What: teaching the hound to wait, so they don’t rush out the door
Steps:
- Have your hound on lead at the doorway (can be an internal doorway or one leading outside) with something on the other side of the door the dog really wants e.g. dinner.
- The consequence for the dog moving forward, is the door closing.
- Reach forward to touch the door, give them a treat for staying still or retract your hand if they move forward
- Pull on door handle, give them a treat for staying still or retract hand if they move forward
- Increase criteria, so open door slightly, then wider, remembering to close the door if the dog moves forward.
- Once the door is open wide release the dog to go and get their reward (dinner, play in the garden etc)
You can build on this to have your dog maintaining eye contact while you open the door.
This principle is the same as the one you could use to teach manners around food. If the dog moves towards the food bowl as you lower it to the floor, the consequence is you quickly lift it back up. Gradually increase how far you lower the bowl and then release the dog to eat.