How can I get the dog back in

[Lovebirdslovetea]

She picks and chooses when she listens. I was in bed and had to open the door to the postie suddenly. The postie leaves the parcels by the door because she knows I’m about to open the door and I wait until she’s left the gate to open it. Still in pyjamas at this point. When I do the dog runs out, won’t respond to her name and relentlessly barks. Pressing the doorbell, shouting her name, shutting the door and opening it again doesn’t work. I can’t get out after her because of my hair and am in pyjamas.
what should I do?

Forget your hair and pjs. Go out and get your dog.

Surely shut the dog away before you open the door? Install a dog gate? Keep a lead by the door to put on her before you open it.

Is the dog out right now? Put a coat on and go after her. Are you really worrying about what people might think of your hair whilst your dog is running loose?

Don’t let the dog get out in the first place and start training her , unless she is deaf there is no excuse . Dogs need to be taught what to do they don’t come with inbuilt knowledge .

Is she contained in your front garden? I’d leave the door open and go inside. Start making some food. Rattle her bowl

Go out and get her, don't let her out in the first place.

If she is safe in an enclosed front garden just leave her to it. Calling her and making noise and fuss when you know she won't respond, will just look to her as if you are joining in with all the excitement which has started and will finish when she feels like it because she is running the show.
If the garden is not enclosed you absolutely must go and fetch her and forget about the state of your hair etc. The safety of your dog and passers-by is more important than your appearance.
As a starting point, you must not open the door until the dog is safely locked in another room.
Second, you train the dog to follow recall ina calm environment. Once she is perfect at it, you gradually introduce distractions until you test her on this postman scenario step by step (first with a long lead and, eventually without the lead). But really I would train her not to step outside the front door on her own.
So you need to teach her recall and wait.
I understand your reluctance about going outside your home with messy hair and pyjamas. But safety comes first. I had to chase down the streets after one of my dogs at 2AM once, when it escaped and chased after an animal. I didn't even have slippers on or a dressing gown. I would have done it at 9AM on busy streets without a second thought. And I'm the kind of woman who is always well presented in public because it really matters to me. But in emergency nobody gives a shit, especially me.

Put a lead on the dog before you open the door. Then start training her.

that is the right thing to do

Best thing would be to secure her before you open the door
If you need to go after her just do it, your hair is unimportant

We give a ‘threshold’ tax - she comes in straight away on hearing the jar open.

This. You cannot train your dog if you are more concerned about your appearance than the dog's impact on your neighbours. If you let the dog out, call it and it does not come, you go and get it. No matter what you're wearing.

I always lock the dog away before opening door - easy

Your post isn't clear.

Do you have a yard? You mention a gate.

But then you also seem more concerned about your hair.

If the dog is in your yard and safe, just leave the door open for it to come back in.

If you don't and it's running on the road, then you have a lot of training to do. Start with putting him on a lead.

Is the dog back in? You have to ignore what you look like if the front isn’t secure, if secure as others have said just wait for her to come back. For the future either keep her shut away when you go to the door ( immediate solution) and work on threshold training so she doesn’t bolt out the door.

I trained my dog, and she comes back when I call. Often I reward with a treat just to cement the training.

When she was a puppy, before she was reliably trained, she was kept behind a stairgate when opening the front door. But recall was one of the first things we trained, so that was really only a few weeks.

I should’ve said but I did go out and get her. It’s a closed garden and I don’t let her out into it but she ran out when I opened the door. If I shut her in somewhere she barks relentlessly as well but I suppose that’s better than doing it outside where it echos. The thing is she does understand commands but just doesn’t listen if she doesn’t want to.
she is really out of control. If I hold onto her and she wants to run after someone she would rather bite me and claw and scratch at me and tear holes in my clothes to get out of my grasp. She doesn’t listen to me telling her to stop barking but understands no if she’s calm. I can’t go on like this and don’t think I have what it takes. I’ve tried her on anxiety biscuits.

How old is your dog? How much training do you do on a daily basis?

She is a few years old but don’t know the exact age. She understands a number of commands in the home just with me. She will do everything if she’s calm. But shes very reactive and has really bad anxiety

What breed? I don't know why you're on about your hair and pyjamas... don't you know about dog walking attire? Most of us look as mismatched but cosy as you can. Barely suitable for the outdoors.

Is she a rescue? How long have you had her? Do you work on her training most days?

You need to put a gate up. There are gates that you can attach to your front door that open and close with the door, so she can’t get out by accident. I have a freestanding gate across the hallway in front of the door, my dog does not like ‘intruders’. I tell her ‘delivery’ and she has now reached the point where she understands this and stops barking, just watches from the gate and gets to sniff the parcel afterwards.

Is she a guardian breed? She sounds like she’s exhibiting guardian behaviours and you need help to sort this now. A good trainer will manage the symptoms and a good behaviourist will work with you to find the root of the problem. If she has really bad anxiety then speak to the vet about meds that you can use alongside behavioural training. But for now you need to get a handle on it and install a barrier to stop her getting out before something worse happens.

It’s hard, good luck x

OP, you've already answered your own question. She's anxious and reactive, and you're letting her get out to bark at a thing that scares her. If you're struggling then talk to the vet and ask for a referral to a qualified, force-free behaviourist. Otherwise, just stop scaring her - stop letting her see and bark at the things that frighten her!

It takes long hours of work and restructuring the environment to work with you.

Keep her on a soft house leash so you can grab her when you need to, say, open the door.
Have a jar of high value treats by the door and give her one whenever door action happens. Get visitors, postmen, to give her a treat at the door.

Over time, instead of the door being an opportunity to run out and cause chaos, it’s an opportunity to stand at your side and get a treat.

It sounds like environmental management is key.

Firstly, you need to keep a house-line on her at all times so that you don't have to manhandle her whenever the door goes. Then, work on getting her to associate the sound of the door with a command - you could train her to go on her bed in another room, for example, or to her crate. Reinforce with lots of praise and/or a high value treat.

Then, only open the door once she is safely contained in another room. If she barks, then so be it, but at least she is safe (as are you, and the guests).

Eventually you'll be able to get rid of the house line altogether.

You need to keep her safe.

Baby gates in doorways / hallways. Dog has a lead trailing indoors so you can catch her if she tries to go.

You need to get training her up ASAP. If she's anxious, what is it that upsets her? If its the Postie, she can't be at the front of the house when they come to the door for example. Use gates and doors to keep her away.