Imagine a life with more freedom and flexibility for you and your dog. JGM Pet Doors can make that a reality with a secure pet door installation. Dog owners know all too well how inconvenient it can be to constantly let pups outside when you’re juggling a million other things. A doggie door will help alleviate accidents and put your dog in control of going outside.
No matter your pet’s age, there will be a bit of training involved to teach a dog how to use a doggie door. With patience and consistency, you will see why this feature is such an important asset to your home.
Decide to start inside or outside.
Ask yourself, where is your dog most comfortable? If you have a dog that loves to lay on their bed for hours a day, you should train them outside. This way, there will be more incentive to use the door because they want to get inside. Eventually you will practice going in and out of the door, but this is the best way to help them get comfortable using the doggie door.
Make sure they see how to the other side.
We don’t mean crawling through the doggie door! If the dog door is attached to a door you use, make them watch you leave through it and see you standing on the other side. If it is attached to a wall, make sure your dog can see how you got outside and then walk to the doggie door.
Lift or remove the flap for them at first.
The flap that hangs over the opening may be distracting or seem scary at first. When you are getting them use to the door, hold it up for them or temporarily remove it. Start by calling them through the opening with verbal cues. You can also use a treat as encouragement if they are used to that reward. Once they get the hang of going through the doggie door opening, replace the flap and call them from the other side.
Only allow your pet to use the dog door to get to their area.
During the training process, try to eliminate the use of the human door to let them out. If they need to go outside, you should encourage them to use the dog door only. You can point at the opening or tap on the flap to signal that they can go outside on their own. Avoid holding the flap open for them as they may expect you to do that every time.
Repeat the steps above until you have a fully trained dog that loves their newfound freedom. JGM Pet Doors installs custom doggie doors in a variety of applications, including doors and walls. We install our secure pet doors in the Phoenix area, Tucson and even as far as Las Vegas and Denver. Reach out to us today to learn more about installation and request a quote!
