how it should behave in your home and yard and not necessarily housebreaking to use the restroom outside instead of inside the house. House training are rules like no counter surfing, no getting into the trashcan, no running in the house, no chewing the furniture, etc. But today, we'll be focusing on teaching your dog to wait at the door.

Let's start with why it's important to teach a dog to wait at the door. A dog rushing through an opened door is going to cause you to get hurt, or for your dog to end up outside without a leash on, or both. And unless your dog has a perfect recall, which it absolutely does not if they won't wait at a door, you're in for heart-pounding action as you hope and pray that your dog doesn't run into the street, run up on another dog and get into a fight, or if they're reactive towards people, bite someone and get you sued and possibly get them put down. These are things I'm certain are universally unwanted outcomes. So, let's get down to business on how to teach your dog to wait at the door!

1. Start with a leash: Attach a leash to your dog's collar to have better control during training sessions. The goal, of course, is to not need a leash to leave the house without taking your dog with you, but we have to walk before we run. Using a leash is a lot better than body blocking your dog, saying "No, no! Sit" a dozen times, etc. It may work in the end, but using a leash is less headache for you, less confusion for the dog, and thus much quicker.

2. Choose a cue: Decide on a verbal cue, such as "wait" or "stay," that you will use consistently throughout the training process. Words are important. Whichever command you decide upon, never change it. Write it down if you must, along with every other word you use for commands.

3. Practice inside: Begin training indoors where there are fewer distractions. Make sure you have treats ready and make sure those treats are soft and high value. Hard treats take so long to chew that they make poor rewards. Low-value treats are boring. Both of those things are not good for our goals in training dogs. Keep that in mind. Next, stand near the door with your dog on a leash.

4. Open the door slightly: Gently open the door just a crack while keeping your dog on the leash. If your dog tries to rush out, use the verbal cue and gently pull them back. You can also use the universal "stay" hand signal ✋️. This isn't the time to give corrections with a training collar like a prong collar. Sure, it'll work. It'll work faster, actually. But it's always kinder to teach a dog what you want before you go correcting them, if possible.

5. Reward for staying put: When your dog remains calm and doesn't try to go through the door, praise and reward them with a treat. Positive reinforcement helps reinforce the desired behavior. Remember, timing is everything in dog training. Reward, correction, it doesn't matter. Both must be administered timely.

6. Increase the duration: Gradually increase the amount of time your dog needs to wait before receiving the reward. Start with a few seconds and gradually work your way up to longer durations. If you're familiar with teaching the stay command, this is the same concept. The only difference is that this will become an automatic stay eventually ... meaning that one day, you'll notice that you don't have to give the command at the door. Your dog will automatically know to wait.

7. Add distance: Once your dog is consistently waiting at the door for longer durations, start taking small steps away from the door while they wait. Return to them and reward them for their patience. The further the distance, the less control you have. Dogs know this. That's why a dog who would never touch food on your plate while you're seated at the table may not have an issue at all with pulling the Thanksgiving turkey off the counter when no one is around. 

8. Practice with distractions: Introduce distractions gradually to simulate real-life scenarios. For example, have someone ring the doorbell or walk by outside while your dog waits. Another good one to practice is to practice walking off for a second as if you needed to retrieve something for a friend or neighbor. If they remain calm, reward them.

9. Generalize the behavior: Practice the "wait" command in different locations and with different doors. This will help your dog understand that the cue applies to any door they encounter. Now, you may not find this necessary for interior doors. If that's the case, just train for the exterior doors. But some dogs will rush through any and every door. For the unlucky few who have such a dog, step 9 is important to you, and you already know why. Getting tripped up at midnight, trying to walk to the bathroom while you're half asleep, is no fun.

10. Remove the leash: Once your dog has mastered waiting at the door on a leash, you can gradually phase out the leash and practice off leash. However, always prioritize safety and ensure your dog is reliable before removing the leash entirely. Towards the beginning of this list, you may remember me saying that it wasn't the right time to correct the dog. It was the time to teach. At this phase, if your dog is reverting back to running out of the door, even though it knows what is expected from him/her, is when you can incorporate corrections. Not knowing what's expected is one thing. Knowing and ignoring is another.

Remember, consistency, patience, and timing are key when training your dog. Keep training sessions short and positive, and always end on a high note. With time and practice, your dog will become a pro at waiting at the door! Train every day, and please leave a like and share. It helps the algorithm more than you know, and we greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

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