[nagdu] Preventing escapes

[Nicole B. Torcolini]

I will admit that I am guilty of not doing daily obedience.  I stopped when 
Lexia memorized the routine so that, regardless of how I scrambled it, she 
always knew what was coming next.  I don't know if it would work if there 
was temptation on the other side of the doorway, but she is known for 
stopping at doorways, even off leash.  If I go into another room, she'll 
follow me to the doorway, but wait for permission to cross.  If I leave the 
room and leave the door open, she might creep to the doorway to try to see 
where I'm going, but she won't cross.  My general rule, though, is to have 
her far away from the door or on a leash or tie down before opening a door 
outside.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 5:21 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Preventing escapes


The unfortunate situation in Indianapolis got me thinking and so I'll ask
folks here this question.

What steps do you take to prevent your dog from escaping out an open door?

If the dog has gotten out, what did you do to get him/her back?

I really do try to enforce the policy that the dog only goes through a door
outside when I give it the command to do so, in or out of harness. If a dog
starts barging through doorways, even ones inside buildings, I'll go back to
the class method and have the dog sit once it's stopped for the doorway, or
bring it back to heel and then sit.

This doesn't always make the dog door-proof, but it does help.

After shutting one of my dogs outside because I'd removed his leash and
harness on the porch while I opened the door, and obviously didn't give him
enough time to get in, I keep them leashed until they get inside.

Of course, most instructors will tell you that daily obedience is critical
for just these situations. Do we do it though? No comment. <grin>

 Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com


_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40wavecable.com