Thresholds 101
Are you nervous to open the door because your dog will bolt? Does the dog rush out of the crate in the morning?
Time for some boundaries to keep everyone safe and eliminate the mental arousal and overexcitement that you are seeing at thresholds! If you continue to allow the mental arousal at thresholds, you are going to see that mental arousal overflow into other areas of your dogs behaviour, mindset and choices!
The very first threshold of the day is the crate door. Only invite a calm dog out of the crate. If you allow an overexcited dog out of the crate, you are going to have an overexcited dog. If you allow a dog to run in and out of the crate without waiting to be invited, you will have a pushy dog. If you allow a dog to run up and down the stairs, get ahead of you, run into your legs on the stairs, you could have a tripping hazard on your hands.
Teach your dog that just because the door (house, car, crate etc) is open, that is NOT an invitation to go through it. The handler’s verbal cue is the invitation. Teach your dog to wait until they are invited to politely and calmly follow you through the doorway.
When approaching a valuable threshold like the gate to the yard, the bottom/top of the stairs, the crate door, the car door, open the door and pause and expect the dog to give you a calm and courteous moment. If they become mentally aroused or move through the door, then correct any excitement, close the door and repeat until you have a courteous dog who is tuned in and waiting on you for the next step.If the dog politely and calmly stops and waits, then invite them to follow you with a ‘Let’s go’ through the door.
Teach your dog to check in with you at every valuable threshold - the crate door, the door to the yard, the car door, no running past you on the stairs. Checking in to make sure that they are focused on you will help avoid overexcitement / mental arousal (which leads to reactive choices) at these important thresholds.
Try having your dog pause and wait at the threshold before you invite them to pass through. Did they stop and stay calm or did the get excited and try to pull you through the door? Correct all of the unwanted stuff and practice this exercise to reinforce that an open door is not an excuse to run through it, only an invitation by the handler is cause to cross valuable thresholds.
Check out the Threshold playlist on YouTube to see examples of this exercise!