Why Do Dogs Always Sit By The Door?
It is not uncommon to find your puppy waiting at the door when you come back from the office. There are several reasons why it might be doing so:
The last one is the most common reason, as dog owners know so well. Some dogs even tend to charge at the door when someone arrives! But some dog owners have a different question: why do dogs wait by the door even when everybody is at home? Let’s answer all these questions in the next section.
Why your dog sits by the door
Below are common reasons why dogs will sit by the door and what would make them more likely to be the reason why your dog has been doing it.
The reason why it does it might be that it is waiting to get exercise. This would be more likely if it sits by the door when you are home, it sits there when it has not gotten exercise yet and if it stops doing it when it has already gotten exercise.
The reason why it does it could be that it has some separation anxiety. This would be more likely if it only sits there when you are not home and if it tends to sit with you when you are at home.
In this case, it would help to try to reduce the reasons why it might have separation anxiety by doing things such as exercising it, feeding it and letting it pee before leaving.
It might not have separation anxiety but it might still be the case that it sits there because it is waiting for you. This would be more likely to be the cause if it does it when you are away but it does not show signs of anxiety when you are leaving. It would also be more likely if it sits outside your bedroom door when you are in your bedroom.
The reason why it does it might also be that it is hoping to get extra attention. This would be more likely if it sits by a door that people walk through a lot and if people tend to give it a lot of attention when it sits there.
The cause could be that it is being protective. This would be more likely if it sits there when you are home and if it also lays outside your door at night or in a position that allows it to see the front door.
It could also be the case that it has learned that it gets rewards when it sits by the door. If you tend to give it things such as extra toys, treats or attention, when it sits by the door, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.
Instead, it would help to reward it when it sits where you want it to, to give it positive reinforcement training to get it to learn to sit somewhere else and to try to redirect its attention when it is about to sit by the door.
Below are some things you can consider when figuring out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.
If it did not always sit by the door, it would help to consider if anything else changed when it started doing it. For example, if it happened when you started giving it exercise in the afternoons instead of the mornings, it would be more likely that it sits there because it is waiting for exercise.
It would also help to consider if anything is different when it does not do it. For example, if it only sits by the door when you are away, it would be more likely to be due to separation anxiety.
The most likely cause would also be impacted by the door that it sits by. If it tends to sit by the front door, it could be due to things such as separation anxiety, waiting for exercise or being protective. Whereas, if it sits outside your bedroom door, it could be being protective, wanting attention, wanting food or it might be also due to separation anxiety.
The benefits of ensuring that the owner goes before the dog at doorways are three-fold. Firstly, it shows and reinforces good leadership; secondly it keeps the dog calm as it may be leaving for a walk and lastly, it helps to develop good manners. At the end I would like to share with you the method I use with all my clients. Lets look at each of these points one at a time:
Well Im sure that most of you know this one, but for those in a student role this is a must on every visit as far as Im concerned. Looking at the behaviour in the dogs home, the hub of its life is essential to have the benefits in the outside world.
Leaders go first right? I do think this appeals to the more primeval side of the dog, and is very symbolic. I will often get very good feed back on this technique from the client, as it keeps the dog nice and calm as they leave the house for example. It can transform the experience the client has at doorways in general, leading to a much quieter experience once outside. I also see a number of calming signals at this point, especially when the dog is finally getting the message and decides to stand back and allow the owner through. Licking of the lips, standing back, circling, sitting or lying down are a few that readily come to mind. Keeping the dog calm. Coming closer to the point of regular calm behaviour for a dog will make a genuine difference both in the home and outside, and it is then that other more subtle changes can take place. Other behaviours that simply come from an excitable state of mind will often fade of their own accord. For example, I went to see a lady recently with a very worked up collie bitch at 17 months of age with essentially nervous-aggressive tendencies. To get from the lounge to the gate out of the garden there were five doorways/gates. These included a regular internal door, two UPVC style doors, the garden door, and the gate at the top of the garden. What had been happening is that the lead was going on in the house, and she was being pulled in no uncertain terms through all of these doors with the dog jumping and barging along the way. It was a mess. The dog was having its head, but also getting more and more excitable (like an escalation up the scale) and then of course stressed along the way. The lady was being shown repeatedly who was leading the walk, and then she was confused as to the dogs reactive behaviour once outside!
