Golden Retriever & the sink/scratching door

John McMahon:

My one year old male golden retriever did well with obedience training but has two bad habits still:
1/ pulls food out of the kitchen sink
2/ jumps up and scratches on sliding/patio door to be let in.

Any suggestions?
John

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Tee:

[nq:1]My one year old male golden retriever did well with obedience training but has two bad habits still: 1/ pulls food out of the kitchen sink 2/ jumps up and scratches on sliding/patio door to be let in. Any suggestions?[/nq]
Its close to impossible to train some dogs to not steal food. Its a breed trait with Boxers and rarely goes away until they reach maturity. The only suggestion I have is to buy a strip "scat mat" and place it on the counter ledge, in front of the sink. You can catch him in the act all day long, and scold him when he's caught, but if he's like many dogs, the desire to have that food will outweigh his desire to not displease you.

As for the jumping, you really only have three realistic options. First, keep an eye on him and don't wait til he gets to the door before opening it. Two, stand on the other side of the door, giving a firm NO & SIT command, then when he sits, open the door. Do this repeatedly in hopes that he'll catch on that sitting makes the door open but jumping & scratching does not. Three, spend some time outside with him & walk together back to the house. Put him in a "sit" before you open the door. Combining two & three should make him understand the desired before more quickly.

Tara

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J1Boss:

[nq:2]1/ pulls food out of the kitchen sink 2/ jumps up and scratches on sliding/patio door to be let in. Any suggestions?[/nq]
Why is there food in the sink? If it's defrosting - put it in the fridge or the microwave. If it's old food on plates, it goes down the disposer or in the trash. In other words, don't make a big fight out of a simple fix.
Listen and watch for his return to the house and ask him to SIT before he's allowed in - glass doors are great for being able to teach that.
Janet Boss
http://bestfriendsdogobedience.com /

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culprit:

[nq:1]Listen and watch for his return to the house and ask him to SIT beforehe's allowed in - glass doors are great for being able to teach that.[/nq]
only one problem with this... i taught Manu to sit outside the door to be let in. and now he'll just sit there for 10 minutes or so, just waiting for me to notice he's there. :-) i think i'm going to try to teach him to bark or something.
-kelly

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J1Boss:

[nq:1]only one problem with this... i taught Manu to sit outside the door to be let in. and now ... me to notice he's there. :-) i think i'm going to try to teach him to bark or something. -kelly[/nq]
not a problem if neither of you are stressed by it! Franklin will wait patiently forever. Lucy woofs (she speaks for both of them). She was a door jumper when I got her, but with the "sit" through the glass door, she learned to stop that pretty quickly.
Janet Boss
http://bestfriendsdogobedience.com /

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Golden Retriever & the sink/scratching door

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