My partner and I have an eighteen-month-old American Akita. Everything is going brilliantly, except for when we come back home. Our dog gets so excited at the thought of seeing us that he starts jumping and scratching at the front door the moment he hears us coming.
What can we do?
He shows the same behaviour even if one of us just pops out for five minutes to take the bins out. This is followed by about 10 minutes of him jumping up at us, which actually hurts because he weighs around 7 stone (99 lbs).
Another issue: he barks whenever someone enters the block of flats or knocks on our door. He doesn't bark for long, but it’s still quite a nuisance.
What can we do about this?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Translated from French
The forum content is sometimes translated from another language, and posts may concern countries with different animal laws. Do your research before making any decisions.
Since the forum is translated by AI, the translations may contain errors.
So I should keep waiting for her to sit before opening the door and then give her a treat?
Spot on. You need to teach her patience; there’s no point getting cross even if it is really frustrating... You should also try working on this command at times when she isn't actually jumping at the door – five minutes a day is plenty...
You can even ask her to sit, then open the door and keep her waiting there before letting her dash out with a specific release command. You can also mix it up with a few "fakes" (for example: closing the door again, rewarding her for staying calm, then going back to what you were doing; or going outside while leaving her inside, waiting a moment, and coming back in. Depending on her reaction, reward her if she stayed calm. If she didn’t, just wait and ask her to sit in front of the door before giving her any praise). It takes time, patience, and persistence, but it can really strengthen your bond and help your dog listen to you better!
I have the same problem; I live in the countryside and, to make matters worse, I’ve got an old wooden door with glass panes...
The result: a filthy door and, more importantly, three broken panes in less than a year. Besides the risk of injury, I’m fed up with replacing the glass 🙄
The only solution that sort of works is waiting for my dog to sit before I open the door. It’s starting to sink in, but it’s not quite a done deal yet...
Try setting up a routine when you get back home: ignore the dog, and then once he’s calmed down, ask him to sit and reward him with a stroke, a dog biscuit, or a bit of praise.
All your dog wants is your attention and for you to be at his beck and call. You need to reverse the roles; the sooner he understands that his pushy behaviour is actually blocking any communication, the sooner he’ll calm down to get what he currently thinks he’s entitled to.
I’d suggest ignoring her when she jumps at the door and waiting until she gives up before letting her in. At the same time, you could try making her sit every time before you go into the house. She should eventually link sitting in front of the door with being let in, while jumping up means nothing happens.
Hi, I’m having pretty much the same issue. I’ve got a two-and-a-half-year-old Golden Retriever girl. The problem is, whenever I let her out in the garden and ‘madam’ decides she wants to come back in, she jumps up at the door to let us know. It means that when the weather's bad, she gets the door and the brickwork absolutely filthy. It’s not the end of the world right now as we’re in a rented place, but it’s going to be a real headache soon because we’re currently buying and renovating—everything will be brand new. So, if she starts doing that at the new house, it’ll be a massive problem. If anyone has any tips on how to train her to stop doing this, that would be brilliant!
Hi there, you really must avoid giving him any attention at all costs when you get home. Ignore him, even if it’s hard, and only acknowledge him once he’s truly settled down. When he is calm, it’s up to YOU to approach him, rather than him coming to you.
