How to Potty Train With a Doggie Door

Potty training your dog to use a doggie door takes patience, but has a huge reward at the end. Not only will you be happy that the dog can go out whenever he wants, so will the dog! Dogs are usually afraid to use the door right away since the flap makes a loud noise when they go through it, but once they get past this they will love the freedom the doggie door gives them. The following steps will guide you on how to train your puppy or dog to use a doggie door.

Things You'll Need

  • Doggie door
  • One or more dogs
  • Two people
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Instructions

    • 1

      Bring your dog over to the doggie door, lift the flap up, and let it fall shut so he can hear the noise it makes. Do this several times to show that it does not hurt and so he can learn that this is his new way to go outside.

    • 2

      Place one person on the outside of the doggie door and another inside, once the dog is used to the flap's noise. Have the outside person call the dog's name to entice her to come out on her own.

    • 3

      Gently push the dog outside the doggy door if he is not willing to go on his own. Once he has gone through, give him plenty of praise by telling him how he is such a good boy. Let the dog back into the house through a regular door and repeat this step several times.

    • 4

      Leave the dog outside after exiting through the doggie door for awhile. Lift up the flap from the inside of the doggie door and call her to show her that this is how she gets back into the house.

    • 5

      Gently push your dog outside the doggie door whenever he needs to go potty and back inside once he's finished for several days. Dogs are smart and will soon figure out how to take advantage of the doggie door. Some dogs may take up to a week to get used to this new method of going outside.