My doggie doesnt want to go through his doggie door anymore
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No I havent had an issue. B/c my husband wont let me have one. 
Something may have spooked him. I would maybe use some treats and retrain to use the door. Get him just to touch it first. Go slow. If he is weary of it pushing him wont help.
Something may have spooked him. I would maybe use some treats and retrain to use the door. Get him just to touch it first. Go slow. If he is weary of it pushing him wont help.
Just so you know that this kind of thing CAN happen, EVEN with the mighty doberman--Kip, for some reason, decided a year or two ago, that, while he WOULD agree to go through the doorway from the kitchen into the dining room, he most definitely would NOT go through that SAME doorway in the opposite direction from the DINING ROOM into the KITCHEN.
Even if Capri is busily snarfing down some choice item that will be GONE if he doesn't hurry, he rushes as fast as he can all the way around through the living room and into the kitchen, just to avoid the horrible sensation of going through that scary doorway the wrong way.
Luckily, this issue is not a major one, so we just let him do his own thing.
So you needn't feel that you and your dog are alone with this issue.
Even if Capri is busily snarfing down some choice item that will be GONE if he doesn't hurry, he rushes as fast as he can all the way around through the living room and into the kitchen, just to avoid the horrible sensation of going through that scary doorway the wrong way.
Luckily, this issue is not a major one, so we just let him do his own thing.
So you needn't feel that you and your dog are alone with this issue.
One of my dogs went through a dog door that he'd been using for months (ever since we moved into this house) and must have misjudged it because two things happened. I noticed onr morning that he had a whopping big hematoma just over his hips that hadn't been there the night before (his vet checked it out that day and it was indeed a big hematoma--took three or four weeks to finally go down.
Couldn't figure out what he'd done to smack himself that hard but that evening I figured it out when he was sitting outside howling but would not go through the dog door.
He never went through it again...he was prepared to sit out in the rain forever rather than jump through the dog door. Retraining failed with him--so the other dogs used the door which went into the garage (where they dried their feet off) and he came through the slider into the kitchen muddy feet and all for the rest of his life.
Couldn't figure out what he'd done to smack himself that hard but that evening I figured it out when he was sitting outside howling but would not go through the dog door.
He never went through it again...he was prepared to sit out in the rain forever rather than jump through the dog door. Retraining failed with him--so the other dogs used the door which went into the garage (where they dried their feet off) and he came through the slider into the kitchen muddy feet and all for the rest of his life.
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I wish I had a doggy door, Im so tired of in and out 25 times a day!
The only problem I have .. and its more of a good problem, is if one of my girls knocks down a baby gate, they still will not cross the threshold of whatever doorway it was blocking, they both have had the gate fall ON them and therefore are afraid of it .. so it sounds like perhaps your dog is afraid of the door for some reason and perhaps he needs reassurance as others have said. Slow retraining may help, hopefully he will overcome whatever is bothering him.
The only problem I have .. and its more of a good problem, is if one of my girls knocks down a baby gate, they still will not cross the threshold of whatever doorway it was blocking, they both have had the gate fall ON them and therefore are afraid of it .. so it sounds like perhaps your dog is afraid of the door for some reason and perhaps he needs reassurance as others have said. Slow retraining may help, hopefully he will overcome whatever is bothering him.
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227 Posts
Something probably scared him
Levi certainly has ideas about what's OK and what's not. When I replaced my pickup truck, he wouldn't jump up behind the seat- even though there's room. It took a LOT of coaxing to convince him that it was OK, and then it became his favorite spot.
Or, if you put something on top of his crate, like a shopping bag- forget it. Not going in, even though he likes to nap there whenever we're in that room.
My guess is either something subtle changed or maybe his/her collar got hung up. Make a game of it and get him over the stress would be my suggestion.
When I want to get Levi to do something new that he's reluctant to do, I'll boil up a container of chicken livers. They reek and are greasy, but Levi will do somersaults to get them.... That's how we taught him to use our dog door.
Levi certainly has ideas about what's OK and what's not. When I replaced my pickup truck, he wouldn't jump up behind the seat- even though there's room. It took a LOT of coaxing to convince him that it was OK, and then it became his favorite spot.
