dog scratching at door

boxermad

my 3yr old boxer has just started a new habit and gotta snap her out o it. any1 got any suggestions on how to stop her?

koneko

Gonna need more details. What kind of door, where does it go?
Door inside the house, if she's locked in somewhere, the door going outside, a door that isn't even closed, scratching door from the outside to get in?

Skerries

give her a key

boxermad

koneko wrote: »

Gonna need more details. What kind of door, where does it go?
Door inside the house, if she's locked in somewhere, the door going outside, a door that isn't even closed, scratching door from the outside to get in?

she is scratching the back door to get in. when shes inside she howls to go out then when shes outside she howls and scratches to get in

boxermad

Skerries wrote: »

give her a key

have done she keeps losing them hahaha

koneko

Do you have more than one dog, what is her situation? Is she outside most of the day?

boxermad

koneko wrote: »

Do you have more than one dog, what is her situation? Is she outside most of the day?

ya have 2 more boxers, male and bitch, i leave them in around the kitchen during the day while im there and outside the back garden when im not there. It cant be she isnt getting on with the others because they get on like a house on fire, i just dont want the other two to get into this habit

seamus

You have to identify why she's doing it. Yes, she wants to get in, but is it for any specific reason?

If it's not for any reason (other than to get in), then she has clearly learned at some point that scratching = door opens. So you need to break this association. The easiest way to do this is to ignore her when she scratches to get in, and once she has stopped, then you open the door.

This may end up in your door being destroyed though if she's determined enough!

boxermad

seamus wrote: »

This may end up in your door being destroyed though if she's determined enough!

this is why i want her to stop, its is scratched as it is il need to sand it and re-varnish it but i want her to stop before it gets any worse or the other 2 start

seamus

It may not be your cup of tea, but back when I were a lad, we had a dog who would do exactly this. My Dad re-sanded and re-painted the door, then got a sheet of acrylic, cut it to size and screwed it to the back of the door. It didn't look as bad as it sounds (you'd barely spot it) and the dog actually stopped doing it completely because she couldn't get any grip in the acrylic.

Worth a though anyway.

boxermad

seamus wrote: »

It may not be your cup of tea, but back when I were a lad, we had a dog who would do exactly this. My Dad re-sanded and re-painted the door, then got a sheet of acrylic, cut it to size and screwed it to the back of the door. It didn't look as bad as it sounds (you'd barely spot it) and the dog actually stopped doing it completely because she couldn't get any grip in the acrylic.

Worth a though anyway.

Great idea, il give it a go just thinking now i can really see it working. I tried allsorts but no good, this could be the 1