Continue until you can open the door completely with your dog remaining in place. Problem solver: If your dog gets up at any point after you have stationed him in a "sit" or "down," it is important that you do not click and treat just yet. Neeko starts barking if he hears a car door outside. ... and so does Suburban Woman who is trying to get Fido and Fifi to stop celebrating on her guests. Canine aggression is a serious problem for dog owners and a common reason that dogs are referred to as companion animal behavioral specialists. Instead of being the Queen of No, think instead about what you DO want your dog to do when the doorbell rings. Your dog's composed behavior will allow you to walk to the door unencumbered and inform your guests that you will be with them in a moment. Direct your dog to the mat or rug after the "just a minute" cue and ask for the "sit" or "down." If your dog has a history of jumping and behaving like a circus act gone mad at the sound of the doorbell, your goal might be to send him to another room, to a crate, or outside for simplicity or safety reasons. I doubt it would take more then an investment of a couple of hours and the trainer will be able to advise in a way tailored to the personalities of your dogs and the handling abilities of everyone in your home. If they get wound at the mere sound of the doorbell, invest in a wireless system with the buttons strategically placed in the house. its becoming a hassle to put the dogs in another room when people come over. You’re not alone. Practice ringing the doorbell and not opening the door. Your email address will not be published. Problem solver: When he sees you touch the doorknob, your dog may be super excited if he thinks someone is at the door or he is going for a walk. Keep in mind that you will need a very high-value reward and multiple clicks and treats for dogs that find the arrival of guests highly rewarding. If your dog just barks, or pushes you out of the way to greet your guests, you might be able to train a "sit" or "down" after the doorbell rings. ... so we have a tried and tested routine for when someone comes to the door. It wouldn't be reasonable to ask a dog that escapes, or has a history of nipping or aggressing when people come in, to sit or lie down as "scary" strangers parade past, but that would be a wonderful goal for a dog that is overly friendly. – Bob. Sign up for our newsletters and get articles, new products, events, and exclusive deals sent directly to your inbox! Practice these components many times throughout the day, until you can see your dog moving away from the door when you say, "just a minute" and until you are successful directing your dog back to his station. Invite your dog to come with you to the closed front door. From a dog’s perspective, someone at the door can be really exciting or really scary. Your dog is free to move around, but what you are looking for is any movement away from the door. Before you move on to this phase, your dog should be able to demonstrate success with the foundation steps described above. Eating helps to calm the adrenaline, which, in turn, helps your dog "think" again. Have a leash next to the door that you can easily snap onto your dog’s collar when a guest arrives; this will prevent her from racing around your house, dashing out the door, or jumping on your visitor. There is a new person to sniff and to get attention from or there is a potential threat to the homestead. All suggestions gratefully accepted. Click and treat several times while the dog is in that position, reaching out to feed him so he doesn't have to come close to you or the door in order to get his treat. Does this sound familiar: Does this sound familiar: Puppy springs across the room, runs into the wall, jumps up on you, bites your hand, pulls on and tears your pant leg, dives under the couch, sprints back and runs into the screen door…repeat for 30 minutes. Say something like "good boy" or "let's go" as you pat your leg or gently clap your hands. When she barks as an alert for the neighbor or the door I do tell her “Okay, thank you” and that works, but when she barks at the TV,it’s inappropriate. the problem is that when the doorbell rings he goes mad, he stops what he is doing even if he is eating and races to the door where he jumps up and barks. This is where the high-value treats will come in. You really want your dog to think this is the most wonderful game in the world so that when you do add the doorbell, it is no big deal and your dog will start to head toward the confinement area. If there are certain phrases or sections of text that should be excluded from glossary marking and linking, use the special markup, [no-glossary] ... [/no-glossary]. When your dog is training to a station and is consistently moving there with ease after the bell rings, go back to the steps of just turning the doorknob, and then opening the door a little, and so on, just as you did before the doorbell was added. It’s not working. He even barks when one of our neighbours start mowing their lawn and he barks … After your helper rings the doorbell, walk up to the front door, touch the doorknob (your dog should now be staying back or moving away), and then say, "just a minute.". The first sequences should look like this: Did your dog remain in place? Ask your helper to ring the doorbell or knock on your door. Put your dog on a leash and ask a friend or family member to ring the doorbell at regular intervals. The various stages may take time for you and your dog to master; don't be afraid of backing up and starting a stage again. Plant the seed that the best rewards come after movement from the door. Hold a number of treats in the same hand as your clicker (you want the other hand to be free) and take a deep breath. Dropping a few treats on the floor for your dog to find as he tries to figure out why you are not leaving will help your dog calm down faster. If you see that your dog has figured out that the click occurs when he scoots or moves away, you are ready to train the next step. Enjoy the time with your dog—and the pleasure and treat parties along the way! Ciara Powell October 28, 2014 at 2:46 pm. NOT OK!!!! With some effort and a commitment to practicing with your dog, completing this doorbell game will make you feel like you have just won the Daily Double. Think of barking as a canine fire alarm that alerts the dog's family to anything unusual. But my goal is to tackle this slowly over the weekend. Wouldn't you love to have a dog that sits, lies down, or even runs to another room when the doorbell rings—instead of all the embarrassing things your dog currently does? Just be gradual. Your email address will not be published. That upsets my wife and she has less control over them than I do. Once your dog can wait at the station, you can try opening the door as your dog remains in position. You can also do a food confetti party, by tossing lots of food around as you leave. Take your time teaching the foundation of this exercise, as mastering this stage will help your dog stay focused when you do add the doorbell. Instruct your doggie to be quiet firmly but nicely; you aren't scolding. Door training teaches your dog to go to a specific place when he hears the sound of the doorbell and stay there until he is released to greet the visitor. Begin to back away slowly so that you can observe your dog as you move toward the door to open it. They also need to learn how to keep “four on the floor” at all times and that’s best done by leaving their leashes on them when you’re together and setting them up. The first thing to understand is the behavior itself and how it got … Crazy barking at the front door is a serious issue. I have a male 3-year-old tan pomeranian. Again, be sure your dog is fluent in the foundation steps before opening the door. 2. