Wait

 

Teaching your dog to have manners and be able to wait at doors and for food helps them learn impulse control and to look to you for permission. It’s also a good safety measure to make sure your dog doesn’t just run out of the door and into a busy street.

Overview

  • Teach the dog to wait for permission before going through a door, eating their food and coming out of the crate. I prefer these to be rules/manners of the house without needing to command “Wait” first. I refer to these as “Unspoken Rules” that I will eventually add a command to.

  • Teaching the verbal command “Wait” tells the dog to stop and wait for permission to be released. This is helpful if you need them to quickly stop or wait to take something like a toy or treat.

  • Here are some examples of default situational behaviors (unspoken rules):

    • Leave it when the other dog is eating, playing with a toy or is in a specific location like his dog bed. Teach the other dogs to not stare at and keep a specific distance from the guarding dog that he feels comfortable when he has the thing he usually would guard.

    • Teach all the dogs to take turns with getting attention, petting and playing with toys. If one dog is being pet it means leave it and back away or go to their bed.

    • If food falls on the floor, it means leave it and perhaps back away.

    • If food falls on the floor and another dog goes for it, it means leave it and back away.

    • Leave it when another dog is receiving a treat. Don’t approach the dog or the hand with the treat in it.

    • Go to your dog bed when people eat at the table (rather than sit under the table and guard it).

 
 

Videos

Wait for Food (Placed & Dropped)

Teach your dog how to have impulse control over food.

 

How to Teach Door Manners

Learn how to help your dog learn to be calm at the door.

 

Door Manners - Wait Politely

Learn steps to teach your dog to wait politely at the door.

 
 

Door Manners

  • Going through the door first isn’t necessary. It’s not about being the alpha or being first, it’s about the dog waiting for permission (impulse control) and realizing the antecedent to going outside is the “OK” sound, not the door opening.

  • You are literally the gatekeeper in this situation. That said, it helps to walk through the door first sometimes as well so the dog learns that even if the door is open and you walk through it they can’t just follow but need to wait to be released. 

 

Steps

  1. Start by standing at the door. When your dog is calm, start to reach for the door. Mark and reward if the dog stays calm and in place. If the dog moves then bring your hand back to your side and wait for them to calm down. It can be helpful to have them on a leash.

  2. Continue with step 1 but increase how far you can get opening the door. Marking and rewarding for when your hand touches the handle, then when you turn the handle. If they break their calm then simply reset. 

  3. Once you get to the point where you can open the door they’ll most likely get up so don’t open the door much and be prepared to close it as soon as they move and reset your position. 

  4. Once they stay put when you open the door a crack, mark and reward. If they break, then reset. 

  5. Once you get to the point of being able to open the door all the way, don't make them wait too long to release them. We’ll work up to duration as time goes on. Use your release word “OK” as long as they are still waiting. 

  6. Once you can tell they know what’s expected of them you can add the command “Wait” before you reach for the door. Or right before they come to a stop.

    *I will use the wait command but not all the time. I want this to be an unspoken rule that they can’t go through a door until they hear the release word.

  7. You can add a level of engagement as well. When the door is open and they are waiting to be released you can add a “Watch” command or make a kissy noise to get them to look at you. When they look you can release them with “OK”. You can start asking for the “Watch” earlier and earlier so that they wait patiently looking at you to open the door. 

 

*I like to think I’m a robot and the only way to “Activate” me to open the door is for the dog to be calm and waiting in place. If they break the calm I am deactivated and return to my start position. 

 

*This should be your routine every time you go through doors. It can take a while at first but by the 3rd day they should understand the only way to get the door open is to wait patiently. This will also help teach them what “OK” means. Plan your time management to make sure you aren’t rushing and can’t wait for them to wait. If they are small enough then you just pick them up if you are in a hurry.

Food Manners

Steps

  • It’s the same technique with the door.

  • Reach for the food dish on the counter only when they are calm and begin to lower it to the ground. If they break their calm then the dish goes back to the counter and you go back to standing there waiting to be activated by their calm behavior.

  • You can also put them in a sit if they know it.

  • Try working up to the point where you can “spill” some of their food on the floor and without you saying anything they wait for permission to do anything. This is helpful to train in case you drop dangerous food or medication.

 
 
 

Week 1 Homework

  1. For this method to really take effect you need to be consistent. Have your dog wait at the door, every time. Also, when you have others over, tell them the same thing so they do not have the chance to fall backwards and go into new habits.

  2. Use meal time to practice waiting for food at least 1x a day. You can use a small portion of their meal to do 3-5 repetitions before moving on to working on something else. Practice with their food bowl and with placing food on the ground by hand.

  3. You don’t need to worry about naming it this week unless your dog is performing it the way you like every time.

Week 2 Homework

  1. If you are happy with the way they wait at the door and for food then you can start naming it this week.

  2. Say “Wait” right before they come to a stop at the door and before you start to lower food on the ground.

  3. When placing food on the ground see if you can start dropping it from a couple inches off the ground. Be ready to block or use a leash.

  4. When waiting at the door make sure to walk through first sometimes, let them go ahead of you sometimes. If you are going through the door but not bringing your dog with you then don’t say “Wait” and just toss them a treat as you close the door for being good and not bolting.

  5. Use Wait whenever you can:
    - At doorways to fun places, like your front door (he can’t cross the threshold without permission, but the dog can move within the room while he waits to go out)
    - At the food dish until you tell him/her to eat (dog waiting causes food to lower and dog not waiting causes it to rise up)
    - At curbs and streets (means stop and don't cross until you say so)
    - At the car (in case you need to load something first)
    - In the car (you want dog to stay in car while you take stuff out or check traffic)
    - At the top or bottom of stairs
    - In the yard (wait in yard while you take out trash, for instance). It’s best not to use stay for this until you’ve practiced a lot

Week 3 Homework

  1. Once your dog is starting to understand what “Wait” means then you can stop using the verbal command at the door if you want as that should be an unspoken rule. Same with dropping food. Feel free to use it if you want!

  2. Start asking them to wait in other situations, it essentially means “stop”. While walking if they show interest in a bush or something ask them to wait and help them stop with leash pressure if they keep walking towards it, once they stop and give you eye contact release them to sniff the bush.

  3. Have them wait while you throw a toy and then release them to get it. Use this while playing Tug and Fetch to build impulse control.