How do your dogs act when someone knocks at the front door?

[Christiansmommy]

I thought it might be interesting to see what rituals we do with our dogs when someone knocks at the door...

If i am expecting someone, i would put Dale outside. If someone comes unexpected, i will either have to go out on the front porch and shut the door behind me, so Dale doesn't try to get out and greet the stranger. Today someone knocked unexpected, but Dale was baby gated in the kitchen at the time, b/c it is rainy and he was muddy...so i didnt have to worry about it, but what i am going to do, is have a leash tied to my banister (going up the stairs), which is right by the front door...so when he comes with me to "greet" someone, i will just clip his collar to the leash on the banister. I understand some training is in order, but Dale just gets *so* excited when people come, and then Christian runs to the door with him, that i needed a sure fire way to secure him while i answer it in peace :)

I am sure some of your dogs, sit like perfect angels, while you open the door, but Dale isnt one of them!!:rolleyes:

So, what do you and your dogs go through, when answering your front door?

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Tia: sit's on the couch waiting patiently wagging her tail as fast as she can and makes happy barking noises, they're kinda of between barks and yips.

Echo: She wags her little stubby (tail) and does a weird barking thing, when I get my digital camera I'll have to make a video of it to show you because I can't explain it.

Tango: she barks and Jumps around a lot and when the people finally get in the house she get's crazy and jumps all over them ( we don't know how to stop her from that).

All of that happens when someone comes unexpectedly.
If we're expecting someone we put Echo and Tango in the basement and wait for the company to sit down before we let the dog's up.

[Samantha Puppy]

Samantha goes nuts, she's so freakin' curious. I think growing up with a cat, some of his traits rubbed off on her. I usually open the door a little and block with my leg so she can't get out. If she won't settle down, I'll step outside and close the door.

She DEFINITELY is not a perfect little angel!!

[ComedyDevil]

Great topic!

If I'm expecting someone, the dogs get shut away and given Kongs or chews.

If I'm not expecting it, the doorbell rings, Ollie and Squid run around like maniacs, totally ignore me when I call them and growl and bark loudly enough to scare anyone away. (Normally they're both angels, people coming to the door is the ONLY time they misbehave, maybe cos they think the person is trying to break in or something :confused: ) I scoop them up and shut them in the dining room.

Toby sits at the door patiently until I open it, then he offers the person a paw and waits for lots of fuss, which he almost always gets :p

Then once our visitor's sat down, they're let out to say hello :D

[micki76]

Originally posted by Christiansmommy
I am sure some of your dogs, sit like perfect angels, while you open the door, but Dale isnt one of them!!:rolleyes:

So, what do you and your dogs go through, when answering your front door?

Oh, not mine. They're terriers and therefor, horrible to strangers on their property. It's very embarrassing. :o I usually have to put them in the bedroom before answering the door, which sometimes takes so long that the people at the door leave! :o

Once the visitor is in the house, they get a cookie to give to the dogs once I let them out. There's a LOT of barking and posturing (especially from poor Millie, she HATES everyone but us), but they eventually take the cookie and Chester warms up very quickly. Millie never does. :(

[ComedyDevil]

There's a LOT of barking and posturing (especially from poor Millie, she HATES everyone but us),

Toby's good when people come over ... you can borrow him and I'll take Millie. Actually I want Chester too :p

[Christiansmommy]

I should add, we have been having a lot of unexpected visitors lately, b/c we just had our 1 month inspection on our house (new house), and people have been coming to fix minor things. Anyway, they hear Dale and immediatly ask, where is the dog? What kind of dog? And i have to assure them that he is outside. His bark is pretty intimidating!! So one guy comes over to the back door (Dale was outside), and makes sure that i had locked it (like Dale really would have knocked open a glass sliding door)...it was pretty funny!!

