How did you train your dog not to bark at visitors?

[Anonymous]

We adopted a German Shepherd mix that is about 1.5 years old. He’s great in so many ways, but he goes absolutely ballistic when anyone comes in the house. He’s 75 lbs, and has a very German Shepherd face and jaw, so the constant aggressive barking is terrifying. We have tried distracting him, giving him treats when he stops barking briefly, taking him away. But he’s still agitated until the visitor leaves.

We’ve only had him for a month. Does it get better? Any tips would be much appreciated as I’m afraid my wife is losing patience fast.

[Anonymous]

Management. Crate the dog upstairs when someone comes over (unless this is a super frequent occurrence?)

[Anonymous]

So you’ve got a German shepherd and he’s doing his job.
There isn’t a quick fix, but….
1. Find two phrases. The first one something like- I’ll check and see or something that relates to you looking at the door. Second one is - quiet- that’s enough, thank you.
Basically he needs to stop when you tell him to.
You need to have a leash on him, and work on obedience training.
The trick is that he needs to learn two thing - that a couple of barks is okay, and that not stopping is bad.
Quiet is a command you can teach, and you have to teach him to bark first.
Here’s the cheat sheet version
Get a clicker and some treats. Have them on you and wait. When he barks at something (do not do this with a visitor yet) click and give him a treat, but don’t say anything. If you can get him to bark all the better. It might take a couple of days, but he will figure out that barking is good and look at you for a treat. As he starts to bark say, talk or bark or speak or whatever conmand you like and when he barks click and treat. It won’t take long for him to bark on command.’
When he stops barking click and treat. Again after a day or so pair the word quiet with the treat. In the beginning find times when he is looking at something but not barking to reward.

Once he knows both ideas, really understands, then you can give him a consequence for continuing to bark after you say quiet. I use a squirt bottle.

It’s not an overnight process, but the dog will figure it out and so will you.
Bonus- when someone is at the door and you Don’t tell them it’s okay you’ve got it it ends up being a cue to continue being protective.

Oh! One last thing - with guests keep the dog on a leash and ask people not to pet him or interact until he’s calm

[Anonymous]

That’s what German shepherds are supposed to do. He’s a guard dog. It’s ingrained in him. Did you research breeds at all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s what German shepherds are supposed to do. He’s a guard dog. It’s ingrained in him. Did you research breeds at all!

OP here -- that's not really fair. First, he's a rescue and only part German Shepherd. And second, I think even German Shepherds can be trained to STOP barking after initially letting us know there's someone in the door/at the door/in the house. That's what I'm asking.

Has anyone used a handheld ultrasonic device? Not a collar, but a device we could use when we specifically want him to stop barking? Or should we focus solely on positive training methods?

[Anonymous]

Yeah my dog barks at the doorbell, the mailman, the UPS guy, and squirrels in the yard. She is super sweet and friendly, but this is just how she is. No way around it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah my dog barks at the doorbell, the mailman, the UPS guy, and squirrels in the yard. She is super sweet and friendly, but this is just how she is. No way around it.

Mine is super sweet and friendly, too -- to me and my wife. With most everyone else, he barks like a maniac and will not stop. We end up pulling him out of the room, we're humiliated and our guests need a stiff drink.

Is that "just how he is"? Or can he be trained just to bark as a warning and then stop barking when we want him to stop?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah my dog barks at the doorbell, the mailman, the UPS guy, and squirrels in the yard. She is super sweet and friendly, but this is just how she is. No way around it.

Mine is super sweet and friendly, too -- to me and my wife. With most everyone else, he barks like a maniac and will not stop. We end up pulling him out of the room, we're humiliated and our guests need a stiff drink.

Is that "just how he is"? Or can he be trained just to bark as a warning and then stop barking when we want him to stop?

Dogs can be trained not to bark but, if he has gone over threashold ( started barking) than it is too late. Have you watched any Victoria Stillwell? She has videos on this very issue.

https://positively.com/dog-behavior/nuisance-behaviors/barking/

It will take time and you have to counter condition them out of doing it but, it can be done!

