Scratching at front door resolution needed!

[TinkyDinks]

Hi,

I have an 18 month old male Cockapoo. His bed is in the hallway and we leave all doors leading to other rooms closed as when he was younger he was a fan of eating cushions etc. So we don't really have anywhere else to leave him.

Our problem is that when we leave the house he whines and scrambles at the front door like crazy and is making a right mess of it. He does it every time without fail, even when I'm in and out multiple times throughout day on school drop offs, pick ups, errands etc. I don't know how to get him to stop it as obviously this behaviour is happening after I've set the alarm and locked the door so I'm not there to manage it.

I've tried leaving him a treat, or rushing to car and getting kids in and leaving quick, tried getting him into bed and saying to "stay" etc but it's always the same outcome.

How can I stop him? We desperately need a new front door but I can't get one as he'll wreck this one too.

Thanks in advance.

Have you spoken to your vet?
You could try him with an Adaptil collar or a plug-in in his sleeping area.

You could try crating him, and if he's stopped chewing cushions maybe he could have more space now.
Do you leave the radio on for him?

Otherwise it's the slow process of training him that you will come in and give him treats. I think it goes a bit like: sitting him in his bed, saying stay, walking toward door then quickly coming back before he moves and giving him a treat. Build up to get closer to the door. Eventually you can walk to the door, touch the handle, then get back to him and give him a treat without him moving. Next step is rattling the handle, then opening and closing door without going through. Then out but back in, out shut door straight back in etc.

other good techniques are training dog on his lead with the door open, training in and out of the door etc.

Could you leave him in the kitchen? When we are out we leave our dog in the kitchen with the washing machine or tumble dryer on as background noise and distract him with a treat eg Kong when we leave. I admit that he has chewed at our kitchen chairs but this is due to teething (puppy) and he normally does this while we are in and ignoring him rather than when we are out - he normally just sleeps then.

Our kitchen is a large open plan into conservatory too which is why I was reluctant to leave him in there, and also, whilst it would be ok now, we have an Aga and in the summer when that area is shut up it's roasting.

Our hall is long and quite big so he does have a lot of room to move about but I did wonder if some background noise might help.

I never even thought about speaking to the vet, what would the plug in actually do?

The great idea is worth a shot. Was struggling to think of a way to do it as it happened when I left and was on other side of door but that does make sense. Thanks all.

I'd crate him, obviously you need to train him to associate the crate with a safe happy place where he sleeps.

Crate needs to be big enough he can move around, the best ones have water bowl attachments.

I've a 12 week old pup, he's crated when I do school run which is maximum of half an hour. He goes in there with the door open now when he wants peace from the dc. And encouraged on when he gets too excited. He knows that's his safe room. Nice cosy bed and filled with his toys and chews.

He was crated til about 6 months. I'm not sure I feel comfy with crating him again now. Or am I being too soft?

Sorry, had to deal with a load of children for Halloween
The training ideas from pklme are great. There's some good ideas on this page of the Adaptil website too.

Adaptil is a chemical copy of the dog appeasing pheromone (D.A.P.) released by a mother dog from her mammary area after her puppies’ birth. It’s involved in the attachment process between the mother and her offspring. This pheromone is a comforting message providing a strong signal of security to puppies as they explore the world and face so many challenges.

And yes, definitely speak to your vet about managing separation anxiety.