My dog nearly caused a car accident

First of all, your dog’s misbehavior is a lack of training and a lack of respect…for you, as the leader.

Ok…this is what your goal is…you want her to wait for permission to go out the door…to understand that YOU OWN THAT DOOR! All dog training is done in “stages”…the first stage here, is learning to have manners at the door.

Start out by NEVER opening that door without a leash on her. When you go to the door, put her in a sit/stay…if, when you start to open it , when she makes a dash, use your leash and your hand to put her back into the sit/stay. She’ll challenge you a couple of times…but that’s to be expected…but it will only take a few times and she’ll figure it out, and stay till you say “ok”.

With leash in hand, you walk out the door FIRST (this is doggie etiquette…the leader ALWAYS goes first)…You can walk her around and take her back in…and repeat. Just don’t repeat too many times, as she’ll get bored.

The next step AFTER manners at the door have been mastered…put a long line on her instead of the leash…(a long line is a thin nylon cord, 3/8’s to 1/2 inch depending on the size of the dog, about 20 feet long)…Now she might have learned from being on the leash that there isn’t going to be a mad dash to the street…but with the long line, you can stop her before she gets there…give a decently heavy jerk when she hits the end of that line (be sure to wrap it around your hand a couple of times)…say “NO..BACK!”…do this EVERYTIME she tries to run out into the street.

The fact that you’re breaking an old habit (as opposed to teaching a pup a NEW habit) means it takes more time. I’d think a month for teaching her the whole thing…but I still would be using the long line until I was SURE she was under control.

Training a dog takes absolute consistancy…you never give them a day off…that means dedication and time from you…the owner.

phrannie