# barking at the door



## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

hi!

my baby girl is 1 years old and boy has she found her voice!:doh:

she's started to bark quite a bit when someone comes to the door: like she runs to the door, barking and will not stop, not even when i open the door.. she continues to bark (high pitch) and really would only stop if the person pats her (which the mailman wont do! ha.) It's like she's super excited/hyper and cannot contain herself. She was never like this as a puppy, only just started.

I've tried telling her "its ok", Ive tried "quiet", Ive tried keeping her in another room (way worse) .. I dunno what else to try, its like she zones me out. I'm getting a trainer to come, but in the meantime wanted to see what ideas, tips/tricks you may have so i can curb this behaviour. She's a smart girl and learns quickly, loves people and other than this is very well behaved.

thanks in advance for your responses


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## shimpli (Mar 24, 2010)

I want to know what others say about this. My Ache is 2 y/o and still does exactly the same thing.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

LOL, let us know what the trainer say. Tillie does a similar thing, only she stops barking once the door is open and proceeds to "dance" around the visitor with her cloth bone in her mouth, wiggly and waggling her whole body. She INSISTS that anyone here to here to see HER and her ALONE! lol


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

haha -- no problem with their self esteem huh, its ALL about them, lol. I even said to the mailman, "she thinks you're here to pat her", he laughed.


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## Ruthi (Nov 10, 2011)

Mine loses his mind when someone comes to the door. No barking, but goes crazy. Wish I knew how to change that, as not everyone wants a dog all over them.


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

i was beginning to think i was the only one whose dog did this .. never in my life seen a dog so happy to have someone at the door. i really want to correct it (if possible, at least tone it down) because when im not home i wonder what she would do, how long would it take her to calm down etc.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I think part of it may be that most of your dogs are still young. Kodi used to be wilder about visitors. Now, at 3+, he alarm barks when someone come into the driveway, but once we both go to the door to greet whoever is there, he settles down pretty quickly. It does take longer if it's one of his favorite "peeps" though, then he starts squealing and spinningin circles in delight.:biggrin1:

When we aren't home, he stays in his pen, and I know (from people reporting back to me) that if he's in hims pen, he stays quiet even with someone coming into the house.


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

Sometimes giving a barking dog a job to do or a place to go can help stop the barking. 

Buffy runs to the front door and barks like crazy when she hears the postal truck, and the barking gets really loud when the letter carrier puts our mail into our mailbox. To counter that behavior, we have taught her to "settle" which requires her to go to a specific mat about 15' away from the door and to lay down and be quiet until she is released. We used her favorite training treats to reward her for her compliance. 

She also will bark when people and dogs walk by, when motorcycles and loud trucks and cars drive by, and even when a bicycle goes by. As long as we are in the house, I can get her to settle. 

Some trainers will say "Go to mat" instead of our "settle."


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## Lsprick (Jul 8, 2010)

We use the command "settle" also, which means put your butt on the floor and be quiet if you want to be patted. We trained this by turning away when being greeted inappropriately and then marking the sit with attention. I'm better about requiring this; my DH is a pushover and I can hear Gracie crying with joy when he comes home from work. I think he loves all the attention, lol. He needs more work. ound:


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

We've found a squirt bottle filled with water works wonders! We also take it on walks so Beau doesn't start barking at other dogs we meet. Daisy and Beau both love the dogs they know well and meet regularly, they are interested in smaller breed dogs - but afraid of larger dogs and Beau will bark at them. All we need to do now is show him the squirt bottle and he quiets down. We use it at the front door also and they have learned to back up 15' down the entry area and wait until they're called to come say hi to a visitor.....


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

Great ideas! I used the squirt bottle when she was little to help with the chewing, and just the sight of it would make her stop (I'll dig it out again and keep it by the door). And we use the settle command when I leave/come home (I don't want her close to the door) & and she's very good with it. I'm going to practice having ppl knock at the door and try it. I also read somewhere that u can even start with giving them the command & open the door to get them use it to ... Then add someone knocking and repeat, repeat, repeat (with treats when they get it right). Wish me luck!


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