Door bell training

[Mickelle Weber]

hey everyone!
well, we are tryin to train cleo to not bark when the door bell rings and to just sit and greet guests politly(good luck I know) what we have been doing so far is ringing the doorbell and then giving her a sit command and then opening the door(of course lots of praise and encouragement) is there anything that we could be doing differently/better that anyone knows of? I run a home business and sometimes my clients will come to my home and it looks very awkward to have to restrain your 15 lb dog that sounds like she is going to rip someone's arms off!!
any suggestions would be great!
Thanks!
Mickelle and Cleo

[Susie B]

Have you tried asking friends or neighbors to come and ring your doorbell as practice training?

Just a thought.

[Grace Erick]

Or better yet, tell your friends to knock instead of ringing the bell, lol!!!! Only kidding. My dog goes off when she hears the doorbell, even if it's in a commercial or show on tv. Otherwise she rarely barks.

[Stacey Tompkins]

Is it absolutely necessary for your dog to be at the door when you answer it? Is it possible for you to put a baby gate up so that your dog can see the door but is out of the way, at least to start? That way you can start the positive associations with doorbells without worrying about restraining/wrestling with your dog, especially in a business situation?

My dog turned into Cujo whenever someone would knock at my door. What we did was everytime there was a knock, I'd get a kong with a bit of peanutbutter or other spreadable treat inside and (in an extra happy/cheerful voice) ask my dog to go to the hallway. He'd get the kong after I closed the gate. I'd then answer the door. Dog was happy with peanutbutter and still being able to see the action and I was happy since I didn't have to deal with almost 50lbs of crazied dog. My visitors were happy, too. I had a number of people come to the door for practice.

After a couple of minutes, my dog calms down enough that I bring him out (on leash) for a nice, quick hello. He's fine when people are in my house and he's fine if we enter the house and someone he hasn't met before is in the house. It is just that foot or so of space that is the threashold of the outside door that is the problem.

For me, once we were able to get the Cujo transformation under control and teach him that a knock at the door meant he'd get a great prize, it was easier to work on having him next to me (on leash) when I answered the door. After working on door greeting for two years, last week, for the first time, he answered the door sitting beside me, not barking, and not on leash. I still have him go behind the babygate most everytime I answer the door.

[Beth Pladson]

I, too, would love to hear how people are training this... my two labs go nuts when they hear the doorbell or someone knocking. We're in the process of desensitizing them to the sound of knocks, but most people just ring the doorbell.

[Mickelle Weber]

the main difference in our two dogs behaivor is that my dog isn't ok with anyone(even if we pass someone in THEIR yard she barks like she owns the place) she is a min pin...but we are attempting to train her to be a little more polite(her good looks save her MOST of the time but it still bugs me to have an attack dog meet my guests/clients) and is not ok with people that she hasn't met at least a few times......I realize that she has emotioal issues, but we are hopeful that with a lot of work, paitence and love we can help her be a confident, social(somewhat) doggie.
Thank you for the kong suggestion. our only option is to lock cleo up in a closet or bedroom or in her kennel. there is not really a place in our house that would allow us to put up a baby gate(very open floorplan) would this approach still work?? the reason I am asking is because her time out is being locked in the bathroom for a minute(she hates being ignored more than anything) but I think you are right about being restrained...so we are trying first desensitize her to the doorbell noise and us walking to the door. To answer your question no she does not have to be next to us...we just don't want her to associate the doorbell with being punished(ie putting her somewhere where she can't see guests entering) ...I guess we will just keep it fun and light and be paitent until she is finally ok with it(we work on it almost every day)
I will definitly try the kong...thanks!

[Lesly Stevens]

Bo, my male rescue, became a window terrorist after the honeymood period, and actually got my female, Maddy, to join in with him. I was desperate! I feared that Bo would crash through the window, severing a leg or his head! He would get so worked up he was practically foaming at the mouth, and would often gag and vomit after each episode.

I tried using calming signals, redirecting, even sort've barricading the windows he had access to! Although the redirection and calming signals did help, what really did the trick was for me to act like an idiot - I'm serious! I could tell by Bo's body language when someone was coming, so BEFORE he went insane, I would jump up, my arms straight up in the air, and wave them, all the while dancing around and talking goofy "happy talk," then asking for a sit, and praised him up one side and down the other!

Neither Bo or Maddy bark or rush the windows anymore, but when the bell rings, or someone knocks, they do come up to me - full eye contact, and wait to hear from me. I'll say "thanks, guys!" and go to the door, or "No biggie, chill out." or some such, and no problem with the window terrorism anymore. (Thank God).

I can't remember where I learned or heard of acting like an idiot - maybe a book, or maybe it was from an advisor on the old forum on dogwise. It did work!

Lesly, Maddy, & Bo




the main difference in our two dogs behaivor is that my dog isn't ok with anyone(even if we pass someone in THEIR yard she barks like she owns the place) she is a min pin...but we are attempting to train her to be a little more polite(her good looks save her MOST of the time but it still bugs me to have an attack dog meet my guests/clients) and is not ok with people that she hasn't met at least a few times......I realize that she has emotioal issues, but we are hopeful that with a lot of work, paitence and love we can help her be a confident, social(somewhat) doggie.
Thank you for the kong suggestion. our only option is to lock cleo up in a closet or bedroom or in her kennel. there is not really a place in our house that would allow us to put up a baby gate(very open floorplan) would this approach still work?? the reason I am asking is because her time out is being locked in the bathroom for a minute(she hates being ignored more than anything) but I think you are right about being restrained...so we are trying first desensitize her to the doorbell noise and us walking to the door. To answer your question no she does not have to be next to us...we just don't want her to associate the doorbell with being punished(ie putting her somewhere where she can't see guests entering) ...I guess we will just keep it fun and light and be paitent until she is finally ok with it(we work on it almost every day)
I will definitly try the kong...thanks!