Beat way to stop dog barking when there's a knock on the door?

[cheeseisthebest]

Or a stranger in the house?
Thank you

Do you want it to bark at all?

Good question cos actually we often don't hear the door so one bark to notify us would be helpful but then would like him to learn to be quiet and calm. Generally a very placid boy.

It sounds more like you need to teach him the quiet command.

So, even though it sounds silly, start by teaching him to bark on demand. Once he can manage that, introduce the quiet command. Ask him to bark, wait until there's a break, and then say "quiet" and treat him. Repeat (a lot!) until he stops barking on command.

Then you can transfer it to other situations - the door, barking at strangers etc.

Ok thank you, how do I get him to bark?

Personally, I would not tempt fate by asking a barky dog to just bark once then be quiet. I would get a better doorbell and ask him for silence. (Also, whilst the quiet tip is used a lot, I genuinely have never really seen it trained to much effect, except in dogs who were naturally inclined to quiet down after a few barks.)

Changing the doorbell also has the benefit of it being a totally new sound - much easier for him to learn to do something different to a new sound then to change what he does to the old one.

Then the answer is treats

The doorbell rings, you immediately toss very tasty treat in his bed. Ideally, someone keeps doing that all the time the door is open and stops as soon as it's closed again.

Before long, he hears the bell and runs to his bed for the treat rather than bothering to bark. Keep that up, at least intermittently, for a very long time until it is totally ingrained behaviour.

Strangers in the house is a bit different. For this, you need to be clear what is causing the barking:
a) fear - prioritise keeping everyone safe and give him somewhere to treat to out of the way
b) excitement - work on him being on a lead and only getting to say hello once he has quietened and calmed down

Wait until he barks naturally, then add a command to it and reward.

Eventually, you'll be able to say the command and he'll bark :)

It sounds counterproductive but it does work. My beagle can be a gobby little shit at times, and we taught him "speak" and then "quiet!".

Mine started doing this (adult rescue) after she had been with me 2 or 3 months and was feeling more confident. My door is downstairs so I didn't tell her off (as I approve of her alerting me to visitors/strangers) but told her to wait/go back to top of stairs (you could indicate inside a nearby room instead). I then went to door but if she followed, I sent her back again and door wasn't opened till she stayed in place. You could practice this with a friend /family member as caller. My dog got this really fast. Now, she barks to alert me, I say "Good girl, Thank you" and go for door whilst waving her back and she just sits and waits.

Oh thank you that is helpful. No doorbell at all just knocking!

My two were starting to get a bit silly about barking at the door. I began saying 'job done' and when they looked at me, quiet, I'd praise them.

Now I can say 'job done' and they shut up.

Mine greets with a toy to “show” visitors. Full mouth - can’t bark!!

My dog barks when someone rings or knocks at the door, he stops as soon as I tell him "That's enough DDog".
Which is fine if I'm there but a pain if I'm in another part of the house or outside as I have to stop what I'm doing and come in.
I've discovered that there's a Dog Calming app, only been using it for 2 days and so far seems to be working. I didn't think it would.
Alexa lets him bark for minute then says (via Echo Studio) That's enough DDog" (uses dog's name). Then plays calming music and sends a phone alert.