We live in a flat

Many Adults, 1 Boy & 1 Dog's Montessori Life in a Singapore flat

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Let’s not rush out the door

I was getting ready to leave the house for an appointment sans dog.

It didn’t seem quite possible. I could see the dog was getting excited all on her own. Her whole body language was screaming, “I’m going out!”

She was so self-absorbed, all she did was face the door as close as possible, wagging her tail all the while. She wasn’t looking at me, and it didn’t matter that she did not have her collar and lead on her. It was as if there was just this one dominant thought in her one track mind, and she could entertain no other possibility. She was going out. And so she crowded at the door, waiting expectantly.

I thought I would open the door a little so I could slip out while still keeping her in. I must have been a fool. 

The dog streaked out before I could put a foot out of the doorway. Thankfully the layout of our block of flats is enclosed and there is no way for her to exit out of the common corridor and landing and lose herself. 

I am not the only one. It seems people I’ve spoken with have their fair share of stories about the dog or cat running out the door when it is left open for even just a short period of time.  Thankfully unlike the stories I’ve heard of dogs running away from homes and dog sitters and getting lost that way, these people I spoke with all manage to get their dogs safely back into their flats.

Besides the possibility of the dog running out the door and getting lost, what was a greater concern for us was the unrestrained dog rushing out and scaring the neighbours’ and their children outside the flat leading to complaints. That can lead to us being forced to re-home the dog.

So one of the first things we struggled with was how to train the dog from being wild, crazy and heedless…

i'm going out!

… to be more self-restrained.

quick, open the door

Doggy exuberance is adorable, yes? But have the same scene play out one too many times and I find my patience wearing thin and my exasperation levels hitting all time highs. Meanwhile, the dog persists in zooming around and not heeding you. Crowding about the door but not staying still enough to get the collar and lead on her. Going out the door for a walk becomes a 15 min chase and catch routine in order to just run the collar over her head so that we could even step out of the door. (Ok, so the 15 min may be an exaggeration since I never timed it :P but I’m sure you get the drift. )

Mostly I just sat there waiting for her to calm down, while I get more irritated by the second at the thought of wasting time. Sometimes, I just give up on the walk and re-directed her to go to her bed and sit-stay there instead.

Are we still going out?
Are we still going out?
I'm being good here
I’m being good here.

It took about two months of working with her on entering and exiting the flat efficiently. Nowadays, she is very good at staying, even when the door is opened. ;)


Donna, let’s go for a walk from weliveinaflat on Vimeo.

 But if either of us are leaving her alone at home, we usually make sure she is preoccupied with a plate of food in her crate, and then we would make our sneaky exit with haste out the door!! :P


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12 Comments

  1. Torrey was the same way when she was younger, thankfully, she learned not to be that way anymore. Safer for the dog for sure.

  2. Luckily neither of mine are bolters…they both wait patiently – maybe becasue they are seniors.

  3. none of the Tzus have ever been bolters, though at first Chicky the Peki-huahua tried when we first got her, it took her running of and realized I was not with her that scared her to death, it hasn’t happened again, thank goodness!!

  4. Kali got out twice yesterday to the back yard. She couldn’t go anywhere,, there’s a six foot high (2 meters) block fence all around.Catching her in the big back yard is something else.

  5. Sometimes I casually walk out the door when it is left open. Usually just a few feet away to smell the vegetable patch and maybe dig a little hole…

  6. I don’t think I ever really had this issue with Nailah but I do remember working on sit stays whenever I opened the door or was taking her out during her puppy days. The cats however are another story!

  7. The boys get excited when the front door opens, but I keep them back. I’d panic if they ever got out the door!

  8. One of the first things we work on is a solid sit stay just because of what you are saying. Ours turn into crazies when they think they are going out. They jump super high in the air and you can’t even slip a collar on. But we just make them sit and stay until we get the collar on and are ready to leave. They aren’t perfect, but they also no longer try to bolt for the door.

  9. Neither Alma or Moses have bolted out the door, but our entryway is on a landing down the stairs from the main part of the house, and they know not to come down the stairs without permission.
    The cats… however… well, one is a problem. One has never been outside before and is quite content to keep it that way. But the other one is a bolter. And he’s good at it! I know all he wants to do is go out and eat grass and catch mice, but I can’t allow it. So you’ll often see me in slow pursuit in the front yard after a black cat.

  10. HAHAH! Still want to sit there huh? Love it.

  11. Eko still gets a bit incensed whenever I have to nerve to leave without him. I’ve found that by telling him to go lay down and then giving a cheery “be right back” he is much reassured.

  12. Pets can be sneaky little devils. One of my cats loves to try and escape when we open the door. Of course, she is just doing this to see if she can get away with it. If we don’t run after her, she will sit outside the door and yell at us like “you’re supposed to be chasing me!” then she’ll come right back in. I’m glad to hear you were able to keep your pup indoors.

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