Depending on which way the door opens etc. place one hand through the leads end, and the other hand on the handle. Open the door just an inch or two, the dog will either try and claw at it and squeeze its nose out, or they might get a bit worked up and whine etc. The dog may leap up at the handle too, so a brief check on the lead will help here. The idea follows that over a period of time (the longest I ever remained at this stage may have been ten minutes) the door can be opened more and more until you feel that you are able to slowly make an exit. Each time the dog goes to slip out first, the door is shut again. The dog will often do a full circle behind me and I quietly turn with it ready for another go. I should make the point that we are not trying to give the dogs nose a bash here! I may apply light pressure if the dog really holds the nose there preventing me from shutting the door, but this would be applied very slowly giving the dog every opportunity to remove the offending part of his body. Most dogs pull the head back very swiftly when they see the door closing anyway! Eventually, it gets to the point where there is enough space for you to move outside. This is also the trickiest part as the temptation for the dog to go on ahead is pretty high. The lead will come into play here if the dog makes a run for it, as closing the door at this point is hard to do given the distance to travel. However assuming the dog does go before you, lift it back in with the lead and close the door yet again. Wait a moment for calm to return and start again. Keep any verbal to an absolute minimum if anything. This all sounds rather long winded seeing it on the screen, but in actual fact it all goes very quickly. Placing the lead on, and opening and closing the door is where the time is used. Once you decide to go on ahead, I actually falsely move a foot ahead as if to show Im leaving to test the dog. If all is well, I will then carry on leaving over the threshold almost in slow motion so as not to excite the dog into following me. Also at this point, I find it much better to swivel to face the dog closing any space with your body position to prevent rushing to follow you. So in essence you are both turning to face your dog and slowly exiting at the same time.If done slowly enough you should be able to get outside, stand on the step and look back at the dog as it is by now waiting for the word to follow. Count to five in silence to create a small wait, then call the dog on with a quiet but encouraging voice. Some dogs will come and stand next to you calmly, others will shoot out like a greyhound out of the opening gates so be prepared either way with a good stance! Most will come outside calmly to impressed quiet gasps of amazement and delight from the owners…very satisfying! Now the dog is mentally ready to face the walk, or sometimes I may suggest they do this all again a few times each day for practice and to break down the old habits. The other way to approach such a scenario would be to tell the dog to sit and wait or stay as you leave, but the dog is not learning much in comparison. Doing it the way I describe will get the dog to think for itself, and come to its own conclusion about what is happening…making it something that is far more likely to stick and work well into the future. Internal doorways are much the same if you find the dog is hot on your heels as you go from room to room. For this situation, I simply move to block the dog as I exit the room, and maybe hold a flat hand out as if to say hang back…let me through.Conclusion. Who would have thought you could write so much about going through a doorway? Well, it just goes to show how important it is, and as previously mentioned, the positive comments that get fed back are very encouraging. A calm dog is a happy dog thats much less likely to pull, and show other undesirable behaviour.
Would she allow a member of the family to barge in front of her as she approached a door I asked? Of course not, so why allow your dog? Changing this situation would get the dog to slow down, think about the process and be conscious that the owner is on the other end of the lead. This alone will create a shift in the dog and create calm. Calm is good! Excitability leads to stress, stress leads to bad behaviour, and potentially health issues longer term as the stress is discharged so to speak. Ok, so whats the solution? Ok, where to start. Well, assuming the lead isnt even on yet; I get the owner to bring the lead out of the drawer or off its hook. This is where the dog will often go loopy and show its general attitude to whats about to follow. In fairness, a few dogs remain pretty calm and relaxed, but most will get going at this point. I insist that the dog is not going anywhere until it is sitting nice and calmly. Any jumping up or barging then the lead gets slapped on the counter, and we cross our arms and look away as if to say suit yourself…I can wait. Once calm is restored (patience and a good sense of humour in large doses can often be very useful here!) the lead is lifted once again, and we give it another go. Remember that were looking for calm, so its important to remain relaxed, avoiding eye contact with the dog too to prevent subtle conflict and stress. I encourage people to slow everything right down to enable them to think about what is happening, rather than to just do it in autopilot mode. Also bare in mind that the owner is not destined to this routine forever more, it is a case of retraining the dog into understanding that calm will work, excitement wont. Sometimes it may take quite a number of tries to lift the lead before the dog settles, but most will after two or three attempts if theyre excitable. Once the lead is on you may be in to a pulling situation straight away, so remain fixed and bring the dog back in until it understands youre now in control. The next step also requires a great deal of patience with some dogs, but with a few you can get out in thirty seconds or less.