This one is particularly helpful in a multi-dog family such as mine. The first step is to put your dog on a sit stay. You may have to reinforce this by keeping one hand over your dogs head to correct or solicit a volunteer to help you. Once in the Sit Stay, place the bowl on the floor in front of your dog. Maintain the stay until he is settled in it. Then give the release word “okay” . and allow him to eat.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced being thumped as we open the car door. Why the obsession with being out first? Why not. Come to think of it, I like to be out first too.

Place your dog in a sit stay in his designated riding spot. You may have to get into a wrestling match so again solicit some help. You can loop his lead through a handle on the far door or pass it to a volunteer outside of the car window on the far side, if necessary.

Get him settled in the Sit Stay, and start to open your door. If he breaks the command even a little, use your arm quickly to stop the forward motion, close the door and replace him in the sit. It may take a few attempts so be patient.

When you are out of the car and in an upright position, give the release word and step aside. You can control the exit pace later with the heel command. Walk him out gently and put him in another Sit Stay out side of the car.

Arms full of groceries and you fear opening the door because of the fast moving train on the other side... no more. Grab your volunteer and put him on the inside of the door. Keep a 1’ or 2’ traffic leash with a choke chain on a hook near the door. Have your volunteer watch for you to drive up. At that time, he puts the lead on the dog and places him in a Sit Stay near the door, but out of the way. As you come in, say “Sit Stay” and have your volunteer to the proper correction. That way he associates the correction with your command.

Any praise or greeting given should be done while he’s in the Sit Stay so he learns to maintain his composure.

If you both are in and only you want to go out of the house. Place your dog in a Sit Stay and walk out the door. Give ‘okay, good dog’ command once on the other side of the door.

Note: Any time your dog is out of control or a little too exuberant, put him in a Sit Stay. This is the equivalent of “Time Out” for children. Sit Stay becomes a job, an actual concrete alternative to being wild. The wild behavior is a result of having no job, no inhibitions, and no consequence. The worst that will happen to him is negative attention. He likes that. Try a positive approach and let him know exactly what to do to get the praise and attention he wants. Dogs, like children, need structure to feel secure and loved.

Again, Grab that traffic lead by the door and place him in a Sit Stay. Instruct everyone that this is a training exercise and that you would appreciate their cooperation. There is always one in the bunch, “I don’t mind if he jumps”, politely explain to them that you do. As your company comes in, maintain the Sit Stay. Once they are all in and settled, they can pat him and say hello, but old Fido remains in his Sit Stay until he is quiet. This way he has a job and knows what is expected of him in this exciting situation, and he also gets his positive pets that satisfy and not the negative attention that leaves him wanting more. Be patient. Results don’t happen overnight. Sometimes they take months of reinforcement.

Same as above, but ignore him the first few times. Let him know that company is here to see you, not to bother him. Have the volunteer that is holding Fido, talk cheerfully to him. Be careful not to console him. Dogs take all their cues from you. If he’s nervous, he looks to you to see how to respond. If you respond by being nervous because he’s nervous, he see’s nervous. In essence, he will look to you to say he is scared. Then he will interpret your concern for ‘nervous’ as well and say to himself ‘ your nervous too, I should be nervous, thanks mom for the advise’. Instead, be cheerful, tell him to ‘buck-up, you can deal with this, come on I’ll be brave with you.’

When the company passes and no one confronts him by saying hello, he will relax. He will be in the middle of things and see that they have no interest in him. Eventually the old adage, ‘you always want what you can’t have’ will fall into play and he will begin to ask for some attention. If you have a wire crate, and he is crate trained, place it in the center of the room and put him in it. This can replace the Sit Stay. This way he can learn to interact and still feel secure.