How to get your house back from the dogs

Osa staying at the boundary

Look over your home and find the area that you want your dog to stay in. It is better and easier to train the dog not to cross the boundary if it is noticeable like a door way or step. In our house, the dogs stay in the office/sunroom. We are there all day so they get lots of attention, and we keep the door open so they can “see” us as we watch TV in the evening. They will not cross the boundary, which is a step up or down. You have to decide firmly upfront and do not allow special times to cross the boundaries. That will only confuse him. We carry our smaller dog across to bathe him only. He never touches the floor of the forbidden area.

Osa is happy

Start the training as you would any other commands. Get eye contact if at all possible anytime you train your dog. Use firm commands like no and stay. I use sign language to help emphasize the commands. This can be taught to puppies or older dogs. When the dog gets to the boundary that you do not want him to cross, say stay. Walk away and go back to reward him. Keep doing this. Do not call him to come into the area. Do this as many times as possible, especially at the beginning. The biggest bulk of our training was the first night we decided to start this. It got easier after that.

Osa nevers crosses over

If the dog starts to cross the boundary, say NO! Call him back into the area you want him to stay. Reward him for coming. Praise him dearly. Start back out of his area, and if he follows, say stay forcefully. Keep going back to praise and reward him. Watch him; do not give him too much freedom to wander at this point. Stay around and keep rewarding him with praise, petting, and treats. He will be excited if you are, too.

Osa watches us watch TV

Repeat this as often as possible. Be ready to give lots of attention upfront to keep the dog in the area you want the dog in. If the dog strays over the line, just firmly say NO, and call him back to his area. Reward and praise him often. Our older dog (10+) would every once in a while “forget” and just wander out of his area. We’d just say, “Hey," and he would look so surprised then scamper back to his area. We also found out that he would occasionally sneak out in the middle of the night to eat the cat food. We moved the cat food further away from the boundary and then he stopped. Now he never crosses. We can even call both of our dogs to come across the boundary and neither one will come across.