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Need furry child-proofing help!

3K views 47 replies 7 participants last post by  sumyasmom 
#1 ·
Beaux has recently figured out how to open doors.... Even the ones at my house with round knobs. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to keep him out of rooms (baby gates don't work- he jumps right over them)?

I'm trying to figure out an alternative to putting doors with locks on both sides throughout my entire house.

Help help help! :)
 
#4 ·
Duke does this to, its always nice of him to open the door when I'm going potty :)  On the rooms we really don't want him in we got a hook lock and put that on the door.  Or you can just change your door knobs to ones with locks.  He almost knows how to unlock the hook locks.  He is really smart.  I would say just put locks on your doors.  There is no privacy in my house :)
 
#7 ·
He bites through the white child protectors.  I had the same thought on those!

There is danger everywhere in a house... I'm just trying to keep him out of the bathroom because he has a tendency to turn on the cold water faucet  for a drink (but doesn't turn it off, lol). He has figured out how to get the faucet locks off now.... And I'm at my wits end.

I guess a key lock is my only option at this point... Sometimes I wish my dog was a little less intelligent, lol.
 
#15 ·
You can stage your leaving and wait until Beaux tries to open the doors.  Then you have your teaching moment.  You should be able to use the same rules with this as you would with crate training.  Or you could just crate him or give him something else to do that is better than opening the doors and exploring.
 
#16 ·
I know what you mean.  I'm not a fan of crating for long hours either, so I appreciate that you don't do that.  I'm actually working on building a kennel in my basement with chain link kennel panels.  Its basically just a much bigger crate.  Short of doing something like that, you're just at the mercy of the lay-out of your house.  My next house is going to have a big garage that I'll make dog proof for when I'm not home!
 
#17 ·
I don't really think it has anything to do with exploring- my dog has a thing about doors being closed.... He just doesn't like it. I've watched him from a window open up a door, look inside, and walk back out again.

That behavior isn't going to change- I just need to remedy him opening doors.
 
#18 ·
It doesn't really sound like he is exploring though, Duke likes running water better then standing water.  It sounds like he is going into the bathroom just to get the water that he wants.  You may have to get him a different water bowl one that has more of a fountain then a plain water dish.  Duke won't usually drink the water if the fountain isn't going.
 
#21 ·
wow! he is persistent! :lol: i think everyone put out all the suggestions i had.i just put up a baby gate and sumya sees it and sighs and stares at it, she is either slow or lazy i am not sure which! would crating and having a dog walker come be feasible for you?or perhaps doggie day care, i know alot of people are not comfortable with it, some people here have had bad experiences and some LOVE their's. i think it is hit or miss.good luck with beaux! let us know what solution you find .
 
#22 ·
sully\";p=\"84852 said:
I know what you mean.  I'm not a fan of crating for long hours either, so I appreciate that you don't do that.  I'm actually working on building a kennel in my basement with chain link kennel panels.  Its basically just a much bigger crate.  Short of doing something like that, you're just at the mercy of the lay-out of your house.  My next house is going to have a big garage that I'll make dog proof for when I'm not home!
Yeah- my house is definitely not big enough for that....

I think I'm relegated to handles with key-locks... That way, there is no way in hell he can open it!
 
#23 ·
sumyasmom\";p=\"84859 said:
wow! he is persistent! :lol: i think everyone put out all the suggestions i had.i just put up a baby gate and sumya sees it and sighs and stares at it, she is either slow or lazy i am not sure which! would crating and having a dog walker come be feasible for you?or perhaps doggie day care, i know alot of people are not comfortable with it, some people here have had bad experiences and some LOVE their's. i think it is hit or miss.good luck with beaux! let us know what solution you find .

I have yet to find a person outside of my family/close friends that I trust with Beaux... He gets super bad separation anxiety (which we're working on)... and has a tendency to work an "escape plan" if he's not comfortable with who he's with.

Although- getting my neighbor to walk him during the day might be a good solution.
 
#24 ·
Hmm well there are ways you can work on the separation anxiety.  Oggie used to have bad SA, he would go crazy and try to escape any type of containment when I wasn't around.  I gradually built up his ability to be alone, now he can pretty much have the run the of the house.  I can even just leave up one baby gate.  I've witnessed him jump right over them, but now that he's not so anxious, he has no reason to and doesn't even try!  I just gate off the few areas I don't really want him in.
 
#25 ·
Sully- we're working on it. Practice makes perfect. I think because I live with him, and I am his sole care-provider... He is a little more prone to SA than most dogs. He loves my boyfriend (we call him Daddy to Beaux)... But he even whines and cries when I leave him with my boyfriend.

In other news- I think after doing some searching I found a good product for child proofing doors.

http://www.safebeginnings.com/Databases ... /doors.asp

2nd to last product on at the bottom of the page (on the left hand side).

He can't reach that- I don't care how smart he is lol.
 
#26 ·
I'm not judging here so don't take it as such.
If you have a problem with SA leaving the dog for 10 hours is a problem. I would put money that Beaux is opening the doors and looking for you.  When he doesn't find you, he goes to the next one.  The crate will keep your dog safe.  People have a bad stigma assigned to crates because we see it as a jail but when introduced correctly, the crate is a safe place for your dog.  The crate is a great tool to help you until you have time to modify your dog's behavior.  
And any behavior can be modified.  If people can teach their dogs that couches and beds are off limits, I would believe that teaching your dog that door knobs are off limits would be pretty easy.
 
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