[Jods]

My dogs go freakin' nuts as well... I practiacally have to wrestle them outta the way so I can ever open the door... Usually if it's a man we have to hold Mercedes back. (shes a little on the rude side lol)They growl bark jump at the door... Crazy doggies.... If they don't settle down once the person comes in they go outside then they can come back in and visit. If they behave...:rolleyes: If it;s someone they know I usually have to hold them back even more... Gomer runs and gets a stuffie and brings in to the person and Mercedes well she's Mecedes she could really care less she goes back to go to sleep.;)

[ParNone]

Maddie was pretty much perfect about the door. No barking and she'd calmly follow me to the door to greet whoever was there. I never worried about her running out the door either. She was much more interested in saying Hi, then bolting.

Murph doesn't bark or jump on people, but I do have to pick him up, because he just might decide to make a mad dash through the open door.

Oz initially has to bark, when the door bell rings. Guess he figures I can't hear it and must announce whoever's arrival it is. Once we're going to the door though, he stops. I never worry about him going through the open door, but if the person is somebody he knows or they start talking to him, I have to keep him from jumping on them. I usually just keep my hand on his chest. He calms down pretty quickly. Seems like the older he gets the calmer he gets too.

Gull... Well Mr. Gull's got quite a ways to go on the greeting thing. He wants to excitedly bark and jump on anybody and everybody that comes to the door. If I do let him come to the door with me, I like to have a treat so I can work with him on sitting and being quiet. It's very much still a work in progress though. Hopefully he'll be like Oz and calm down more, as he matures.

Par...

[My Peanuts]

My house sounds like the ASPCA! Both Sylvia and Harley bark like crazy. We are trying to control them, but nothing works! Harley will stop, but Sylvia will keep going and going and going...

[DJFyrewolf36]

Mom and dads pups are TERRORS! Well, I know they are just doing the guard doggie job to the best of thier ability buuutt...

The rutine usually goes something like this

Ding dong

Max: Big indimidating WOOOOOF!! Grrrrrrrrrr

Twilight: Barking like an idiot and bouncing around

Dad: Max sit DOWN

Mom: Twilight CHILL OUT!

Both dogs sit until they see who it is. If its me, I get licked to death. If its anyone else (especially a stranger) the person at the door gets glared at from behind dads chair lol.

[dogs_4_me]

Emma-Runs to the door at top speed, slides, usually ends up hitting it:rolleyes: :D then she will sit and wait paitently untill i say "go say hi" If I dont say that she will sit their untill they are gone

Moco is a little more challenging, he will run right to the door bang on it really hard and i need to grab him, and lock him out, mainly because if he got out of the door he would take off and hes not to friends towards strangers.

[Tina]

Mine are awful Ginger will jump up on people that visit. Reggie will bark and bark! Ember she will bark some and jump on people. That is if it is with someone they know fairly well.

Now if a stranger comes unexceptly they all bark and bark like crazy!

If we know we are having company over usually they are put outside. Sometimes they do get to come in and visit with our company.:)

[MariaM]

Whenever somebody is trying to open our gate, Major will jump and jump and jump up to the gate. If it's the marketplace guy, he'll bark. He's very friendly towards everybody, a little too friendly;)

[chocolatepuppy]

My dogs go insane :eek: I put them both in separate rooms and then answer the door.(good thing my house is small) If it's a stranger I'll usually take Lacey to the door with me.

[Aspen and Misty]

No Comment :o


Ash

ps: Yes, they ARE that bad.

[cali]

they bark, and yap,and run to the door, so we just open the window, tell the person to hold on, while we run around grabbing dogs, putting them in kennels, then we open the door for em lol with barking the whole darn time
:p

[Kfamr]

They bark and then hush when I tell them to.

[KYS]

Sheba will bark and Rocky will just look out the door.
Sometimes he will surprise me and bark.

