![]() ![]() You do NOT need to go through the door first, Trust me on this! Your dog is not concerned with who goes first. It’s important when first teaching this, to release your dog to go through the door as soon as it’s open far enough to fit through. You simply repeat the door closings as needed with forward movement and open the door very slowly with your dogs remaining stationery. Your dog need not even sit but with some dogs, it makes things easier. You must be careful to not close any toes or noses in the door! You don’t say anything at all after the initial hand signal and word cue. Any forward movement by your dog gets the door closed again. Basically, you use an open palm hand signal and say “wait” once (optional) and slowly open the door. It’s very easy to teach but a little tricky to describe on paper. All but one foster dog in over 10 years of fostering, has learned this in less than five minutes! So if a brand new to my house dog can learn that fast, then just think how fast your crew can do this. I do this wordlessly, other than the release word. ![]() One of the first things that I teach a foster dog is to wait at the door (to the backyard) until released, for the privilege of going out. Walking more than one dog can cause many an owner to hyperventilate at just the thought of it! Toys can be another huge problem area, even if only one of your crew has possession issues with said toys. Doorways to the outdoors are another hot spot. Mealtimes can be very chaotic even when you only have one dog to feed so imagine that multiplied! Teaching impulse control where food is concerned is invaluable. But there are several basic areas of living with multiple dogs where teaching manners can make your life less stressful and who doesn’t need that? It’s up to you to decide which behaviors to teach. The individual needs of your household will vary. If your crew is used to saying please and taking turns, then a misstep is unlikely to cause an uproar. Manners and politeness as the typical status quo can prevent issues from arising. Spending some time teaching manners to your crew will not be time ill spent. Especially in the multiple dog household. The word has less meaning these days it seems but in the multiple dog household, establishing manners can mean the difference between chaos and calmness.
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