by This video by Zak George’s Dog Training rEvolution presents an incredible and effective method of training your dog not to run out of the front door. There are a lot of great tips along the way as well. In the video, Zak (the trainer) checks out the capabilities of a dog named Mona Lisa. Of course, during the beginning of the training, the dog showed absolutely clear intent to go immediately outside once the door opened. Zak then decides to review and reiterate the importance of the “leave it alone” and “look at me” commands. If your dog is not yet familiar with these commands, it’s best that you treat those as your initial steps. Teach your dog the “leave it alone” command in order to make it learn the importance of focus. This is the best form of dog command that helps your dog fight off distractions. Once you dog master this, the next step is to teach the “look at me” command. It helps your dog to focus on you and provide eye contact as well.
As your dog progresses, the next important part of the process is to teach it to “stay” for a desirable amount of time. In the video, Zak trains Mona Lisa by opening the door slowly. Keep in mind that you have to teach everything in a gradual manner. Start off by simply holding the door knob. If your dog stays still, immediately reward it. Then try opening door slowly with just a small space. If your dog still remains at ease, reward it again. You can repeat this until you get to open the door completely while your dog stays in its position. By doing the tiny steps that come with every reward, your dog will also understand that as it obeys your instructions, it will get positive results.
Of course, you have to train your dog with a leash. Especially with high energy dogs, you don’t want them to immediately run outside once a big distraction comes along – and it could also be dangerous. In this light, you are teaching your dog patience and while in the process, you too should have patience with your dog. Even in the video, Mona Lisa also gets distracted and sometimes needed to get focused again. This is understandable because that world outside of that door is generally a place of curiosity for your dog. It can get distracted with people, other dogs, and even cats. However, you should consider this particular dog training as one of the most important. This could be a life-saving skill for your dog.
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