[Anonymous]

OP, no advice, just commiseration.

We have a 2yo shepherd mix, and the pandemic meant we're just now starting to have a lot of visitors to the house. He's completely fine once guests are inside, but barks like crazy when anyone approaches the door (and will continue barking if someone lets themselves in, even if he knows them well). We're just beginning to work on it with treats.

It's the breed doing its job.

[Anonymous]

In addition to teaching "quiet" (good tips above), work on training him to sit and stay in a place. For us, we have worked on mat training to train our dog to go onto a mat (or towel) on command and stay. We then worked up to having that place be by the fireplace which is well away from the door. It's not perfect yet (he's young), but when the doorbell rings, he barks and then quiets on command and now starts to go automatically to his place until released to come say hello. Super long training process, but it can be done. Until then, crate training or keeping behind a gate is important.

[Anonymous]

You want your dog to bark at visitors, then calm down when they see they're not strangers to you. It's a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Our 11yo Tibetan terrier barks at anyone who isn’t DH, DD, or me. He’ll stop within a few minutes, especially if he’s allowed to stay with everyone and observe the situation. If we were to immediately whisk him into another room, he’d keep barking, probably because he wouldn’t be able to see that the visitors are welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s what German shepherds are supposed to do. He’s a guard dog. It’s ingrained in him. Did you research breeds at all!

OP here -- that's not really fair. First, he's a rescue and only part German Shepherd. And second, I think even German Shepherds can be trained to STOP barking after initially letting us know there's someone in the door/at the door/in the house. That's what I'm asking.

Has anyone used a handheld ultrasonic device? Not a collar, but a device we could use when we specifically want him to stop barking? Or should we focus solely on positive training methods?

We tried positive methods for over a year with no luck. Finally got a collar after much guilt, and it was amazing. Only took a couple days, no more barking. I wish we had done it sooner.

The only thing I would recommend is use the collar first in situations she barks without other people around, or else she’ll associate the shock with people, and that’s no good. Then do it in situations with people. Start on the lowest setting and work your way up.

And don’t feel too guilty. Get an expensive one, they are designed to be more humane with multiple settings and they don’t shock continuously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s what German shepherds are supposed to do. He’s a guard dog. It’s ingrained in him. Did you research breeds at all!

OP here -- that's not really fair. First, he's a rescue and only part German Shepherd. And second, I think even German Shepherds can be trained to STOP barking after initially letting us know there's someone in the door/at the door/in the house. That's what I'm asking.

Has anyone used a handheld ultrasonic device? Not a collar, but a device we could use when we specifically want him to stop barking? Or should we focus solely on positive training methods?

We tried positive methods for over a year with no luck. Finally got a collar after much guilt, and it was amazing. Only took a couple days, no more barking. I wish we had done it sooner.

The only thing I would recommend is use the collar first in situations she barks without other people around, or else she’ll associate the shock with people, and that’s no good. Then do it in situations with people. Start on the lowest setting and work your way up.

And don’t feel too guilty. Get an expensive one, they are designed to be more humane with multiple settings and they don’t shock continuously.

+1

That's what my friend did with his German Shepherd. She now barks just a couple of times and then comes down.

[Anonymous]

My dog has two alternative behaviors they're trained to do. One is "go to your mat" (I point and he goes and lays or sits on his mat) the other is "come and sit"(I snap my fingers between my feet and he is trained to come sit between my feet).

Both of those with the intent to break his attention from barking. I would allow a couple barks them immediately go into an alternate training routine that will get his focus back on you.

This level of agitation is almost like extreme nervousness though. Any guests or types of guests he is more ok with? Can he meet guests outside at the park, then that same guest comes over, gives a treat if he's quiet, leaves? You might need to work with a trainer on this, this is more than just barking at the door. Could also try l'theanine or something else to calm. Barking until the guest leaves - a shock caller might stop the bark but the underlying reason won't be fixed and could cause other problems.