Magic Feather Duster of Doom - Dog Training

I have two big dogs that didn't respond to much of anything when they were cozy in my car or playing in the yard. I tried everything to get them into the house, but nothing worked. Until I stumbled upon...The Magic Feather Duster of Doom.

This instructable will show you how I tamed my beasts, got them to listen to me and come into the house.

Step 1: Start With the Car

Since the car is a very contained place for the dogs, this was a good place to start.

One day when I couldn't get my dogs out of the car and into the house, I grabbed a long-handled feather duster and poked it into the car. The dogs took notice and I finally had their attention.

A tiny tap with the feather duster got even more attention and one dog left the car. The other dog followed.

This was huge for me - you can see how much my dogs make my car their den. They really dig in!

Note:Why didn't I just use treats?

Because my skinny dog doesn't care. And then my other dog agrees. Treats would have been so much easier - they just didn't work for this training issue.

Step 2: Under the Dash

The safest spot she can think of.

Step 3: Routine

After that, this is what I did every time I had to get the dogs out:

Opened the car door

Tapped the feather duster on the floor 2X so it made a tap-tap sound

Said "house"

At first, success was spotty but I kept to the routine. When they didn't listen I slowly moved the feather duster closer and closer until one of them moved.

The moment either dog made a motion to get up and leave I praised them lavishly.

Step 4: Problems

When the dogs didn't listen, I slowly put the duster through the car door. If they were really stubborn, I would tap them with the handle. Sometimes I would say "house" again while tapping. This always got at least one dog moving. The other would always follow. It was like uncorking a bottle.

Step 5: Stick to It

I did this every day for MONTHS. Slowly things changed. At first I didn't have to tap anyone anymore. Then, I didn't even have to pick up the feather duster, just reach toward it. Eventually all I did was say "house" and my dogs calmly got up, left the car and walked into the house.

Whew!

Step 6: The Yard

Once the dogs were cured of living in my car, it was time to tackle the yard. This was a much bigger frustration for me because I had to let them out to go potty, but I mostly couldn't get them back in again. Using the momentum of the Magic Feather Duster of Doom, I was determined to get them to come in when called.

Every time I let the dogs out I did this, just like with the car:

Stood in the doorway
Tapped the feather duster on the floor 2X so it made a tap-tap sound

Said "house"

When they didn't pay attention, I walked up to them with the feather duster in hand and repeated "house".

Disclaimer: My husband (the alpha) was the only one who could actually get the dogs back in, so at first he needed to be around for backup. The dogs had to learn that they couldn't simply get their way, even if I'm not alpha.