I'm asking this question for somebody else but would really like to know what your strategy would be to train a dog to stop scratching and jumping at a glass door that leads to a fenced yard. The dog is allowed out to use the yard, and when it wants to come back into the house, it jumps at and sctatches the patio door.

I realize supervision would prevent the behavior in the first place, but how would you train the behavior out once aquired?

I'd ignore the dog completely until I saw the behavior I wanted.

If the dog wants IN, and is being obnoxious in an attempt to get you to open the door and let it in, I'd completely ignore it.

I'd treat it like a puppy fussing in it's crate. I'd ignore the behavior entirely- the second the dog models the behavior you do want, for example, SITTING at the door and barking, THEN I'd mark it and let the dog in. Until that point, I'd ignore it.

Opening the door to reprimand or correct the dog, is inadvertantly rewarding it.

unfortunatly, I know from experience that if the dog has the habit of sratching the door already aquired, ignoring doesnt always make it go away.I had 3 bad scratchers.
retraining the dog to ring a bell that maybe hanging on the door would probably be easier.

I wasnt using that as a comparison though it sounds complicated its very close to scratching, if you can just get the dog to pull the string once and reward it ALOT it will start sticking

I would block the door off with an x-pen though so that he can't scratch the heck out of my door and then wait for him to settle before he comes in. Remember to also teach him not to rush in once you are bringing him in.

Ok ignoring him is not the step I would take. May I please introduce myself I am a man that came home to find my dog had ate my front door. I mean a 2" by 2" hole in the front door.

I think the bell idea is great and I would start with just standing in the door with the treats. Show the dog how to ring the bell and give a treat. Then give one every time he rings the bell. You can see it’s not hard for him to say I want the door open mommy opens the door and gives me a treat when I ring the bell.

I also would try training him to sit before he can come inside. I might add a sit and bark that will give him something else to try to do to get inside and only open when he does that.
This could work quickly if he has a back ground in obedience but if he doesn’t it is way too much to teach.

All else fails try negative reinforcement. I don’t know which one of the DVDs I was watching but I remember Ed talking about a dog chewing on something, and he said that his correcting would be putting an e-collar on the dog and letting him know he is chewing on electricity. Same deal with the door you touch the door you get the snot shocked out of you.

I hope this gives you some ideas, and remember a dog can destroy a door.

I doubt the dog is likely to chew through the sliding glass door... but that aside, I worry that teaching a dog to scratch at a bell is really only reinforcing the negative behavior you're trying to stop- they're still scratching at the door.

The forcing the dog to sit and bark is a good idea, though.

Some dogs escalate to the point of hurting themselves and my house. My lab was a problem dog like this when I first got her so the rule which I took two months training was you're not allowed to touch the door or the side of the house. Period.

To be fair to her I started this with a leash and did some hard corrections because she would rush the door even before it was open and then put her into a sit and reward that behavior.

When she needed to be outside after that if I couldn't watch her she was in her kennel. Eventually when she got to consistantly sitting and waiting on leash I let her out on her own with an E collar and again had to do a couple hard corrections to get my point across.

This was after she decided that just scratching the door wasn't good enough but she would start making her own door through the siding next to the door as well Four stitches and one new piece of siding later something had to give.

 Quote: Ingrid Halonen

... would really like to know what your strategy would be to train a dog to stop scratching and jumping at a glass door ....

I'd start with being on the other side of the door and as soon as the dog shows it's going to jump on the door, give the sit command. Once the dog is sitting for a few seconds, open the door and let it in.

This is assuming the dog sits on command.

Thanks so much for the great ideas! I will pass them on for sure. I was at such a loss for what to suggest in this case.

I say no and then sit, then praise and let him/her in, assuming your dog knows what no and sit mean. I just stand there now until my dog sits, they learn!