not supposed to be a guard dog...

[m.uh.notelppa]

My dog isn't supposed to be a guard dog, but she barks like crazy any time a car pulls into the driveway or when someone comes to our door. She never bites but barks like mad. we have tried the noise making collars, we have tried the little box that emits sounds when she barks, we have tried making her stay in one spot in view of the door, but a few feet back... nothing has worked... it would be nice if she didn't always bark when someone comes to the door because it scares little kids and makes everyone in the house jump when she first starts. She seems to know she is doing the wrong thing but can't help herself or just doesn't want to stop.

[Karen]

What kind of dog is she? (Just curious on that part.) How old is she? Have you done any obedience training with her? Does she get much exercise in the form of walk or play time with people? What is her day like?

[pomtzu]

Consider yourself lucky that she is acting like a guard dog, and you didn't even have to train her to be one. As long as this is the reason she barks, then you have a great alarm system, and it just may pay off in the future. You just never know who might be at your door - it might not always be of a friendly nature. My 2 little ones used to be excellent guard dogs, and nobody came on the property without them telling me about it. Unfortunately one passed away a few months ago, and the remaining one doesn't hear as well as she used to, so I get no warnings anymore. I really do miss that!

[Freedom]

I also prefer to have my dogs alert me to arrivals.

Here is how to stop this behavior. You need to keep a baggie of treats in the fridge ready. I use hot dog, cheese, boiled boneless skinless chicken breast. It has to be a high value treat. One hot dog makes 82 treats, so SMALL pieces.

As soon as she starts barking, you go over to her and get her attention. This may mean saying her name, using a 'come' command, or you may have to tap her to get her to break off and look at you. The INSTANT she looks at you, reward that. TREAT! Continue to give her treats, and walk away from where she is (door? window?) and to her pet bed. Continue treating her for staying with you. Get her to sit in her bed. Continue giving her treats. Let another person open the door. Continue to praise the dog and keep her in a sit in her bed. You will almost be shoveling treats in her mouth when you initially start this training.

Do not stop long enough for her to resume barking. If this happens, you have to regroup and call her again, start at the beginning. You do Not want to reward her for the barking so be sure you have her attention before you resume the treat delivery.

You will have to do this regularly - each and EVERY time someone comes -- for about a month. If she is allowed to resume HER habit you are defeating the training. This means 1. everyone in the home has to be prepared to do this training and 2. you have to be able to stop her running to the door / window to bark if no one is home to tre
at her. Otherwise you are wasting time.

Has she been to any training? You do need to take at least one class with her. Most basic manners classes run for 6 to 7 weeks. Everyone in the family age 8 and older needs to attend every class AND do all the homework with her so she gets lots of practice.

[Asiel]

I don't mind my dog sounding the alarm if someone comes on the property, we live in the country so it does make me feel better when I'm alone. But--- after I check and say "quiet" is when I want the barking to stop, and I mean NOW, not ten barks later. I had to to train her to stop the barking when I told her to and I used Freedom's method, the treats weren't that tasty though, guess I goofed on that one But she did get the message and now I just put my finger to my lips and she stops. It is a bit of work but it's worth it in the end.

I think the fact that we jump might make them a bit worse but it's pretty hard to not jump when everything is still and you get a shrill bark out of the blue.

We have 3 doors so unless people use the right one she seems to get pretty upset, only one door that has no stairs that I can answer.