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Barking at the Door Conceals a Deeper Problem

As I sat watching a TV show the other night, the doorbell rang, on TV.  That didn’t stop my little Australian Shepherd, Tank, from leaping out of his bed and announcing the arrival of a stranger.  Standing at the door, confused that no one was getting up to answer the door, he waited.  After a few minutes Tank plunked back down in his bed to continue his nap.

This scene is common enough in households across America every day, and most people never realize that their dog was just exhibiting aggressive behavior.  We generally think of aggressive behavior as a bite or at least growling and gnashing teeth.  But aggressive behavior in a dog starts with subtle signs and develops into a problem over time, and while frequently a dog’s aggressive behavior may not start out as being dangerous, it should never be ignored.  And it is your responsibility as the pack leader to curb this behavior. 

Since dogs are pack animals they have innate social instincts.  Aggression determines a dog’s place in the pack from the alpha dog or leader right down to the weakest member of the pack.  Stronger dogs are ranked higher in the pack. 

So how does that translate to your little sweetie snoozing while you are watching your favorite TV show?  Well, your dog lives in a pack.  You call it your family.  He is always vying for his position in the family pack, and he challenges members of the family and even other pets to secure his position in the family pack every day.  Some of the tests are so subtle that they may even go unnoticed. 

For example, he may lean on you, or he may block your path so that you have to walk around him.  Both pretty innocent from a human point of view but very significant to a dog.  He dominated you.  Aggression in a dog is all about domination, not about attacking. 

So when the doorbell rings either in real life or just on TV my little guy, Tank, barks to intimidate intruders and keep them from entering his space.  He is dominating his space.  So what exactly should I do?  Because last time I checked, I was paying the mortgage, so that makes it my space.

Seems simple when you look at it that way, doesn’t it?  My dog lives in my pack.  My house is my space.  I lead the pack, and I dominate my space.  I did not give my dog permission to dominate my space, so the barking stops now.   

When the doorbell rings, real or imagined, my dog needs to look to me for direction, not simply bark at the door, and it is my job to enforce this expectation.  A very basic method of getting Tank to stop barking at the door is to get him to focus on me.  How?  It’s not rocket science!  A handful of treats can work miracles.  Or leave his leash on while training him on the doorbell and give him a quick correction to refocus attention onto me.

Then I give Tank a job to do when the doorbell rings.  This again helps him refocus onto something other than the doorbell.  For example, at the sound of the bell, I have Tank sit and stay.  Then I reward his behavior with a treat, and soon enough the doorbell will trigger sit and stay instead of barking. 

The first few times I had to get Tank’s attention before the doorbell rang with a sit, stay, treat pattern, and then I had a friend ring the bell.  By repeating this process a few times, Tank very quickly learned to sit and look at me when the doorbell rings.   Over time the conditioned reflex has become for Tank to sit and look at me when he hears the doorbell. 

Giving your dog clear expectations and rewarding him when he meets those expectations is the best way to raise a happy and well balanced dog.

 Guest Post