

Think about it this way: If it rains $100 bills while you’re walking through a haunted house, you will learn that haunted houses are not scary. Pairing good things (yummy food) with scary things (entrances) will positively change your dog’s behavior. Even if he slinks through the doorway, he’s being brave and choosing to walk through the doorway. Walk out the back door and click as your dog walks through. Once your dog is comfortable walking through indoor entrances, leash your dog and practice outside. Slowly shape this behavior until your dog will walk through the entrance. If your dog is too scared, click and treat your dog when he walks close to a doorway. Hold a treat in front of your dog’s nose, and lure him through the doorway. Even though your dog may not be fearful of walking through indoor entrances, it’s a safe place to start changing your dog’s behavior. Start teaching your dog this behavior inside your home, using hall and doorways. Treats are a dog’s paycheck, so use the yummiest treats possible. Grab super yummy treats, such as cheese cubes, deli lunch meat or hot dogs, and chop into pea-sized bites. Regardless of why your dog became afraid of walking through doorways, it’s imperative to teach him to love walking through them.

#Dog won t come inside how to#
How to Teach Dogs to Love Walking Through Doorways If a dog is punished when he’s scared of a scary situation, his anxiety deepens. When fearful dogs are exposed to scary doorways or entrance ways several times, they may develop anxiety. When dogs are fearful, they may overreact to many things. We can assume hallway echoes, loud noises, loudly slamming doors and many other reasons are the cause, but fearfulness is the real cause. Let’s remove our anthropomorphic tendencies and try to understand the cause behind a dog’s fear of walking through thresholds.įearfulness is the main cause of your dog’s behavior. What Causes This Fear?Īs humans, we assume hundreds of reasons why dogs behave a certain way, which is unfair to dogs. Either way, both types of dogs are afraid to walk through doorways and it’s essential to positively change their behavior to increase their quality of life.

When approaching narrow spaces, some dogs will suddenly stop and refuse to walk forward while others will run through doorways quickly with their tails tucked and ears pinned back. Dog Training Tips for Dogs Afraid of Doorways javier brosch/Adobe Stock
