The answer
On film, the trainers don't treat a door as a single exercise. They build a routine the dog meets many times a day: before every door, gate, kennel and crate, the dog sits or lies down and waits to be released.
The rule is the same every time. 'I always make them sit before we go in through the doors. We do that every time in and out of the kennel and every time in and out of the crate' (Poseidon). A dog who bursts out goes back in: 'if she tries to bust out, I'm just going to make sure she goes back in until she waits' (Wrigley). She comes out on the release word, not on the door opening: 'I want her to wait until I say her release command for her to get out of the crate.'
For an excitable dog, the exit is broken into steps, and each step waits for calm. With Max, who used to pee with excitement when anyone walked into his enclosure, Christian describes it: 'walking in, he has to calm down first, then I put his leash on, he has to stay calm, I open the door, he has to stay calm, you know, so every step of the way ... it takes a little longer right now.' He reports that the excitement peeing has stopped for a while. For a dog who gets wound up when someone comes in, the door itself becomes the setup: with Titan, a colleague is asked to 'go out one of the doors and then come back in' so his impulse control can be worked right where it fails.
Because it happens so often, the door routine also keeps the rest of the training alive. At Murphy's go-home, Kelton calls himself 'a heck of a stickler' for door and gateway manners. He asks the family to switch from sit to down before the dogs come in, so they don't bust in and because 'you are going to make your dog sit ... all over the place' but downs get practised less. Phoebe's trainer gives the general version: doors, crosswalks, kennel areas and elevators are 'where we teach the dogs things as well just in daily life', and using them is how an owner keeps training at its highest level. Our inference, not said in these words: the threshold is where the dog is most excited and the handler has the most control over what happens next, which is why it works as training and not just manners.
What to do
Before every door, gate and crate, ask for a down (or sit) and walk through first; release the dog only with your release word (watch 04:10; watch 01:40). If he pushes out, put him back until he waits (watch 00:13). If he is very excitable, break the exit into steps and wait for calm at each one (watch 02:21).
What the trainers say
I always make them sit before we go in through the doors.
We do that every time in and out of the kennel and every time in and out of the crate.
So if she tries to bust out, I'm just going to make sure she goes back in until she waits.
No, I haven't said okay. Okay, so I want her to wait until I say her release command for her to get out of the crate
Um, so we've been working on like walking in, he has to calm down first, then I put his leash on, he has to stay calm, I open the door, he has to stay calm, you know, so every step of the way, he has to, it takes a little longer right now
ten kennels um every time in and out when when i go to get them out they have to like sit or down and then normally i use down sure and then i put the collars on and then i walk through the gate and release them
doing great okay yeah but i always like think it's always a good practice to keep is like before he comes in so that he doesn't bust in make him do it down
all of those places that's where we teach the dogs things as well just in daily life those are opportunities and if you want to maintain their training at the highest level you can utilize those same opportunities
actually i could use your help for something real quick could you just like go out one of the doors and then come back in like really like we need to work on like his
How it looks, dog by dog
Max
Max used to pee with excitement or nerves when anyone walked into his enclosure. Christian's answer is a calm exit in steps: walk in and wait for calm, leash on and wait for calm, open the door and wait for calm, walk out. It's slower for now. He tells the owner Max hasn't had an excitement or nervous accident in a while, and suggests his body is learning to stay calm rather than get excited too fast.
On film
Yeah, he hasn't done the happy or slash, like, nervous key in a while.
Um, so we've been working on like walking in, he has to calm down first, then I put his leash on, he has to stay calm, I open the door, he has to stay calm
Wrigley
A dog with a habit of bolting whenever something opens: the car, the gate, the crate, the door. The trainer blocks her and puts her back in until she waits, then lets her out on the release word. She is still eager to fly out, but in the second recording she waits and comes out on 'okay'.
On film
Let's get some crate roll manners here, because Wrigley has a bad habit of busting out of the crate for the course.
So if she tries to bust out, I'm just going to make sure she goes back in until she waits.
of bolting. No, she has a bad habit of bolting out of the car or the gate or the crate or
No, I haven't said okay. Okay, so I want her to wait until I say her release command for her to get out of the crate
Poseidon
On a store trip, the trainer has Poseidon sit at the store doors and describes it as standing routine: every door, every time in and out of the kennel and the crate. One repeated cue at the door; otherwise it happens as a matter of course.
On film
I always make them sit before we go in through the doors.
We do that every time in and out of the kennel and every time in and out of the crate.
Murphy
At the go-home, the owners say the dogs are already good at waiting to be let in. He asks the family to switch the back-door wait from sit to down, both so the dogs don't bust in and so the down gets practised.
