Afraid of the door?
Hi!
We rescued a 42 lb black lab at 6 months. Buddy is now 2 1/2 and 120lbs!
We also have a doggy door. At first Buddy was afraid of the door, and I used hot dogs to lure him in and out. Now he is just "leary" of the door, and would prefer I open another door for him. Does your dog go through the door willingly? At first, I would stuff a rag in the top of the door so it was partially open and not make that clacking noise when it closes. That helped a lot.
The problem with rescues is that they are rescued. They come with problems. We don't always know what they have been through.
Have you tried feeding on a schedule? Another problem is getting any trace of odor out of the house so he doesn't think it's ok to go there.
Maybe training him to go in only one spot outside would help establish the rules more clearly for him.
My Buddy turned my hair gray for the first year. But he is the most loving
animal. I still have problems to work on, digging etc. But I just keep at it.
Please let me know how you are doing. Buddy is my 3rd rescue. I have 2 at home now. I know how upsetting this can be. but I'm sure it is fixable.
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