Help! My dog can turn doorknobs?

Eggie's got it -- I was going to say the same things... only instead of saying "shhh" we say "all toes behind the line"... we establish invisible lines in all sorts of places... at dinnertime.. we say "Remi, the wood floor is the line, all toes behind the line"... for example we will go camping & on leash walk him a permiter & tell him while walking.... "Remi this is the line.. all toes behind the line" handy in the car as well, establish the back seat as the line "all toes behind the line".... maybe "the line" will work in your home as well :)

when Remi was @ 9 months old, he let himself out of the house while we went back to the car to get groceries... those baby-knob-things do work for doggies as well

Your pillows --- teach your dog the difference between HIS things & YOUR things... I did it this way (yep, Remi when young got into my laundry & ate my underwear... it is all about seperation anxiety.. nonetheless they can still learn) ---- Anytime he took something that was mine I would say "No Remi, these are MY TOYS" )of course my underwear isn't toys but it is easy to use one word universally..... and then I woud hand him something of his & say "here, this is Remi's toy..." ---- Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

You are doing so many right things :)... Yes, Remi is allowed in my bedroom & in fact he sleeps on my bed with me & Raymond (my boyfreind of many, many years)... he has proper care so I need not worry about fleas & ticks as the one person mentioned.

Try taking an old t-shirt... get outside in it & get it all sweaty & smelly.. then put it over a pillow that is HIS & that he can keep outside of your bedroom... but don't just give him your old dirty t-shirt because he might confuse that with laundry.... while you are working on this, put the laundry basket in a closet or otherwise outside of his reach... to many confusing things to work while he works out his anxiety & gets more comfortable with the idea that you do come back

I even put stinky socks on the arms & legs of a teddy bear for Remi when he was young as well as 2 pillows for him with stinky shirts... it works if you are consitant, firm, and patient :)

feel free to e-mail me.........I have worked with many, many animals in my life

ok, this sounds like he is comforting himself when you are away. There are two ways to deal with this:

1. containment: you can get a lock or babyproof the door, or leave the door open and put a babygate across the door.

2. unless your personal pillow is very expensive and quite new, go ahead and give him your old one. Your pillow should be replaced every 1-3 years, so if the old one has "expired" go ahead and make a special spot for him to feel safe and comfortable while you are away with the old pillow being the anchor to that spot.

3. Laundry- is he stealing stuff while you are home or just when away? If it is when you are away, you will have to get a hamper with a lid or keep the one you own up or in a closet. Prevention is the best cure in this case.

If it is happening while you are home:

a: turn this around into a trick. Have him learn to pick up your laundry! Here is a link:

http://www.general-pet.com/learn-how-you-can-a918....

b: or the old bait and switch:

http://howsbentley.com/library/puppyfaq.shtml

Whenever you go out, take your pillows off the bed and put them in your robe or up high where he cant get them, same with the laundry basket. Sounds like you have a very intelligent dog who just misses you when you go out.

Try the following:

1) Make sure that he had silky puffs on his paws so that when he turns the knobs, it slips from his paws. Tie the puffs when he's sleeping, so he can't run away !

2) If you don't to try puffs, put locks on every knob you have and lock them with KEYS and keep the keys in a high reaching cupboard

3) You can always put the laundry basket on top of your fridge!

3) And about the pillows, use a different cover for each night and wash it thoroughly the next day! And give a cover with your smell in it to him and tell him FIRMLY to sleep there!

Have you scolded him? Maybe you're not being firm enough with him, so he doesn't care about what you don't want him to touch! You can start by giving him boundries. Don't let him on your bed, for one. Don't yell at him, but be firm and BE CONSISTANT. That's the key. Same thing with your laudry basket. He's not allowed to touch.

We didn't want our mastiff to bother us when we had food while we were watching tv, so we made an invisible line to which she couldn't cross unless we invited her. Whenever she put a paw across the 'line', we would make a 'shh!' sound and she grasped the idea quickly. Eventually whenever we came downstairs she wouldn't ever be on the other side of the room. It just was in her head that one side was hers, and there was a boundry line on the other side.

Oh, and if you don't want your dog turning knobs, get some of those baby-proof door knobs! :]

Hope that helps!

Try a baby gate in the doorway. Use a tall laundry basket with a lid for the laundry problem.

If the doorbolt itself is somewhat loose, a tender stress on one edge of the door can slowly stress the bolt lower back, inflicting the doorknob to tutor "via itself". This stress is oftentimes a metamorphosis in air stress, inclusive of whilst somebody someplace else contained in the homestead opens a window or door, or whilst a reliable wind rushes via the homestead dropping the exterior stress. purely like a windmill, which additionally "turns via itself".

baby locks on the door.

The ones that you slip over the door knob. When YOU open the door, you have to sqeeze it to get in, the dog shouldnt be able to squeeze the doorhandle.

Get a simple hook and eye latch. Mine can open doors too. They LOVE the trash.

.

If you can afford to buy him a little bed and a pillow then do it.Because it will be bad to you if his fleas and ticks are transferred into your bed.Those things can cause skin itching