[Pemphredo]

Sharlette LOVES to be outside. Not a big deal except we live on the gulf coast in south texas... I live like a block from the beach... my yard is sand... Sharlette is already a skilled digger... I worry she may dig under our fence so I let her out under my close supervision in the back yard ONLY. She has started when ever the front door opens DARTING as fast as she can to it and out it if she gets there before she is caught. I had to chase her little butt threw my front yard this morning and dive to catch her. I DON'T LIKE THIS! My mother has 6 darter dogs and they are not fun to try to round up when they dart. My chihuahua is not a darter and can be trusted off a lead at any time. she will stay by me and never run off. I want Sharlette to be the same. My mom took all her dogs to puppy training and everything NOTHING helped the darting. does anyone have any advise?

 

[Eleanor's Mom]

As soon as Eleanor learned the command "sit" we started making her sit and wait at the door until we gave her permission to go through it. The next step was that she had to wait on the porch until we went down the steps. It took a lot of practice and patience but Eleanor does not go through a door without looking for permission first.

 

[LibertyME]

EM is right...a dog can not run if his butt is on the ground...
Read up and practice sits and waits...and of course recalls...lots and lots of recalls!

If you have people that randomly open your front door without waiting for permission to come into your home...maybe using a chain lock so they cant fully open the door without someone on the inside releasing the chain would help???

 

[Sunrise]

I am very strict on this at my house.

At the front door, all dogs must be sitting. Then their leashes are put on. Then they are released through the door.

At my back door, all dogs must sit. If Ms Towhee has been away and has forgottem the rule of no darting, she is put on leash (this happens a few times a year; her original owners made a game of chasing her down the street). The door is opened and they still need to wait for a release.

Same rules apply to cars, and crates. And entering and exiting other places (vets, training schools, Petco etc). They sit, wait for their leashes and then wait until they are released. Until they are trained, just shut the door before they can exit.

 

[Pemphredo]

All GREAT advice. Thank you so much! I think this week end I will be going to get a chain for the front door. I have 2 older daughters that freely come in and out of the front door a lot. I also have 2 younger boys that like to stand with the door wide open and wave bye to daddy as he leaves for work in the morning. ( that is when said chase in front yard happened) I have been working on sit and stay with her. How long a day should I work on teaching commands to her?

 

[Gwen]

All GREAT advice. Thank you so much! I think this week end I will be going to get a chain for the front door. I have 2 older daughters that freely come in and out of the front door a lot. I also have 2 younger boys that like to stand with the door wide open and wave bye to daddy as he leaves for work in the morning. ( that is when said chase in front yard happened) I have been working on sit and stay with her. How long a day should I work on teaching commands to her?

Do sit/stays every opportunity you get but don't do a pile of them in a row - you'll get a bored dog. I do them while I'm making the bed, getting dinner ready, doing the laundry.... and make it FUN! Also, don't do them in the same place all the time or same atmosphere - have the kids pet her/walk around/ dance/sing/jump up & down (I'm sure you get the picture) I also break up the sit/stays with puppy pushups - sit/down/sit/down. Not only is the puppy learning but it's a ton of fun! Enjoy & good luck.

You might also want to "practice" opening the door - have the kids come in the door but you have control of your puppy. You can do this over & over a few times but be ready to PRAISE, PRAISE & MORE PRAISE!!!!!!

 

[Willow52]

I think basically, "darters" are born not made BUT can be trained with a lot of work. My Maggie (RIP) was a "darter" to her dying day at almost 14 years so when we brought Hank home I started (from day 1) making him sit at the door and wait for the OK to exit. He is very good about it but also a different personality.

 

[LibertyME]

This is good modeling for the kids too....so they can see how to open the door safely with the dog...

My first family dog was a beagle...he was a darter...The folks ended up with a leash permanently attached to the banister near the front door...the dog was hooked to the leash before the door was opened...we never knew any different because it was what we saw our parents do all the time. Was the dog trained to respect the doorway...nope not one bit..but as kids, we were trained how to manage him at the door!

You might also want to "practice" opening the door - have the kids come in the door but you have control of your puppy. You can do this over & over a few times but be ready to PRAISE, PRAISE & MORE PRAISE!!!!!!

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Just wanted to say that when we were in your neighborhood we could sit for hours and watch the ship traffic thru the pass. Lovely part of Texas.

 

[Pemphredo]

I for sure need to train my kids with the door better. @penny's mom - it is so beautiful this part of texas. however i mis seasons... we have 2 seasons here hot and hotter. lol

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

We were there in January a few years ago. It was your 'hot' season...nothing wind and rain on Mustang Island and 40 degrees.

 

[Molly's Mum]

We don't allow Molly out the front door on her own without a leash on as the front garden is not fenced. We have a baby gate blocking off access to the front hallway so if the front door is open unexpectedly or when a visitor arrives it means Molly can't get to the front door, she's about 3ft away from it but it's gated off so she can see the door and who's there but can't get physical access to it. When we want to go out we put Molly's leash on then walk her to the front door. She's been taught to sit and wait quitely, then the door is opened. She will sit and wait until I say she can walk out the door, always behind me and never ahead of me. She steps over the threshold and then must sit again and wait on the porch whilst I close and lock the door behind us. Then when I say so she can walk calmly out of the front garden with me. Maybe you can do something similar, have access to the door gated off to prevent her from bolting out the door when she isn't leashed, and work on getting her to sit and wait until you tell her to walk through the door, make sure she is leashed to start with so that she doesn't fail. Remember that you chasing her to catch up with her is probably a game and a big reward for her so you want to prevent that happening which is why I suggest keeping her on a leash whilst you're teaching her to sit and wait.

 

[momtoMax]

I spent SO much time teaching Max to not go out the door unless he has a leash on. It was a long time learning, trust me, and it was slow going - but I am proud to say that he knows now not to go out the door and I could leave it wide open and he doesn't make a move to get out. So my advice to you - lots of training.

My friend has a dog that darts out and likes to escape. She's gotten into the road more than 10 times and it's sooooo scary. Thank God she's still got luck on her side. I can't stress how important it is to teach them to respect the door or how much peace it gives me knowing with all the kids coming in and out of my house, leaving the door open for each other - that I don't have to worry about Max constantly getting out.