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Eventually you will need someone to be your "guest" and to help you ring the doorbell, but not until you have the foundation behaviors in place. A balanced trainer will be able to help you lay that foundation I mentioned earlier. But, if your dog continues to move forward toward the door when you reach for the doorknob, practice this foundation for a few more rounds, or even days, depending on your dog's reinforcement history of rushing the door. Having a safe, quiet, calm area of the house with things to distract your dog can be very helpful. my dog is a 5 year old, retriever/lurcher male who is very excitable. When you are ready to practice confining your dog, keep in mind that you may need to go all the way into the area with him the first few times so that he doesn't think you are "tricking" him into getting locked outside or in another room. Be sure to do a number of reinforcements when he does come back. Still, the behavior gets old fast if your pooch barks every time a friend, relative or delivery person comes to the house. please help! The more you practice rewarding your dog for calm behavior, the easier it will be for him to “settle” down when someone super fun comes to your door or wants to say hello to your dog. ", "Rounding the turn, it's Fido, with Suburban Woman picking up momentum, and Fifi a length behind. As mentioned, this is a common problem and the above is part of the program I recommend. Then you can direct your dog what to do before you actually open the door. Neeko starts barking if he hears a car door outside. I sure needed these training steps. The goal is to be able to return to the door as your dog remains on the mat. Do not make eye contact or talk, as this often gets dogs more excited. Im printing it out now. This type of barking tends to be a long string of single barks with pauses between them. All dogs will come to check out visitors. I have this dog, he is a jack russell and he is about 2 years old. First there has to be a foundation relationship where the dogs see you as the teacher and second you have to break this sort of training exercise down into smaller bites. When you are ready to open the door, open it just a little, close it, and then go back to your dog to click and reward. When she barks as an alert for the neighbor or the door I do tell her “Okay, thank you” and that works, but when she barks at the TV,it’s inappropriate. Hang your dog’s leash over the doorknob or have it somewhere close to the door. Additionally, these HTML elements will not be scanned: Each email address will be obfuscated in a human readable fashion or (if JavaScript is enabled) replaced with a spamproof clickable link. You can use a leash or tether to prevent your dog from moving too far away from the station until he better understands that the "sit" / "down" is the answer. Keep in mind that during the early stages of this training your dog doesn't have to do anything except move away from the door. Submitted by cingels on Fri, 2010/12/24 - 1:39pm. How do I get them to act well around guests. When you try this "for real," ask your guests to come in on their own in the early stages of training so that everyone doesn't get congested in the entryway, making it more difficult for your dog to maintain his "sit" or "down." To make matters worse,I have one dog who redirects that excitement/anxiety on one of my other dogs. does anyone have any suggestions on what i should do? As you move from touching the doorknob to opening the door to ringing the doorbell and admitting guests, each stage of this training game builds on the previous learning. You, your dog, and your guests all will have won the doorbell game! We have taken to hooking them up with a leash at a distance back from the door to at least allow our guests to get in the door and do not unhook them until they calm down. Say "no" or "down" when your pet begins to bark, pulling on the leash firmly to make her sit. Better understanding these and accommodating them prior to answering the door could eliminate some of the extra canine noise. Once released, the dog will greet your visitor calmly and politely by sitting in front of them. The goal is to get 4-5 steps away from the door and then click and treat several times where you stop, using the best treats. Instead, after you have him back in place, smile and use your voice and praise to encourage him to stay put until you have made it all the way back to the location where you or your helper was when he got up. Whenever someone knocks on the front door, he goes crazy and he will not stop barking. Next, try two steps, quickly moving back again to click and treat. Two of them even nip at guests. Problem solver: When he sees you touch the doorknob, your dog may be super excited if he thinks someone is at the door or he is going for a walk. What you are teaching is that when you approach the door after the bell rings, a verbal cue will direct your dog to do something else—go to another room, go outside, or "sit" / "down" at a pre-determined station. ", "From the back, it's Fifi, a long shot, but picking up the pace. Lots of people get dogs because they bark when strangers approach. Submitted by Guest09 on Fri, 2010/05/14 - 10:27am. Use the average-value treats as you begin to add movement away from the door, clicking and treating for the initial movement. Once you have achieved that element, you can start to add the verbal cue, which tells your dog there is something you want him to do when the doorbell rings. its becoming a hassle to put the dogs in another room when people come over. Continue until you can open the door and your guest is able to walk past you and your dog. If the smell is acceptable to the dog then the interaction goes well. Plant the seed that the best rewards come after movement from the door. I really suggest that anyone with this sort of issue contact a balanced trainer for an in home appointment. Tips for Managing Escape Artists, Allowed HTML tags: