I’m scared to let my 3 big dogs out

[tke129]

@christian1488 In that case the dogs are still your parents problem because they’re their dogs but the rest of my advice may not apply.

That said I don’t expect this is likely to change anytime soon so you may need to figure out what if any routes you have to moving out. Sorry op.

 

[daveblast7]

@christian1488 If the dogs have no history of aggression, it's likely that they are just really excited to get outside. Although it isn't your job to train someone else's dogs, you can train them to wait with a release cue to go after you open the door. There are countless resources for this on the internet. Yelling won't help, the dog won't make a connection between you yelling your head off and their behavior of lunging for the door.

If they eat kibble, you can take some of their food to use as treats to avoid paying money for someone else's dogs.

It sucks to have to train someone else's dogs, but could help you build a relationship with the dogs filled with positive reinforcement and trust rather than fear, especially if you expand the training to the basics + tricks.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@christian1488

They don’t want to train their dogs with treats so yeah.

I mean, if they're not around to see you, I would just use treats anyways. Hotdogs, kibble, whatever they like. Maybe crate/leash them so you can deal with them one at a time?

You need to teach them the "wait" command. Try putting your hand on the handle or approaching the door, and stop/go back when the dogs lunge. Once there is hesitation (even a bit) praise them and let them out. Over time, increase the amount they have to wait, and what step you pause at (turning the door handle, opening the door a crack). It will be difficult without treats and having 3 of them, so you will need to have a lot of patience. If they have difficulty, try breaking it into even smaller steps to make it even easier.

Try different approaches to find what works best for you, there are plenty of ways to approach any problem, and if your parents' way doesn't work for you, you need to dive in and find your own path. It's something you'll have to figure out for yourself, but the ability to teach yourself a skill on your own is invaluable, especially if your parents are very much "my way or the highway" types.

 

[christian1488]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Ok thx

 

[angelos17]

@christian1488 Plus yelling is just stressful for everyone!

Im so sorry they’ve put you in this position. Thats so unfair. I have no real advice, but i can’t imagine putting my kids in your shoes.

 

[christian1488]

@angelos17 I once let them out and they all lunged through the door and once I looked behind me my parents were yelling at the dogs and I thought they were yelling at me and I was like “shit what did I do!” My dad could see something was wrong but both the dogs lunging at the door plus my parents yelling at the dogs just made my adrenaline go really high and I just needed a moment to let in what just happened.

 

[angelos17]

@christian1488 Oh god. That gives me anxiety just reading it. My parents yelled all the time when i was growing up and i swore i would not do that. My partner yells at my dogs a lot and i HATE it. It’s not helpful and it just gets everyone’s adrenaline ramped up! Im so sorry. It sounds like your parents need something for anxiety too! (I’m not being facetious - living in a constant state of yelling is terrible for everyone’s health!)

 

[christian1488]

@angelos17 Yeah I mean my moms never yells but my dad used to yell a lot but he doesn’t do it as much as he used to so that’s a little helpful, it was more at my sibling rather than me but still listening to it always made me worried about my brother being hurt or something.

 

[angelos17]

@christian1488 It definitely puts a person into fight or flight, especially as your brain is still developing

 

[christian1488]

@angelos17 Yeah it definitely does, and I think that’s usually my response when I hear yelling of any sort.