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This little 7 week old Lab pup is already a pro at using the Gun Dog House
Door®.
This yellow lab is 7 weeks old and the GDHD is 20 years old...and still
working great.
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Whether you have an adult dog, or
a new puppy, teaching him how to use a Gun Dog House Door® (GDHD) will be done the same way.
When you install your dog door, make sure you measure the "rise" of
your dog (the measurement from the floor to the lowest part of your dog's
chest or stomach). This measurement tells you where to place the "bottom" of
your dog door. The bottom of your dog door should be an inch lower than
the "rise" of your dog. If you have a puppy you will need to
install the dog door one inch from the ground; and you will need to re-install
it at higher intervals as your puppy grows. Another option is to take an
educated guess as to how tall your dog will eventually be, install the
dog door at the appropriate height, and construct a "puppy-ramp" so
your puppy can reach the dog door and go through it comfortably.
Once the frame of the GDHD door is installed in a wall or door, leave
the GDHD off at first. Have someone stay inside with your
dog while you go outside. Call your dog through the "hole" (door
frame without the GDHD). When he goes through and comes to you, praise
him lavishly and give him a treat. Now have the person inside the house
call him through the "hole." When he gets to them, they should
praise it and offer a treat as well. Do this at least 3 times and no
more than a dozen. After this, your dog will know there is a hole in
the wall
or the door especially for him.
Leave the GDHD off the cut opening for one full day. Encourage him
to use his opening by not letting him use the "real" doors. Instead,
you use the real door and say to your dog, "Go to your door!" pointing
in the direction of his dog door. You may need the help of someone inside
to "help" the dog find his new door. After a half a dozen times,
your dog should like this new game! If you have a very young puppy, do
not expect them to learn "Go to your door" for many weeks or
months; still give them the command in a happy voice, and have someone
inside show them where their door is every time. It sometimes helps if
you are outside (after going through a real door) and someone else helps
your dog or puppy find the doggie door as you call him from outside.
On the second day, install the GDHD. Now, you will need to repeat
the same exercise as when you first sent your dog through the "hole." But
this time, the person on the same side of the door as the dog will need
to "push" the GDHD open for him. Each time the dog goes through
the door, push the GDHD less and less for him. It is important that the
dog gets used to the feel of the GDHD on the back of his head so once your
dog has begun going through the door, let go of the GDHD so he feels it
on his head and body as he goes through the door. Eventually the dog will
need to push the GDHD by himself and dogs are usually hesitant to do this
at first. He will probably put his nose down by the bottom of the GDHD
and wait for the GDHD to move (after all, it has up to now). At this point,
push the GDHD slightly so that your dog can see it is a moveable object,
let the GDHD bounce back to the closed position. The best way I can explain
it is that you are "poking" GDHD using short, quick pokes. This
gives the dog a glimpse of an opening and encourages him to poke the door
himself. At this stage, some dogs begin going through the door with ease,
others become quite excited, but still haven't figured out that they can
push the door open. If your dog will not push the door open by himself
yet, remove the GDHD and install a piece of carpet onto the opening. You
want the carpet to have a least a _” opening on the sides and bottom.
The dog should feel more comfortable pushing the carpet on its own. After
2-3 days, install the GDHD and with our enthusiastic encouragement and
praise, your dog should be able to push the GDHD now with no problem
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