How to Stop My Dog From Scratching My Door?
Dogs are curious by nature. I think that is one of the aspects of their personality that makes them cute. I have a number of dogs and their antics do keep me amused throughout the day! But, sometimes, this curiosity gets a little too much. One of such acts of curiosity, which often annoys dog owners, is the scratching of the door.
I see a lot of dogs scratching the doors of their homes to get out. Sometimes, they might do it just to get your attention or they might want to do something else. Whatever, the reason might be, you cannot ignore the fact that is pretty annoying. So, how can you stop that? That’s exactly what we are going to talk about in this article here. Here, we would be looking at how to stop dogs from scratching door. We would be looking at some of the tips that you can try out to stop this behaviour from your dog.
Before We Begin…
Let’s Understand Why Dogs Scratch Door
Scratching doors is quite a common behaviour among dogs of all ages and breeds. However, sometimes, the younger dogs have a greater affinity to scratch doors. This could be attributed to their restlessness. Most of the time, dogs scratch doors to get your attention. Sometimes, they might do it just to get out.
Another reason for dogs scratching is that they fear of being left alone and staying apart from you. This is just another part of their psychology. So, you need to know about the reason behind your dog scratching the door before you can think of solving the issue.
What Do You Need to Do to Prevent Dogs from Scratching Doors?
Be a Loving yet Strict Owner
If you want to want to train your dog and make it well behaved, then you need to be a loving yet strict owner. I have seen too many dog owners to spoil their dogs with too much love. Love is necessary but you need to be strict at times. This would help you to control the behaviour of your dog and also ensure the safety of your dog and yourself.
Don’t Ignore the Dog Scratching Door Behaviour
You might think that the dog scratching door behavior is not something you should worry about. However, it is not something that you should ignore. If ignored, this might increase and that might lead to several other issues. Therefore, if you really care about your dog, then you need to ensure that you take some steps to solve the issues.
How to Keep Your Dog from Scratching Doors
Alright, let’s start with the tips that would help you to stop your dog from scratching the door. You can follow some of the tips and you can be quite sure that you would be able to stop your dog from scratching your dog. This is how to keep your dog from scratching doors.
#1. Train Your Dog To Stay Alone When You Go Out
If your dog is accustomed to staying alone, then he would probably quit the behaviour of scratching your door. There are a lot of people who love their dog before they go out. This way, they think that are compensating for their absence.
However, this only causes to miss you even more. Therefore, you should avoid doing that. If you are going out, then you should make your leave as normal as possible. Don’t inform your dog that you are going out. Don’t give him any special attention. This would help him to take your leave as a ‘normal’ thing.
#2. Train Your Dog to Stay Alone Even While You are Home
It is important that you train your dog to stay alone, even while you are home. This would help your dog to enjoy his own company. If your dog is scratching the door to get your attention, don’t give them that attention. This would tell him that doing such things to get your attention is futile. This way your dog would slowly give up his habit of scratching the door.
However, if your dog is continuing to do this, don’t carry on ignoring. This would damage your door and more importantly, that would damage the paws and the fingernails of your dog. If that is the case, then you should try other ways.
#3. Say ‘NO’ with a Firm Voice
Most of the animal psychologists would suggest that you take control of your dog. You have to be the alpha dog, the leader of the pack, as said by Cesar Millan. So, when you know that your dog is about to scratch the door, just go and stand between the dog and the door. Say ‘No’ in a firm and resolute voice. Don’t yell! Yelling would not work with your dog. If you are looking to stop your dog from doing such things, you need to say ‘no’ to your dogs.
#4. Don’t Get Over Excited when You Come Back Home and See Your Dog
This might be the toughest thing to do, but it is really important. When you come back home after a long day at work, and your dog jumps around you and barks, you shouldn’t get over excited. Don’t show love and affection. Just let him calm down. This would help your dog to get more confident and he would miss you less. This would make him feel less anxious and miserable. That would stop your dog from scratching your door.
#5. Don’t Take Your Dog Out for a Walk As Soon As Your Arrive
Dogs love to go out for a walk. If you take your dog out for a walk immediately after coming home, then the dog would know that your arrival means going out for a walk! This would “,” in turn, make the dog wait for your arrival. He would get anxious until you come and as a reaction, he might scratch doors. So, you would need to avoid that. Don’t take your dog out for a walk as soon as you get home.
#6. Get a Heavy Duty Dog Door
If you are okay with your dog going in and out as he pleases, then you can get a heavy duty, chew-proof dog door. They are easy to install and they are really a good option.
You can easily get them at your local store. You can get a professional to install them or you can even install them yourself.
Before We End…
Hope you liked this article and it gave you tips that would help you to stop your dog from scratching the door. I have tried to list some of the best tips here. I have personally used some of them and they have been effective.
However, if you have some tips of your own, feel free to share them in the comments section below. You can even share your views and opinions in the comments section as well.
