Trick: Close the door
Especially in many larger apartments and houses one would like to close the doors occasionally. The cold breeze or noise disturbs when, e.g. you want to work in peace or to sleep a little.
Our dogs are always happy to be with us and often run after us when we move through the house. Therefore, many dog owners leave the doors open in the house so that the dog can move freely.
If you want to close the door for any reason and do not get up from the couch or the office table, you can teach your trickdog the trick “close-the-door” command.
Traninig: Close the door
In order to teach the dog to close the door, it must learn in which direction the door opens. To close the door, the dog must – depending on its size – jump up at the door, or just reach out with its paw.
If you have sensitive doors or want to use the command often, cover the door with a blanket or mat on each side to protect it from the dog paws.
Make sure they are just doors that close and open easily. Doors with door closer that close by themselves are not suitable for this trick.
Step 1: Close the door
Dogs are best able to close the door from the inside when they are in the room. Have your dog sit on the inside behind the half-open door and have some treats ready.
Ask your dog to give you paws and reward it afterwards.
Try this again while getting closer to the door until the dog touches the door with his paw. As soon as your dog touches the door, give a handful of treats and play a great game afterwards.
Repeat these steps a few times. Your dog will learn best if you finish each exercise successfully with many treats or a great game.
So before your dog gets tired, you should take a break and give the dog some rest so that your dog always enjoys training.
Step 2: Close the door
Once your dog has understood that it should touch the door with his paw, it is only a small step until the dog can fully close the door.
As a next step we want the dog to move the door with its paw. Don’t give the treat until the dog moves the door with the paw. Reward your dog with one word, e.g. “fine” “good boy / girl” in the exact moment he moves the door. Then give a treat.
Step 3: Close the door
Now it’s time to introduce the command “close the door”. Always say the command just before your dog puts its paw on the door. So the dog connects the spoken command to the door.
Then give your dog a treat.
To close the door completely, reward your trickdog especially when it moves the door more strongly. So the dog will learn that it should spend a lot of energy.
Depending on the breed and mood or age of the dog, dogs can be more cautious or stormy while performing this trick. Once your dog closes the door for the first time, celebrate your dog and give him a big reward.
Now you can slowly step away from the door. Train with your command and always go a little further away from the door. Lastly, you should be able to give the command “close the door” from the other end of the room.
Reward every tiny success of your dog with a treat. Divide the training with your dog in many small training sessions, so your dog can learn much better.
It is also important that you do not overwhelm your dog and take many breaks. If you give a lot of treats, make sure the dog always has enough fresh water to drink while exercising.
Most trickdogs enjoy the trick “close the door”. They are thankful to do a job for the owner and let the dog do the door closing is convenient, especially when many people are walking around in the house.
More tricks, how to teach the dog to catch the treat, you’ll find in the article: Trick: Catch treats
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