This blog will teach you how to break down a door

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#Nitty Gritty

Art of Manliness is dedicated to sharing simple knowledge, and the belief that being “manly” isn’t about having a penis. Last week, bloggers Brett and Kate taught us all how to break down a door with this illustration by Ted Slampyak.

Read it over, drink it in, and save the information away for the next time you need to bust a door.

It’s good information. I can ALWAYS stand to be a little more Art of Manliness-style manly.

About the Author: Cat Rocketship

I was the Managing Editor of Offbeat Home for a year and a half. I have a rich Internet life and also a pretty good real life. Hobbies include D&D, Twitter, and working on making our household more self-reliant. I also draw things.

Comments on This blog will teach you how to break down a door

  1. I can’t say I’ve ever needed to break down a door. Still it’s good to know, if only because I suspect when you need to do it you need to do it NOW and you don’t have time to teach yourself first.

    I wonder why movies always show people using their shoulder though? Maybe they think kicking it in looks too dramatic, even if it really is the best way?

    • Actually, I think that makes a good point – there is a double standard in posts like the one this refers to.

      Some of the comments are not to my taste, but the original post was not to my taste either, since I’m fairly modern and live in a non-traditional way.

      Still, I actually don’t see a problem with a man wanting to be with a women who enjoys stereotypically female things any more than I begrudge a woman preferring men who are stereotypically male, as long as they don’t impose those views on others who live differently to them.

      • I agree. I think that there is room for all viewpoints and the site did go tit-for-tat on asking what women would like from men as well. Some of the comments on the article touch on subjects and norms from an era that is largely outdated…but some of the comments were spot on: “Respect yourself, respect others”. Regardless of taste, that’s a pretty universal concept we may all agree upon. 🙂
        And now I know how to kick in a door.

    • Darcie I tried your approach toginht. It is indeed the puppy growling at the other dogs, who are just looking at us as we prepare their meal. I put him out of the laundry room, and he was not happy at all .but then he started trying to break the door down by scratching. Not sure how much the door can handle. Any thoughts on how I can handle that, since he’s in the other room? I think this may work but I don’t want the door scratched to pieces! Thanks and you have a great store and web site! TammyDear Tammy, The good news is that he doesn’t like being put out by himself, that’s good. Doors are expensive so let’s try something that will be easier on this hyper pooch and the door. I’ll give you two things, choose one and be consistent.1. Start dinner. When he growls, you say Uh OH! in a quiet voice but mean now you did it, you ruined dinner for everybody , show your disappointment on your face and in your body language, don’t over act, dogs pick up on small actions and sounds easily. You go to the door and turn your back to all the dogs. You have stopped the meal procedure. Make sure that you can still see the food so nobody turns into a thief. Do not look at puppy. No attention at all. Do not scold for growling. Say nothing to the other dogs. The instant the pup stops growling, and he’ll probably do it fast, where are you going? don’t you know you have to feed me? , turn and go back to the food. The reward for his stoppage of growl is that food preparation has started again. Growls again? Same thing, over and over as long as it takes. Nobody eats until he is quiet and waiting with everyone else. The risk with this way is that his high energy may turn into a fight with another dog. You’re the only one who can gauge what he might do. You and the food are in this mix, remember he doesn’t growl at the other dogs when there is no food. So, the question is, is it you or the food or both that cause the growl? Some dogs seem to think that if they growl, they’ll get their way whatever that is. We have to nip that behavior in the bud as quickly as we can.2. Put a leash on the pup. The instant he growls, take him quickly, without jerking, outside the door so he can’t see the other dogs or the food. The instant he is no longer growling, take him back. Sit Stay with everyone else. Growls again? Same thing. He leaves the room if he growls.You’re teaching him that growling gets him taken away from the food and the dogs immediately. You may want to seat him closest to the door at meal times so it’s easy to take him out quickly, you don’t want to be tripping over other dogs. A down stay is better than a sit stay, it takes more energy to get up.Either way you choose to try, it may take you a long time to feed dinner for a few meals but stick with it. No food for anybody until you have quiet manners from the pup, that doesn’t mean he can’t make some noise at first, just no growling or aggressive behavior. You’ll be glad that you put in the time. Dogs generally get it fairly quickly if your timing is good.The big reward is dinner and a nice quiet Good boy. No special attention though, not a lot of petting or heaving praising, that can back fire, it’s too much attention.What you’re doing is pretty much what a good parent will do with a child who is misbehaving. Don’t make a big deal of it, simply show that you don’t get what you want by acting with bad manners.Away from meals, teach pup a perfect down stay and sit stay. Practice often and every day. His stay should be without fail no matter what is happening around him. Don’t forget energy draining exercise before meal times. Being a herding dog, you might want to enroll him in a sheep herding activity dogs who do the things they were bred for are better and happier dogs. If you can’t take him herding, find someone who will.One last thing. You might want to at first make meal preparation happen more quickly until pup understands how long it can really take. Perhaps all dogs stay outside until you’re just about ready to feed them. Bring them all in, stays all around, and bring food faster than usual. As he behaves better, then the food can take longer and longer and you’re back to the old ways. Only until he gets the manners thing. For a hungry pup, a few seconds delay can mean the difference of going hyper or showing aggression because of lack of patience. He’ll soon learn that patience gets him anything he wants. As he grows older, you’ll have taught him patience. Patience can come more slowly to a pup so don’t ask more of him than he can stand.Let us know how it goes. Darcie

  5. I locked myself out last night – and I DIDN’T try to break down the door, but I DID stand in the cold reading Offbeat Home on my phone till the locksmith came! This post wasn’t up yet, though – that would have been too hilarious.

  6. My husband and I had to have a friend show us this door-breaking-down method a few months ago, when some cats we were watching for a friend managed to lock themselves in our bathroom.

  7. My husband is a police officer and has had to kick down doors on occasion. I know they have some sort of legit training for it, but I think a poster of this would be easier, since, ya know, it’s correct and all.

  8. Ooh ooh! I actually kicked down a door at work a while ago!! I was so excited that it worked. 😀 We were doing asbestos sampling in an old warehouse that was being demolished. We could do anything we wanted to to the building to get the samples (called “destructive sampling”). There was one room where the door was locked, and we needed to get in there to sample, so I kicked the door in. It was awesome. I’m sure my steel-toed boots helped. 🙂

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