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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

I really need help with my dogs Barking or I may lose them!

34 replies

DogeSos · 20/01/2023 21:43

I have 3 dogs, small breed. My neighbour next door is deaf, we are semi detached so never have any issues on other side.

However I am moving to a terraced house and I need to sort this before we move.

My dogs are wonderful, very loving but loud when they start. Which is whenever anyone knocks on the door or comes into the house.

Dog A is 5, daft as a brush. A shihzu mix. Very, very chill but always has an ear out for intruders (Aka DHL/Evri) He always barks if anyone comes near the garden. Or if a dog walks passed.

Dog B, is my baby. She is 4. Pug mix. She isn't really interested in people coming passed but when A starts Barking she joins in.

She is SUPER territorial and goes mad if nayine comes in the house.

Dog C is a Boston. 2 years old. Beautiful sweet baby who has just learnt that you bark when someone knocks on the door.

I have had trainers in.

First trainer HIT dog A as soon as he came in to stop him Barking. Obviously he was turfed out.

2nd trainer just wanted us to do the 'sit on the dog' technique.
But it was extremely difficult as you have to do it individually and it can take hours. I just didn't have the time to do it as I have kids and WFH.

I don't have the money to hire another trainer right now.

So was hoping so one in here has had similar issues and found a solution I could try?

Please don't judge. They are all rescues and A arrived super barky and taught the others.

OP posts:
LastOfTheChristmasWine · 21/01/2023 10:56

eveningfell · 21/01/2023 10:15

so dog A is the pack leader. I'd get trainer 1 back in and realise that some pack animals need negative reinforcement. This is not cruel, it depends on the personality of the dog you are dealing with. Alternatively you could manage it yourself if you change your mindset.

Sigh.

Pack leadership was debunked many years ago and even the man who originally came up with it, Mech, has disowned his own work.

It's not pack leadership, it's dogs learning from each other and copying (as all species do), and feeling insecure about visitors in the home.

Original poster
DogeSos · 21/01/2023 11:02

Even if pack leadership was a thing A would definitely not be the leader! He's just the barker

OP posts:
Original poster
DogeSos · 21/01/2023 11:03

ShouldIknowthisalready · 21/01/2023 10:39

Do they bark when they hear the door bell or knock on the door?

If so this is very very easy to sort out but does take a bit of time.

If you are moving to a new house get a new door bell sound.

Do not fit the bell to the door just have it in your house to start with.

Ring the bell and give your dogs a treat what ever they are doing barking or being quiet. Do this a lot.

All you have to do is that every time they hear the bell they get a treat. Over time I would start to put the treat in their bed away from the door.

End result is the door bell goes, this is their learned cue to go to their beds to get a treat.

When they are doing this happily you can then start to introduce people into the house and they same thing will happen. They hear the door bell run to their beds kepp treating them in their beds when the new person is in the house. Over time you can decrease the time between the treats.

That is fucking genius!!!

Wow. I want a ring doorbell so I'm 100% going to do this to tackle the door knocking.

Then do clicker training to deal with people.

Thanks!!

OP posts:
Original poster
DogeSos · 21/01/2023 11:04

We just have a knocker, no doorbell so going to start making doorbell sounds positive. Very impressed with this idea

OP posts:
whytesnow · 21/01/2023 11:11

I had the same problem I have 2 dogs and just moved into my first home last year I wanted to sound proof some of the walls that I shared with my neighbour but it was too expensive like around £3000 each wall. My dogs bark when someone's at the door, someone walking past the house and I live on a busy road so I put a sign up on my door to say no chapping and all paces to be placed in the shed and I have shutters to block out the bottom half of the window so they can't see out. They don't really bark at all now

whytesnow · 21/01/2023 11:13

The frosted film won't work as they will still bark if they see a shadow

whytesnow · 21/01/2023 11:13

Yes I took my doorbell away aswell

LastOfTheChristmasWine · 21/01/2023 11:18

Fwiw I also got a Ring doorbell when I moved house and within a week he'd cottoned on that the notification noise on my phone was the new doorbell 🤦‍♀️

Result: my dog started barking on the train, because someone rang our doorbell 40 miles away 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

You can, of course, turn the notification noise off but then you'll only know someone is at your door if you happen to be looking at your phone screen.

Intelligent dogs are a bugger sometimes!

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 21/01/2023 11:24

eveningfell · 21/01/2023 10:15

so dog A is the pack leader. I'd get trainer 1 back in and realise that some pack animals need negative reinforcement. This is not cruel, it depends on the personality of the dog you are dealing with. Alternatively you could manage it yourself if you change your mindset.

When will people stop peddling this "pack theory" bullshit? 🙄

Dogs are not wolves. They are domestic animals and don't form packs.

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