My dog barks as soon as the doorbell rings.
Dogs are wonderful companions, but constant barking can be stressful for even the most loving of dog owners. In my new blog series, we delve into the world of dog communication and explore the various reasons why dogs bark excessively in certain situations.
In the upcoming posts, we will explore the most common triggers for barking: from excitement and protective instincts to boredom and fear. Find out how you can better recognize your dog’s barking and react to it in a targeted way. Whether you’re an experienced dog owner or just starting to get to know your four-legged friend, this series offers valuable insights and practical tips to make living with your dog more harmonious. Stay tuned!
PS: There are 1,000 ways to skin a cat, and the same applies to dog training. I am sharing an extract of tips and experiences that have worked well for my customers so far. I encourage you to try out a few tips and see if they work for you!
Situation: A stranger rings the doorbell
From the perspective of Dexter, a three-year-old, 30-kilogram, white and brown harlequin setter mix
The doorbell rings! I still remember the first time I heard the doorbell ring when I was a puppy with Selina: I cocked my head and listened, but the sound didn’t mean anything to me yet.
Since then, however, I have observed the same sequence of events hundreds of times. The phone rings. Selina’s body jerks – she is as if electrified! She immediately puts down whatever she is holding. She gets up and marches towards the front door as if remotely controlled. She looks neither to the left nor to the right. My deduction is razor-sharp: there must be something extremely exciting or extremely dangerous behind the front door, otherwise she wouldn’t be so focused. She opens the front door and then there is excitement!
There are two possibilities: either we know the person at the door or we don’t. I’ll describe what happens when someone turns up at the door that Selina and I don’t know. Then, just to be on the safe side, I always have to bark at the stranger, otherwise he would just walk right in the door! Sometimes the stranger is carrying a package or letters. I bark louder and louder because the guy at the door just won’t go away – he’s so disrespectful! Selina then also gets increasingly louder and more agitated. For me, the case is of course as clear as day: I seem to be right about barking at the stranger, otherwise Selina would not join in so loudly. The fact that Selina and I get so worked up together is definitely successful, because the stranger disappears again after a short time. When Selina has closed the door, she always stares at me angrily and complains to me… I don’t understand why – I did a great job, didn’t I? The stranger is gone! Shortly afterwards, she starts petting me again. I’m always confused.
From the point of view of Dexter’s owner, Selina, a 25-year-old student
The doorbell’s ringing! Now I really have to hurry, otherwise the Amazon delivery man will be gone! So I quickly put down my coffee cup and head for the door! Hopefully Dexter won’t make such a loud fuss again, it’s always so embarrassing for me! Besides, the neighbors in the building are already really annoyed. But it’s too late: Dexter is already yapping at an infernal volume and has overtaken me on the way to the door. I push myself in front of him again into pole position and pull him back hard by the collar! I open the door: the postman is standing on the doormat in front of us, bending forward to give me the package. Dexter barks angrily and jumps forward. I automatically pull him back by the collar again!
What the delivery man says to me is lost in the noise. It’s amazing, by the way, to what extent the stairwell amplifies sound. Man, that’ll get some more caustic comments from the neighbor. But hope dies last: maybe today I’ll be able to calm the dog down! So I scold: “OFF! NO!! Stop yapping! STOP NOW!!!” Dexter continues to yap incessantly. I lie to the delivery man: ‘I’m sorry, the dog has only been with me for a short time…’ The delivery man looks at me blankly. Damn, he doesn’t believe me. An awkward moment later, I hastily sign, mumble thank you and quickly close the door. I glare angrily at Dexter and scold him. He looks at me uncertainly. Damn, now I feel sorry for him! I pat him on the head comfortingly. I sense that something is going wrong here… but what?
The analysis
Very often a dog barks because it thinks it’s job is to watch over you, your home or your property.
You can put your life together with your dog on a whole new footing if you give him the assurance that he doesn’t have to watch over you, but you’ll take care of things for him.
Very often, the owner then experiences a relieved dog that is noticeably more at ease. For most dogs, being constantly on guard and having to watch out is pure stress and tension! But the more your dog can trust you to handle situations for him, the better and more intimate your relationship will become.
What I mean by “actively handling situations for the dog”:
You determine what happens when the doorbell rings from the very beginning. You start to act instead of just re-acting to the dog. You actively manage the situation for your dog instead of passively watching your dog get more and more upset when there are visitors.
A tricky question: how can you expect your dog to be quiet when you are excited, loud and hectic yourself?
The keyword here is “emotional self-regulation”. The first step is learning to be more aware of our own feelings. Next time your dog barks at someone, pay attention to yourself: What symptoms of stress are you experiencing? Example: “Aha, I hadn’t noticed that before, but always when my dog yaps so loudly, I breathe very shallowly and hectically…” or “Every time my dog jumps angrily on the leash, I get a fright.”
Now you have found a starting point. Next time your dog barks, please breathe out slowly through your mouth. Important: Breathe out fully and completely (skip the inhalation beforehand. Don’t worry, you’ll have enough air in your lungs). This is a crucial step towards self-regulation, because by breathing out slowly you bring yourself down a bit and can think more clearly about how to manage the situation better. The exhalation gives you a little time to think so that you can react better.
A little mini-exercise to get you started:
The next time the doorbell rings, consciously catch yourself when you immediately want to rush towards the door out of breath like an express train. After the doorbell rings, consciously stop for a second and slowly breathe out through your mouth. Then go to the door.
How does that make you feel?
A training method for when your dog barks at the front door
“Honey, even if you bark like a madman, I don’t care: you’ll stay on a short leash behind my back.”
The trick is quite simple: put your dog on the leash before you open the door. Make it as easy as possible for yourself: always put the leash right by the door so that you have it ready to hand immediately.
When the doorbell rings, you consciously breathe out a breath and step towards the door. Your dog will have already overtaken you, hehe. But that’s okay, you’ll meet him again at the door in a moment.
You reach for the leash and take the dog on a short leash behind you. Your leash hand is in the middle behind your back, above your bottom – and that’s where it stays! Imagine it’s “stapled” there. The leash is so short that the dog can’t walk around you to visit. But not so short that the dog’s front legs are in the air either.
Now the most important thing: From now on, the dog does not have to do ANYTHING more. Yes, I really mean NOTHING. We expect NOTHING from him: no sit, no down, no being quiet. Behind your back, he can just do whatever he wants. Jump around excitedly, hop around, continue yapping – anything goes, nothing is commented on or corrected.
Let me repeat: From now on you DO NOT CARE what kind of antics your dog gets up to behind your back. You do not react to them.
Now it’s all up to you: you only talk to your visitor. Your dog doesn’t care. Don’t look around, don’t talk to the dog, don’t jerk the leash. You only have one job: keep the dog behind you. No matter what he does. Your leash hand always stays in the same position behind your back, above your butt.
This makes it even easier for you:
- Make sure you have a secure footing: place your legs slightly more than hip-width apart.
- Bend your knees slightly. This will help you to maintain your balance much better.
- Stand upright, back straight, shoulders back.
- It would be great if you could consciously breathe out slowly while the visitor is speaking. The visitor won’t notice, but it will help you.
- And don’t forget: your leash hand remains firmly clamped behind your back!
Now you’re thinking: what’s the point of that – why is my dog still allowed to yap?
Because with this new body and leash position, you are taking the very first step that lays the foundation for everything else: you are starting to no longer react to your dog’s excitement. For the first time, your dog experiences that you no longer react to his incredibly annoying barking with agitation. Instead of pulling him back by the collar, scolding him hectically and loudly, you stay completely with yourself. You decide that you will no longer participate in this ritual spiral of excitement. You mentally opt out.
I know…it’s not that easy at the beginning. But it makes a big impression on your dog! And if you practice consistently every time the doorbell rings, you’ll get better at it every day.
Once your dog has realized that you are taking care of the visitors and he doesn’t have to pay attention, it often happens that he wants to sit or lie down behind you while you are talking to the visitors. Hurray, that’s the jackpot! So if you notice that it gets quiet behind you and you may even notice a gentle tug on the leash, it means your dog wants to sit or lie down. Then immediately (!) give up some leash so that the dog can sit or lie down. We must not miss this precious moment!
You’re doing great: By now regularly consciously exhaling when stressed, you have mastered a very important first step to becoming a confident leader: Instead of always reacting unconsciously and immediately to your dog’s behavior as you used to, you now more and more often stay “with yourself” for a moment first. You understand, “I can’t stop the annoying yapping yet, but I can react to it differently.”
Just give it a try for a few days… and read the instructions again regularly until you have “digested” them.
I sincerely wish you success!
PS: Watch out for traps! If your dog shows signs of calmness at some point, please just don’t loudly and excitedly praise the dog out of sheer euphoria! Otherwise, he’ll jump up again and everything will be – this time – for nothing.