Or, if you put something on top of his crate, like a shopping bag- forget it. Not going in, even though he likes to nap there whenever we're in that room.
My guess is either something subtle changed or maybe his/her collar got hung up. Make a game of it and get him over the stress would be my suggestion.
When I want to get Levi to do something new that he's reluctant to do, I'll boil up a container of chicken livers. They reek and are greasy, but Levi will do somersaults to get them.... That's how we taught him to use our dog door.
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134 Posts
LOL! Same thing happened to my dobe Kyuss. It took forever to train him to walk through my pass through gate!
I would attempt retraining. Maybe jimmy the door up as Adara suggested.
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I have a different problem. I use a dremel on nails. I use treats after each nail - progressing to every 2nd nail - onto once per foot - and then once when we are all done - all of this over a longish period of time.
This has worked fine with my starving dobes who apparently never get fed. I feed raw. People tell me it must be hard to give treats to a dog that gets raw meat and goodies every day. Well not with dobes.
But with the kelpie, Jill, it has worked against me. She is highly toy motivated - food, not so much. This approach has caused her to associate treats (chicken cooked with garlic, sliced string cheese, cooked liver, yummy chummies, etc.) with things she doesn't like. So now when I whip out the treat bag, down goes the tail and she tries to hide. It isn't like I do nails every day and I have never quicked her, but last time one of her dewclaws may have gotten a tad hot.
I did her nails tonight with no treats and it was no worse than the last time I did them just over 2 weeks ago (when I got a yip out of her for her dewclaw). I gave the whole thing a rest and only give her a treat when she will take one then walk away. It is taking an awful long time. Giving her food when she is excited is just plain out demotivating. But gradually, ever so gradually, she is happy to take a treat provided I have a toy on me. So it's tug, tug, treat, tug, tug etc.
What Adara said should work - to get the flap out of the picture and work on puppy going thru the opening. This is how we teach the chute in agility - get them to go thru an open hole, lengthen the fabric tunnel and then start letting the fabric touch their back until after about 3 sessions, the dog is going thru the chute and nosing the material out of their way - at a good clip. But do this slower than 3 sessions - make sure that each step puppy is very happy to go thru. before you change the picture at all.
I have a sheltie that comes to visit who has never learned the dog door. She has been coming here for 8 years and just can't manage it. Jill (kelpie) taught herself the dog door - she watched the others go thru and then at 8 1/2 wks old, climbed thru an opening that was higher than she was long. I need little steps for her even now and she is 6 mths.
This has worked fine with my starving dobes who apparently never get fed. I feed raw. People tell me it must be hard to give treats to a dog that gets raw meat and goodies every day. Well not with dobes.
But with the kelpie, Jill, it has worked against me. She is highly toy motivated - food, not so much. This approach has caused her to associate treats (chicken cooked with garlic, sliced string cheese, cooked liver, yummy chummies, etc.) with things she doesn't like. So now when I whip out the treat bag, down goes the tail and she tries to hide. It isn't like I do nails every day and I have never quicked her, but last time one of her dewclaws may have gotten a tad hot.
I did her nails tonight with no treats and it was no worse than the last time I did them just over 2 weeks ago (when I got a yip out of her for her dewclaw). I gave the whole thing a rest and only give her a treat when she will take one then walk away. It is taking an awful long time. Giving her food when she is excited is just plain out demotivating. But gradually, ever so gradually, she is happy to take a treat provided I have a toy on me. So it's tug, tug, treat, tug, tug etc.
What Adara said should work - to get the flap out of the picture and work on puppy going thru the opening. This is how we teach the chute in agility - get them to go thru an open hole, lengthen the fabric tunnel and then start letting the fabric touch their back until after about 3 sessions, the dog is going thru the chute and nosing the material out of their way - at a good clip. But do this slower than 3 sessions - make sure that each step puppy is very happy to go thru. before you change the picture at all.
I have a sheltie that comes to visit who has never learned the dog door. She has been coming here for 8 years and just can't manage it. Jill (kelpie) taught herself the dog door - she watched the others go thru and then at 8 1/2 wks old, climbed thru an opening that was higher than she was long. I need little steps for her even now and she is 6 mths.
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