A recent project at my house has been the conversion of my garage that does not fit the van into a well used dog room. The project has been underway in one form or another for a few months and is coming close to being finished. One of the things I wanted to correct was the dog door. It is nice to let the dogs come and go when they need without having to have accidents at the back door or getting up and down - especially with more than one dog. The bad thing, that I wanted to fix, was the fact that once the doors with the plastic flaps age, they no longer fit the opening properly - meaning in the summer one lets cool air out and in the winter, frigid air (especially as the door is on the North side of the house) streams in past the flap. The other thing is that the draft was particularly bad around the dog crates. I don't even want to think what the hole in my door was doing to the heating bills!
Like any savvy consumer I hit the internet to research different designs and finally settled on an industrial job (Heavy Duty Dog Door™) with a hefty plexiglass panel set into
an aluminum frame and sporting two industrial springs. The first evening when I got home after the doors were installed in my office and the dog room, I let Ailsa and Baker out of their crates. They did what they always do: Bark, leap, scamper around, Jump, Bounce, Bark,
and fly outside, through the door. Well! What a surprise for Baker when the door smacked
him on the butt and made a huge BANG. No way he was coming back inside. Ailsa was not so put off - mostly surprised that the door had changed between morning and evening. As I had classes to teach at CC
SC, I let them back in and off we went. Later in the evening I opened the door to let them out and neither volunteered to try the door again.
Thank goodness Ailsa did not need to go out during the night. Next morning, thankfully, it was not too cold so I had the chance to work on door skills. I let them out and armed myself with some REALLY good treats from the fridge - left over beef tenderloin from Christmas (grief, the things we do for the dogs). I then settled down on the floor inside the door - they were still outside. Since the door is a big plexiglass window, they could
look at me and I at them and I carefully took a big juicy chunk of meat and ate it right in front of them. Baker came to the glass to see but would not touch the door. After I had eaten another piece, Ailsa screwed up her courage and came in and experienced a yummy reward. Then she did the puppy thing - sat - and looked at Baker. He remained stuck outside.
She looked at me and then looked at him and then very carefully, while looking at him, walked up to the door from the inside. She then took her right paw, lifted it and pushed against the plexiglass while continuing to look at Baker. Then she slowly, deliberately placed her
head along her outstretched fore arm and rocked forward through the
door bearing the weight of the door flap on the back of her neck,
then slipped herself outside.
Once outside she placed herself next to Baker and looked up at him. Before I could hold out another piece of meat, she repeated the process from outside to inside. Of course, she was rewarded for her prowess with a yummy piece of meat which she relished. She then turned and faced Baker again. Still he did not move. Now she surprised me again by carefully illustrating the exit form, sitting next him outside, then repeating the entry form, got treated, sat, waited, sighed (it was hard not to laugh) and repeated the process again. and again, and again - I think it was 6 times over all but I was mesmerized watching the deliberations and patience and Baker's obvious agitation. In the middle of one of the times where I was treating Ailsa there was a huge commotion as a brown & while blur came hurtling through the door.
I was quick to make sure that he got a great big morsel of beef given to him over a good 20-30 seconds. Baker had screwed up all the courage he had and burst through the door for his piece of meat. Then I quickly opened the door and they both went out and I closed the door again. Needless to say, Baker was less than pleased, but Ailsa put her teaching hat on again and repeated the process of going in and out of the door until Baker came again (at this point Ailsa is getting 6 times the number of treats than Baker). We repeated the process of teaching Baker twice again before breaking for breakfast. I had a small giggle a little while later when I heard the door being used and when I got up to see, there was AIlsa punching the flap with her paw - just entertaining herself with the power to decide if she was coming or going. Baker did not try the game.
What was stunning was that the single lesson of how to use the door was taught by a 6 mo old puppy to a soon-to-be-7 year old dog. Now, 3 days later, they are both using the doors as if that was all that had ever been at the house before. And - I am pleased to report that there is no longer a howling gale at my back door!
Ginger
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