Hi there guys,
it's been ages since I've been to champdogs so hello everyone. I am having a major problem with my lab at the moment, he is 14 months old and has started displaying really strange behaviour. He has always been really confident (and far too boisterous and bouncy most of the time) but as of the last couple of weeks he has developed a 'phobia' about doorways, he started just hesitating before going through a door and it just got worse and worse to the point where I can't do anything to get him to walk through, eventually after alot of distress he panics and loses his legs and back end from underneath him and runs through the door but it's becoming more of a trauma each time. So far I have tried tempting him through with food, sitting in doorways and doing fun stuff like feeding him hoping that he will see there's nothing to be scared of, we have tried pushing him through but I can't do this unless my husband is here as Kobi is too big. We have also tried putting a rug across the doorways to give him more grip (as we have laminate flooring) but that doesn't do any good either. Do you think he will just get over this? Or has anyone got any good ideas as to what I can do?

Thanks in advance
Sarah and Kobi

Oh dear poor Kobi :(

He hasn't hurt himself by trapping himself when a door has shut by accident ?

Have you tried to feed his main meals in another room so he has to go through a door to get to it ? What is he like going through the door to go out for a walk ?

I don't think he has trapped himself, at first we though maybe a firework had gone off when he was half way through a door or a loud noise of some description but now I think he's just winding himself up more and more about it. He gets really excited about walks but won't come through the door, same with food, nothing will tempt him at the moment!

Sarah

I think it might be a good idea not to make too much of a fuss about it as he may well be making himself more wound up as you are making it a focus for him :)

Try and leave some nice treats on the floor the other side of where he is and then walk away and see if he will in time walk through on his own :)

I am sure he will get over this once he knows that doors aren't going to hurt him ;)

Let us know how you get on :)

Given that you've tried all the usual stuff of food treats, tempting him through etc, and none of that seems to work, I would try the opposite, which is to completely ignore the behaviour.

You see, there is a possibility that you have all been giving him lots of attention (understandably) when he does this - perhaps inadvertently rewarding his reaction to doorways and helping to make this into a bigger deal than it is.

So, I would try just ignoring him and letting him gain confidence at his own speed around doorways....  Are you saying that he won't willingly go through any doorways, even internal ones in your house?  If so, just let that be and do the things you need to do in the rooms you need to do them in, and let him be "stuck" on the other side of doors if necessary. 

When you go for a walk, I would pick up his lead (but not attach it yet) and put your coats on and do all the usual things, then just step outside.  If he doesn't want to come, fine.  Close the door and go for a walk round the block without him.  I'd try that for several days.  (Any dog can go for a few days without a walk.) 

The only other thing I can think of, if you need to get him outside for toilet etc, is to play with him and get him happy and confident inside, and pretty near the door, then just chuck a big dog blanket over him and kind of gently shove him outside!!!  That way he won't even know he's going through a doorway! :)

Hiya,
OK good points I will to try to ignore the behaviour and see what happens, being a lab he thinks with his stomach so hopefully he'll make his own decision to go through doors. If only he was a bit lighter then I could shove him through, unfortunately he weighs about 35kg!

Sarah

Our old male Dobe did this when going out of the living room doorway. He would go to walk through, reverse, go forward again, reverse again, go forward, reverse, and would then finally run through! We never knew what triggered it, and were unable to stop it. I think once these behaviours have become habits they can be very hard to stop. Our female Dobe got spooked by a crane afew houses away from us when she was still a pup, and proceeded to look up into the sky when going out of the backdoor for the next 12 years!