Just a quick read regarding safety at doorways/teaching the "wait" command:
Safety at the door is obviously of primary concern, with any dog, foster or "resident," and summer is prime time for escapes with the weather being warmer, doors being left open, and a heavier flow of foot traffic in our homes... How can we keep our dogs a little bit safer?
Teaching a reliable "wait" at doorways is not incredibly difficult, it just takes consistency, and once you've taught the cue, you need to require it..
This is what I mean:
Put your dog on a collar and leash, (not a Flexi) and head to the door. You CAN have a pocketful of treats, but you don't always need them for this. Position yourself between the door & the dog and you can either ask your dog to sit, place him in a sit, or let him just stand there - although it is generally easier for the dog to wait if he is in a controlled position. Ask him/her to "wait" - I give a hand signal that looks like you're gesturing "1 second, please" with a pointed finger - and reach for the door knob. In the beginning, simply reaching FOR the door knob is usually enough to trigger the dog to jump up from his sit & crowd the door. Simply place him back in the sit, ask him to wait, and start over, repeating the entire exercise until you can open the door all the way, step outside, and call him with you. After you've taught this, this should be the *only* way the dog gets out the door - That is for safety! You can treat the dog for this when he is in the waiting position BEFORE you call him forward, but part of the reward for waiting is that he gets to go outside, which is what he wants. You don't NEED to use treats for this if you don't want to or it isn't handy... It is super important you keep the leash on the dog while working on this... This is also something that needs to be worked on and practiced and consistently & regularly "required" to have any value... I hope that was helpful to somebody out there, and by all means, if you have any questions, reach out to HEX: hexdogs@gmail.com.
Happy training!
CS
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