Please can I get some help with a behavioural issue?

[thefirstMrsDeVeerie]

Hello.
I have two small dogs.
Elderly, one eyed, deaf, epleptic terrier cross. Hates other dogs but good as gold at home.
My little Chihauhau x Pom who will be 3 in December. Great house dog, not snappy, loves my DCs, ignores other dogs, loves a walk, loves a cuddle - fab little dog.

BUT he is, like many dogs of his type, yappy.
It has got to the point where I dread people knocking on the door. I cant have a conversation at the door because he goes mad and will not shut up. I would expect a bit of this from dogs but its too much now.

He is fine if a friend he knows comes round. He will bark a bit and then calm down quite quickly but if its a stranger he will go on and on and on. He will dive under the sofa and just bark for bloody ages.

He is a little nervy. There doesnt seem to be any reason for this, he has never been ill treated and is confident with those he knows. He is quite nervy when we go out but seems a happy little thing. He gets spooked easily but this is improving the more I take him out. As well as his walks I take him out in the car so he gets out as much as possible and this seems to be working.

SOrry for long post but I wanted to give lots of background.

Me and OH are willing to do what it takes to sort this barking at the door thing if possible.

Any ideas?

I will put a pic on my profile if you want to see him...

This is a great one to work on as the results can be amazing and fantastic.

Does he have a bed or area he loves?

Get someone to ring the doorbell and then call the dog to this area and give him the best treat in the world (not kibble, liver, chicken, cheese hotdog etc). Do this several times a day at this point do not open the door and do not have anyone at the door.

Soon he will hear the doorbell and run to the bed for a treat - when he starts to do this they have your OH at the door - ring the bell, dog goes to bed you feed treats like crazy and OH opens the door. Build this up until anyone can come to the door and the dog will run to his bed for treats. DO make sure that you keep the dog on the bed and that he is not released the second the door is opened.

good luck

Good idea!
One small problemette though. He is overweight
I put him on a food that someone had raved about. Was great for old dog so thought it was having same affect on young one. Big mistake. By the time I realised what was what, young dog was bloody huge.
He is now on a diet food until he is back to his normal weight.

Mind you he is SO motivated by food this is probably a good time to do this. WHilst the poor love is half starved. I could use a portion of his daily allowance couldnt I?

Poor lamb. He only has to look at a bit of food and he gains a 1lb. I have spent years telling people off for having fat dogs too

Or chicken. That is low calorie I think. I will save some from roast tommorow and start next week.

I will just have to take him for extra walks to make sure he doesnt gain weight.

Thank you. I will let you know how we get on.

Being overweight is no problem. Weigh out his daily food allowance and take out an amount for the training treats. Chicken is low calorie and as you say if he is starving you should have quicker results. Also you can roll the chicken in Parmesan so it gets the smell but not so many calories.

Maybe rushing back from the door to his bed may burn off a few calories as well bless him

Poor little thing. Honestly I couldnt work out why he was getting so fat! I was cutting down and cutting down his food till he was barely getting a morsel and I never give treats.

Light bulb moment came whilst chatting with the nurse at the vets. DOH! Yes no wonder the food was so good for my old dog. All that fat and oil was doing wonders for his joints and coat.

Not so good for a 2 year old though.

He will be back on the Chappie as soon as he is at his proper weight.