Step 1
Equip yourself with the “good” treats, the ones that make your dog drooling, the tasty meat or chicken treats that you can find at your local pet store. The trick is to get your dog to drive his effort on getting more treats and not on going through the pet door.

Step 2
You will need one or two persons. Although this exercise is best achieved with two people, you can do it by yourself. To begin, close all doors having an access to the outside. You can start either from the inside or from the outside; it doesn’t matter, as far as you do the opposite way next. Now raise the plastic flap and start to entice your pet to go through the door by attracting him with a treat placed right inside the opening to get him to come close to the door. When he eats the tasty treat, he wants more, so use more treats and praise to lead him though the door. The feeling of the plastic flap against their face or slapping their tail or back is where dogs usually show some hesitation and need some adjustment.

When you are two people to conduct this training, one on each side of the door will keep on persuading, rewarding and praising your dog for each step he makes.

Step 3
Encourage your dog with positive reinforcement for all his efforts and don’t be surprised if, at first, your dog rejects the idea of going through this dog door. There are dogs that can get right the very first time and others will require more patience and time. Just don’t let your disappointment prevail over the training procedure.

Step 4
Your dog might need some extra encouragement for him to understand that the door is not a threat or harmful. To do this you might have to introduce the door to him and bring your dog to the door with the help of treats and/or reinforcement and it might just be the gentle nudge he needed to be reassured.

An alternative would be to put some treats at the other side of the pet door and calmly guide your dog through the door just enough for him to see the treats. If his first contact with the door is accompanied by your support and praise, your dog may increase his self-confidence.

Some Tips & Warnings

• If after following the above steps your dog still doesn’t cross that pet door, try to reiterate the steps but this time hold the flap open so that he can see the treat and the person calling him on the other side. Try to apply this technique in two parts for two days; the first day he walks through the door with the flap open and the second day when he steps through the door, leave slowly the flap to get into contact with his body.
• You may have to consider a small step or ramp to offer your dog an easier access especially if there is an important height difference from the drop of the gap or if your dog is older and suffers from the hips.
• Keep in mind to never force your dog to use the door, the only result would be a reverse effect and might even scare your dog. Remember, it takes time and patience.
• Some dogs hate the feeling of plastic on their face or just feel it distasteful. If so you could tape or staple a pad made of paper or cloth or any material that your dog likes on both sides of the plastic flap.

The term iguana is usually used to refer to all types of the members of the lizard family branded as the Iguanidae. As a general knowledge, the iguanas possess powerful but short limbs added up with their sharp claws. These claws are utilized for digging and climbing.

Yes, they do love to climb that is why a set of branches for climbing must be set up in their tanks. The strong tails are used for their defense mechanism. They whip it in the air especially when a predator corners them. Their tails are likewise used for swimming.

The dewlap is a huge flap of skin that is contained on the sides of the body particularly in the areas of the throat of a male iguana is used to either intimidate a predator around or to impress another female iguana. The dewlap also functions in the regulation of their body temperature.

Furthermore, the iguanas also contain some crest of very soft spines that lineup the middle part of their backs and necks. Relatively, the male iguanas have longer spines in contrast with the female iguanas. By means of size, the male iguanas appear to be bigger. They have bigger heads and brighter body colors compared with the females. The body of the male iguana is much distinct during the time of the breeding season.

Physically, both the male and the female iguanas contain twelve up to thirteen pores underneath the sides of their thighs. The pores are the ones which secrete the waxy substance which they use in marking their territories and identifying each of them. When the male iguanas mature, their own femoral pores come to develop some outward projections which they tend to use in the copulation strategy to take a grasp of the female iguana.

The skin of the iguana is filled with very minute scales. They are unable to change their skin colors just like the deed of the chameleons but when they get exposed to light, some parts of their skin become darker in color. The young iguanas appear to be colored in pale green alongside with black ringed tails. As they grow mature, their colors turn out to be more earthly which are usually darker especially in their bodies and tails. Back in their natural habitats, the iguanas appear to be wary since they always feel that danger is beside them. They could always be spotted running and hiding.

They make full use of their accurate vision, keen sense of hearing and smell so that they could better ensure their own survival. They may appear to be clumsy at times but then the iguanas are great swimmers and tree climbers. They usually bask in the morning atop the trees and they can jump into the water anytime they sense danger.

Mating for the iguanas occur in the months of January to February. The female iguana tend to get pregnant for two months and then by the time laying the eggs come, the female iguana digs in the soil or sand to deposit the eggs which range from 25 to 40 eggs. After two weeks, the hatch lings are ready to come out into the world.

The iguanas could be great pets provided that you know how to take care of them. They are inherently high maintenance. But then everything will pay off if you just learn how to care for your pet properly.