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Health and Behavioral Problem Discussions |
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In this section, Dr. Dare Miller answers our customers' letters.
LETTER# 7:
YORKY WINS OVER BROOM TO DASH OUT THE DOOR
Dear Dr. Dare:
My dog dashes out the door every chance she gets. She could get lost or killed. She's a tiny Yorky and as quick as a weasel. You just can't imagine. I can't get a hold of her before I leave, so I've been keeping a broom by the door. It's worked fairly well. As I go to leave I take the broom keeping it in front of her with my right hand as I open the door with my left. I can usually back out while maneuvering the broom and then close the door, leaving the broom inside. When I come home I get down on my knees and open the door a crack. She's always right there where I can reach through the crack and grab her before she can escape out the door. If I can't grab her that way I get the broom again and use it to get her back in. Yesterday though, I twisted my wrist in this charade and now the broom is out. And I'm out in the cold if I don't solve this problem. Please help.
Out in the cold
Dear Out:
You don't say how old your Yorky is but if your wrist hadn't given out when it did, I think eventually you would have lost this battle anyway. You see by doing this broom thing you are just making it worse. Door dashing is serious but its cure is actually a true "cure" for many other behavior problems. It works like this: this dog is competing with you and vice versa. Winning just often is enough to make her try harder and harder all the while thinking less and less of her owner as a leader. You can see this is not good as dogs need to feel they have a good leader. If not she'll turn against you soon not hesitating to bite you to keep you from grabbing her. Also, great frustration builds up in a dog that loses out all the time at the door. When observed through a two-way mirror, very often these dogs can be seen to turn the moment that door is shut releasing their frustration by scratching, chewing, barking, even wetting. On the other hand, dogs who think of their owners in a mental framework of "leader" tend mostly to follow the leader. Soon they'll follow their owners wishes. No more problems! That is what dogs are all about. A dog and his master. Take your DOG-MASTER® instrument in your hand and drop it just as you open the door. This will amaze you but she will naturally spring away. Praise her and do it again until she goes clear back from the door whenever you move it. When you've had this big success you can also take the device and teach your Yorky to Come and to Go. Outside of putting her in a cage all day, this instrument offers about the only way to solve this door dashing problem and to get you in from the cold.
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