[lute]

Beanie runs back and forth to the door and barks. then greets them and never stops licking them.:rolleyes:

[guster girl]

Finn used to be really crazy, but, I've worked with him (by using the techniques in the dog listener) and now he just goes to the door and I tell him to get back and that's pretty much it. He used to bark and jump up on people. He doesn't bark at all now and rarely jumps. And, he's only 8 1/2 months old, so, not too bad!

[senorita02]

Face my Rott goes absoulutelu Nuts!
He will bark ferociously with a certain bark he only uses when he is really alert and trying to be protective, and even if it is my sister or someone he know sweet talking him he wont let up, he knows better than to fall for someone sweet talking him or bribing with food, haha
Senorita usually does whatever he does but her tail wags the whole time she thinks its a game, but Face means business.

[petslover]

When someone knocks on our house. It sounds like the dog pound lol.. They run to the door barking and all.. The little ones hate strangers so usually we put the dogs out in the backyard or lock them in a room till the company leaves. My dogs are crazzy!! haha, but i love them.

[GoldenRetrLuver]

When the doorbell rings, they both RUN to the door and wait to see who it is. Sometimes Molly barks, too.

One time we were watching a movie, and on the movie the doorbell rang, and they both got up and ran to the door thinking someone was there. They came back a few minutes later with this "Huh?" look on their faces. It was great. :p

[Twisterdog]

My dogs go balistic when someone knocks at the door. They all run to the door, barking at the top of their lungs. Rude, yes. But effective, as well ... I watch salesmen and strangers literally jump and start to back up away from the door. :D

[wolf_Q]

Nebo is not supposed to go in the room where the front door is. He knows the boundary quite well, so normally he'll wait at the edge of the room and just wag his tail. He doesn't normally get super excited, and he NEVER barks when the door rings....but he does always have to go upstairs to check it out. :)

Reggie and Sydney are a different story. UGH. Both run right up the door barking like mad and usually try to bolt out the door (especially Reggie). Luckily both of them are good about coming back inside (Nebo would take off down the street if he bolted out the front door).

[pitc9]

BIG BIG Barks out of Buddy (wow does he have a HUGE bark)
He'll run right to the door. And always means business!!

Sierra... she barks, but stands behind Buddy!!:D

Then as soon as we let the people in the house, I tell the dogs "It's okay" then they start sniffin'... and sniffin'...
Sierra is funny... she'll sniff... but if the person sticks their hand out for her to sniff... she'll back up and howl at them!:D

Like .... um... I'm sniffing on MY terms thank you!!

One thing I love... they never ever jump up on people, neither ever has!

[Pam]

Both of mine run to the door barking and usually Ripley will grab a toy and prance around with it in his mouth and then drops it when he barks and picks it right back up again and the process is repeated. :rolleyes:

If it is UPS or someone like that, I will step out on the porch to sign as I don't trust Ripley. He was picked up as a stray at the shelter, and he darted out my door about a month after we got him and we had a horrible time catching him (I think I know why he wound up as a stray). :( Bella would most likely stay put but, with two of them to keep my eye on, it is just easier to step outside.

When visitors come, I usually pick Ripley up until the door has safely closed behind them. Once the visitors are inside the barking stops but the tail wagging speeds up even more and Ripley always runs to get something in his mouth. :) Bella used to jump up on people but she doesn't any more. The only person Ripley jumps on is me when I come home (then it's like he has little springs on his feet.) :)

[Rachel]

Oh, my! At least I'm not alone in these scenerios. If I know someone is coming, the first thing on my mind is to have Hannah go outside to empty her bladder, or there might be an embarrassing accident amidst the excitement of visitors, if you get my drift.

Someone comes to the door and Hannah barks like crazy. Tucker runs to get a stuffy and barks the stuffy muffled bark, but not crazy like Hannah, just two or three intermittant ones. I too use the leg as a shield to keep Hannah from making a dash for it. Then Hannah attempts to jump up on the guest and I'm hollering *off, Hannah, Off!* Then there is a bit of running around and finally everyone settles down.