On film
ten kennels um every time in and out when when i go to get them out they have to like sit or down and then normally i use down sure and then i put the collars on and then i walk through the gate and release them
that area and then when we go into stores or go basically anywhere i make them do doorway and gateway manner so my hope is always that it transfers
can sit fine too switch to it down yeah i normally use down mostly just because um for maintenance
Phoebe (the Rottweiler)
Downtown, Phoebe waits in a down-stay at each crosswalk, with several 'nope, down' corrections while the light changes. The trainer turns to the camera with the general rule: everyday thresholds (crates, kennel areas, doors, crosswalks, elevators) are where the dogs are taught, and where an owner can keep the training at its highest level.
On film
now i like to have him wait in a down stay at any kind of crosswalks
all of those places that's where we teach the dogs things as well just in daily life those are opportunities
Titan
Titan gets excited when someone comes in the door, and the door is used to create the trigger: a colleague goes out and comes back in while Titan is handled with 'leave it', recall and place. Both sessions are thin, with staff conversation over the work. A speaker says 'That's going better', and the handler says he didn't care as much as hoped. The door doesn't come up again in his file.
On film
We're going to work on his excitement when he comes in the door.
actually i could use your help for something real quick could you just like go out one of the doors and then come back in like really like we need to work on like his
That's going better.
Why it works
As stated on film: a threshold is a routine event, so tying a command to it guarantees practice. Kelton picks the down for doors because sit gets used everywhere anyway and down doesn't (watch 04:53); Phoebe's trainer calls thresholds 'opportunities' to maintain training (watch 22:23). The release word, not the door, ends the wait, so opening the door stops meaning go (watch 01:40). Bursting out is undone on the spot by putting the dog back (watch 00:13). For an excitable dog, each step of the exit waits for calm, and Christian suggests the dog is getting used to staying calm rather than getting excited too fast; he gives that as a guess, not a theory (watch 02:21). Inferred, not stated: the threshold is where arousal peaks and the handler controls access to what the dog wants (out, in, the walk), so calm is rewarded with exactly what the dog is waiting for.
Where the trainers differ
Sit or down at the door?
One view
Sit at every door, kennel and crate.
On film
I always make them sit before we go in through the doors.
Another view
Down, because it gets practised less than sit and the door keeps it maintained.
On film
can sit fine too switch to it down yeah i normally use down mostly just because um for maintenance
How to read it
Kelton says sit is fine too; the preference for down is about maintenance, not correctness.
Common owner mistakes
- Letting the dog come out when the door opens rather than on the release word.
On film
No, I haven't said okay. Okay, so I want her to wait until I say her release command for her to get out of the crate
Watch at 1:40 ↗ - Using only sit at doors, so the down gets little daily practice.
On film
comes in so that he doesn't bust in make him do it down sure yeah uh we've been making him sit but we
Watch at 4:48 ↗ - Opening the door while the dog is still excited, so the excitement carries into the exit.
On film
Um, so we've been working on like walking in, he has to calm down first, then I put his leash on, he has to stay calm, I open the door, he has to stay calm
Watch at 2:21 ↗
Questions owners ask
How do I stop my dog bolting out of the crate?
Block the exit and put him back if he pushes out, until he waits; then let him out only on your release word, not when the door opens.
On film
So if she tries to bust out, I'm just going to make sure she goes back in until she waits.
No, I haven't said okay. Okay, so I want her to wait until I say her release command for her to get out of the crate
Should my dog sit or lie down at the door?
Either works. Kelton prefers down, because the door gets it practised several times a day, and sits already get plenty of practice.
On film
can sit fine too switch to it down yeah i normally use down mostly just because um for maintenance
My dog is so excited when I let him out that he pees. What helps?
In Max's case: a slow exit in steps, each waiting for calm (walk in, leash on, door open, walk out). It takes longer at first; his trainer reports the peeing stopped for a while.
On film
Um, so we've been working on like walking in, he has to calm down first, then I put his leash on, he has to stay calm, I open the door, he has to stay calm
How do I keep up the training after it ends?
Use the thresholds you already cross every day: doors, crate, gates, crosswalks, elevators. The trainers call them the opportunities for maintaining training at its highest level.
On film
all of those places that's where we teach the dogs things as well just in daily life those are opportunities and if you want to maintain their training at the highest level you can utilize those same opportunities
The lesson
The goal
Install a wait-for-release at every threshold and use it as daily maintenance.
Learn first
The drill
Kelton's kennel-gate routine: when you go to get the dog, he sits or downs (usually down); collars on; handler walks through the gate first; then release him through. Same going back in. At least four reps a day, plus every store door (watch 04:06). For an excitable dog, Christian's version: walk in, wait for calm; leash on, wait for calm; open the door, wait for calm; walk out (watch 02:21). For a door-greeting problem, have a helper go out and come back in to make the trigger (watch 00:07).
Watch out for
- Releasing on the door opening, not the word.
- Doing it only sometimes.
- Opening the door while the dog is still excited.
- Only ever using sit.
Check yourself
Your dog waits at the crate door until it swings open, then launches. What has he learned the release is?