Having your dog charge through doorways or past you on the stairs, with little respect for you or what you might be carrying, is a bad thing. Leaders always go first in the pack, so if your dog is charging through the door, he is considering himself the boss and that has to stop.

Photo: dogezone.com

If you have a puppy, then you’ve hopefully already started learning the sit/stay commands, those will come in handy here.

Think of a place where you want your dog to stay until you have opened the door and stepped outside. I have a rug near my door, and that is the "stay" location. Your stay location should be within the range of a long leash if you step outside the door.

Put on your dog’s training collar and leash, and walk him to the door. If he’s like most dogs he’s going to get really excited, probably start wiggling and whining and nosing the door in anticipation. Place him in his "stay" location and wiggle the doorknob. If he tries to move from his place immediately correct him with a firm "BAH!" "TCHT!" or whatever your correction sound is and put him back into his position.

Jiggle the doorknob again, and correct again if necessary. Practice until he no longer tries to break position if you jiggle the doorknob, then step up to opening the door. If he breaks position when you open the door, shut it quickly and correct him firmly. Continue to repeat this exercise until he stays in position with the door wide open.

Once you can stand with the door wide open and your dog remains in position, step just outside the door, holding the leash in case he bolts forward. If he breaks position to follow you, correct him firmly and put him back into position. Practice stepping through the door and keeping him in position.

When you can open the door and step outside with your dog staying in position, you can release him from his position by calling "free!" or "release!" whichever word you feel most comfortable with. This lets the dog know that he is free to now follow you out the door.

The same process should be used for stairs. Make your dog wait at the bottom of the stairs until you have reached the top, then tell him "free!" or "release!".

The same is true for going down the stairs, through boundary gates, yard gates; anywhere the passage is narrow and signifies a separation between one area and another.

Just following these first two rules you’ll see a dramatic improvement in your dog’s attitude as he begins to feel safe and secure, knowing that you will take care of everything.

Learn more about the English Bulldog breed, view fun videos, print free pet friendly recipes, and browse through lots of fun pictures at Bulldog Abbie’s personal website http://www.bulldogabbie.com

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