[cloverfdx]

Clover and Elvis either get put outside or locked in another room, yes they are nawtee :o. Both will bark non stop and snarl etc they are very protective, if it is someone we know Clover will welcome them in but not Elvis :(.

Penny is great if it is someone she knows or ANY child at all, she will welcome them in and wiggle around their feet. :D Theodore barks and howls and then runs and hides, he does not like visitors.

[dukedogsmom]

Duke goes absolutely nuts! He also goes running to the door if he hears a doorbell on tv. He barks nonstop and all the hair on his back stands up. He's a very good guard dog and I never scold him for barking when someone comes up to the door. Especially people like the pool man and the exterminator. I don't want him getting used to them, even though they may be harmless. These are just the type of people that can sometimes commit burglaries later.

[Smilla]

Lefty goes completely nuts. He lunges against the window by the door, and barks his head off, turning his head in all directions so whomever is at the door gets a very good look at ALL of his flashing teeth. One of us has to pull him away and let the other answer the door--if either of us is ever at home alone I don't know how we'll manage it.

I finally stuck a label near the bottom of the window that reads, "Dog barks at window. Please be prepared." I don't want anyone having a heart attack on my front step!

[Christiansmommy]

Originally posted by dukedogsmom
He's a very good guard dog and I never scold him for barking when someone comes up to the door. Especially people like the pool man and the exterminator. I don't want him getting used to them, even though they may be harmless. These are just the type of people that can sometimes commit burglaries later.

Dale's hair stands up too! He is a good guard dog as well. Once he knows you, he is a love, but if you are a stranger, he is going to protect his family. I too don't feel real comfortable when strangers (men), come into the house to work on something...and when asked by them, if he is friendly, i just let them know that he is very protective of his family...b/c as you said, they would think twice if they were going to try to rob the place, or worse, take advantage of women...

[Smilla]

Oh, and I also have a doormat that says, "Ask not for whom the dog barks. It barks for thee." It's dorky, but it makes me laugh! :)

Glad to know I'm not the only one whose dog reacts so strongly!

[Christiansmommy]

Originally posted by Smilla

Glad to know I'm not the only one whose dog reacts so strongly!

I agree!! :)

[kingrattus]

I am sure some of your dogs, sit like perfect angels, while you open the door, but Dale isnt one of them!!
--------------

Ya RIGHT!!!!

RB Max use to scare the pee out of people. Max was a super friendly dog, but we taught him to bark agressively at the door (he's all bark when were home).

RB Max would be laying or sleeping on his couch in the living room of dad's apt. Someone would knock on any door (ony 2 doors) in the hallway & Max would jump over his couch, jump over the stairs (5 steps) & he had so much speed from the run & the jump, he would slide 8 feet & stop at the door, with a deep angry WOOF & then start to Sniff & Snort LOUDLY unter the door. It was funy to us when her heard the main door slam shut & hear someone run down the front steps hehehe...

The little old lady loves it when Max barked at the door. Cause she cannot hear people knocking at her door & it makes strangers think twice about causing problems with her, cause our house isn't marked as an apt. it looks like a nice big house. She she always told scary strangers that the dog was in his room, but if they would leave she would call him out.

She has had problems with kids robbing her & people breaking into her apt. But when Max was there, all that stopped.

Once Max was barking up a storm & she called him through the door & he wouldn't come to her (not normal), so she unlocked our apt (we gave her the key incase someone scared her so she could stay in our apt with Max or let Max into her apt (which Max LOVED). So she wentout side to see what he was barking at & it was a strang drunk guy walking through our back yard.

I don't know about u but if I was a stranger, I would want to mess with this fella.

http://jess.iahu.ca/max/albums/album04/IMG_0306.jpg
Ok, ok, ok, hes not angry in this photo, its a command he does, I forget if it was the bath command or the teeth command, but for both he showes his teeth with his mouth open.. its funny cause when hes doing that I'll say give kiss & he gives em a kiss while showing his teeth hehehe, it was sooo cute.

