We had a door put into the back wall of our garage. it has a doggy flap in it, so the dogs can get into the fenced-in yard from the garage without anyone having to let them out through the porch door.
It’s interesting to see the ability of the dogs to adjust to this new entry/exit after five years of being let out through the porch door exclusively. Henry is the smartest of the bunch–he figured it out in a few hours. The others sort of get confused every once in a while and seemingly forget the new door temporarily.
Ban, bless his pointy little head, is as dumb as a bucket of gravel. He just let himself out through the garage flap, but on his journey across the yard his little doggy brain has erased that locational information to reuse the storage capacity or something. Now he’s standing in front of the porch door and barking desperately to be let in. We’ll see how long it takes him to remember/discover the unobstructed door a hundred feet to his left that leads back into the warm house. I suspect I’ll have to get up and let him in by early afternoon so he doesn’t turn into a dogsicle.
If it’s at all possible, when the wee dachl is barking to be let in, open and close the flap to the doggie door to draw his attention there. Letting him in is reinforcing what you don’t want.
I was told once that you had to do a command with a dog a thousand times to make it a habit. I had one dog for which that was hopelessly optimistic, and another that I swear if he had opposable thumbs it would have been like living with my brother again.
Sparky, our Beijing Retriever, had trouble with the two double doors on to our deck at our old house. Specifically that he could get in and out through both and not just the one on the left.
Heh. Visions of burglar stuck half way as marko comes come.
Dogs chewing the head end on the in-side, and Marko repeatadly kicking him in a derriere while on the phone to 911… “Yeah, so there’s no rush. But I’m going to have to let you go while I call detach the dachies from his nose and ears. They might catch something from him.”
Any human (giving benefit of doubt as needed) dumb enough to try to get into a house thru a dachshund-sized doggy door needs to be removed from the gene pool ASAP!
I hope all the dogs get used to it.
Just make sure the hole isn’t large enough for an adult or child to get their head through. I have pictures of a burglar squeezing through a hole that was just large enough to get his head through. The saying goes – if you can get your head through it you can contort the rest of your body through.