The house guardian & the troublemakers

There are dogs that love to bark when the doorbell rings. This can have many reasons. It can be a warning, a threat, a joyful greeting, an invitation to play or an expression of stress. Some dogs bark out of boredom and because it earns them attention. Barking at the front door, however, most often serves to defend the territory. The dog knows that whenever the bell rings, a visitor is standing at the door. From the pitch of the barking you can even tell the animal's mood. Anxious dogs bark in a higher pitch than self-assured animals. Deep barking often seems threatening to strangers, which is why many dogs use it deliberately when someone is at the door. Ultimately, however, this is a matter of training.

Moving the resting place in the entrance area

You can solve the problem by – if this is the case – removing the dog's resting place from the entrance area. By relocating it to a spot further away, you can create an initial basis for training against excessive territorial defence. The doorbell does not usually ring all that often during the day, which is why each time it is a small sensation for the dog. It is therefore a good suggestion to carry out proper doorbell training with a helper.

Doorbell training for the house guardian

You proceed as follows: when the doorbell sounds, the dog is immediately sent to his place. As soon as he has done this and stays there quietly, he is rewarded straight away. Naturally, this usually does not work at once on command. You should practise this exercise at different times over several days or even several weeks, until the dog grows tired of barking. Then he will also have learned that there is a reward precisely for the absence of barking.

• Relocating the resting place away from the immediate hallway area
• Targeted doorbell training with positive reinforcement when calm
• Medical clarification in cases of excessive restlessness or hyperactivity
• Establishing fixed rest periods within the daily routine

Dogs that are hard to rein in

When your own dog does not listen, however, and no improvement is in sight, owners are often at a loss. In most cases, though, these problems can be solved. More and more often we hear from overwhelmed people who report an over-excited and hyperactive dog. And there the first problem already lies: most people think their dog is not sufficiently challenged and therefore occupy him too intensively. But this makes the animal all the more hyperactive. Let me tell you about one such case from my experience. There, in order to rule out organic causes, a medical check was carried out first. This included a full blood count and a check of the thyroid values.

The first step towards improvement

Once it was clear that the dog itself was perfectly healthy, I began a training programme together with the owner. As the most essential point, we first built fixed rest periods into the day and learned to keep to them consistently. The owner had to learn to ignore his dog's demands. He alone now decides when something is done. If, for example, the dog demands sessions of petting, this is not indulged. Of course this is very hard for both sides at the beginning, but it is extremely effective.

Using the crate in an emergency

In the second step, clear boundaries are set. A dog crate is well suited for this, used to enforce calm. So if the dog does not settle down, he is put on the lead without a word and taken to the crate. He is to stay there until he has calmed down. Then you should reward him, with a walk or a game – and quite deliberately in whatever way suits you. If you manage to see these two steps through with iron resolve for several weeks, it will work. With patience and consistency, you thereby foster the development into a self-contained, calm housemate.