[jazzcat]

Originally posted by Smilla
Oh, and I also have a doormat that says, "Ask not for whom the dog barks. It barks for thee." It's dorky, but it makes me laugh! :)
ROFLOL!! That is hysterical.

Disney usually barks like crazy and then depending on who is there she either gets excited and wants to sniff their legs or she barks even harder.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

They all run to the door barking with excitement. Then they will kiss the newcomer to death and jump on them welcoming them. Nacey will get a toy and invite them to play with her. If it's someone we don't know or who wouldn't like all the attention from the pups then we will use the baby gate and keep them in the other room.

[dappledoxie]

Originally posted by Kfamr
They bark and then hush when I tell them to.

That's what Rebel and Claire do too, they will bark, wag their tails at the same time, but when I say "Hush!" there's not another peep. Claire used to bark at the dominos commercial with the doorbell but I got her over that pretty easily at the apartment, lol :)

[flamepony12]

:eek: my dogs go INSANE!!! LOL they even go insane if a doorbell rings on TV, and if you are sitting on the couch and then say, "hi" in that greeting tone, they'll freak out!! LOL :D

[K9soul]

Both Tommy and Tasha bark, Tasha barks the most frantically, running to look out the window and then back to where ever I am growling and whining, Tommy has a deep booming bark. Once the door is anwered they usually quiet down on their own, though sometimes Tasha will peek out and give a bark or two. If it is someone he knows, Tommy will then come out and greet them with excitement, usually bringing a toy along with him in order to impress them. Tasha keeps her distance.

[LorraineO]

Lucy goes totally APE youknowwhat!!! I hate it with a passion and will keep it up til I get to the door,, then she will slowly calm down... I guess she is just letting me know,, warning her pack.. lol..... I always yell at her,, WOULD YOU LEARN TO MEOW????

Ray,, he is pretty new here,,, so he just runs after Lucy... doesnt bark,,,, yet!

[lovemyshiba]

CRAZY!!!!!!!

It is such a nightmare. If I know someone is coming, I often tell them to call when they are close, just so I can get control.
Our entryway is gated, but 2 of the dogs can jump it. So when the UPS man or whoever comes, it is all I can do to get a foot out the door and get outside.
Kito is the one who is barking protectively--the other three are just wanting to kiss and say hi to whoever is there!!!

It does cut back on the annoying neighbors and kids coming to the door though.:)

[GiantSchnauzer]

Zoey goes nuts! She barks and body slams the door. That'll keep the bad guys away. :eek: I then put her in a sit/stay so I can answer. If it's someone she doesn't know she'll grumble while waiting.

[Buddy Blaze Lover]

Blaze barks his head off and goes nutso!!! Seriously, he HATES strangers, and would bite their head off too if I don't put him outside or in his crate. If someone drives up, and he's in the backyard, they better watch out, 'cause Blaze turns nasty!! Other than that, he's pretty sweet...to MOST people anyway...usually kids, not adults.

[Buddy Blaze Lover]

Originally posted by GiantSchnauzer
Zoey goes nuts! She barks and body slams the door. That'll keep the bad guys away. :eek: I then put her in a sit/stay so I can answer. If it's someone she doesn't know she'll grumble while waiting.

LOL, Blaze won't sit and stay for me for nothing when he's about to meet a stranger...he thinks he's GOT to protect me!! Which is good I guess!! :D

[GiantSchnauzer]

Originally posted by Buddy Blaze Lover
LOL, Blaze won't sit and stay for me for nothing when he's about to meet a stranger...he thinks he's GOT to protect me!! Which is good I guess!! :D

I'm a FedEx driver so I know what it's like to have a barking, lunging dog wanting to attack meet you at the door. :p I think her grumbling lets the stranger know she's "ready" to attack. lol Sometimes she'll even stomp her front paws.