What to do when your dog barks incessantly at the doorbell
November 29th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized
Dogs bark for many reasons. They bark to let us know they want something or to communicate with other dogs. Sometimes they bark because they are bored or upset.
Often we accidentally reward them for barking. For example, my dog Ernie used to bark at the back door when he wanted back into the house. It worked. I would let him in, so I reinforced the behaviour, even if I didn’t like it when he barked . . . especially early in the morning when my neighbours might be sleeping.
Other times, we reprimand them for barking and they got what they wanted . . . attention. It’s like a toddler whining whenever you get on the phone. When you ask little Johnny to stop whining, he got what he wanted by getting you to talk to him.
I recommend ignoring bad doggie behaviour and only paying attention when the animal is doing it right. Training three dogs at once will be challenging, so let’s start with the instigator, the smallest dog. Then you can work on the other two, one at a time. You might need to keep two of the dogs in another part of the house away from the front door, while you’re training the one, for the first couple to weeks, to make this easier for you.
Dog training sessions should only last five to 10 minutes, two to three times daily, since dogs have short attention spans.
It’s okay for your dogs to bark for a short while, since it’s great they’re letting you know someone is at the door. However, they should be taught that you only want them to bark a few times and then stop. What you’re going to do is teach them the “Quiet” command.
The next time the small dog starts barking at the doorbell, say “Good speak.” Let her bark three to four times, then say “Quiet.” At the same time, wave a favourite dog treat near her nose. It’s hard for a dog to bark and sniff at the same time, so she’ll likely stop barking right away. Say “Good quiet” and give her the treat. That way she’ll learn she’s going to get a reward if she stops barking, and to associate the command “Quiet” with what you expect from her.
Next, you’re going to wait for two to three seconds of silence before you give her the treat. Session by session, you’re going to work up to two minutes of silence. At that point, it’s likely whatever has triggered the barking has passed, so she won’t have any reason to start up again.
If your dog barks during the Quiet period, distract her to stop the barking. You might want to shake a can full of pennies, bang a couple of saucepans together, or simply walk away. Once she’s stopped barking, you can reward her, and then get her back on track.
Even though Ernie is an older dog at 13 years of age, he managed to learn fairly quickly that if he barks at the back door, I won’t let him in until he stops. He now sits quietly outside the door, waiting for me to tell him what a good dog he is. I appreciate the change, and I’m sure my neighbours do too!
