Here’s a mundane and pointless observation and something that grates on me like the sound of nails on a blackboard.
Several friends and family members have dogs. Every time the door bell rings or someone knocks on the door, the dog goes crazy running for the door and barking their fool head off. If that’s not bad enough, the owner of said mongrel will begin shouting at the dog to “Shut Up!”. Now this may happen several times through the day and it never changes. Door rings. Dog barks. Owner barks back. Rinse and repeat.
I don’t know why this irritates me so much but it’s an absurd behaviour that not only the pet is conditioned to repeat but so is the owner. The dog never learns to shut up and the owner never catches on that they are really not getting through to the stupid animal. In a way, it’s a bit of a pavlovian response on behalf of the owner.
Worse, if I’m the one ringing the bell or knocking, I’m greeted by loud barking and shouts of “shut up Fido!” before the door is even open. It really puts a bit of a cloud over my enthusiasm to see the person I’ve come to visit.
Anybody else irritated by this? …or is it just me?
*yes, dogs can be trained not to do that. My experience is that most owners don’t make that effort.
I think you’re over-reacting. My dog barks; but I don’t tell her to shut up. In fact I’ll sometimes knock on the wall or table when she’s not looking so I can laugh at her being tricked so easily.
Calling out the phrases “The door’s open” or “come on in” get her riled up too. But she’s a 15 lb Pug. What’s she gonna do?
I have a a friend I stopped going to visit at his house because his two dogs are the worst, most ill-trained dogs on the planet. And they’re big so they’re not easily ignored. Apparently it’s amusing for two 70 pound dogs to climb on people and stick their wet snouts all over anyone that walks in the door.
I know what you mean. One of my dearest friends has a little dog that is apparently either very possessive of her space, or is just neurotic. Whenever a visitor is in the house, the dog barks and barks. Friend yells at dog to be quiet and stop barking. After a while Friend gives dog a dog biscuit to shut her up. Lather, rinse, repeat. It’s obvious to everyone that the dog is now conditioned that if she barks incessantly while visitors are in the apartment, she will get rewarded with a biscuit. Further, while dogs ARE permitted in the apartments, there are some bitchy residents who give all kinds of snark and grief about any canine misbehavior, however minor, so Friend is anxious about possible complaints. The dog is getting old, so I don’t know what, if anything, could be done now to re-train it. I love to visit my friend, but I hate having to listen to that &)^&#$ beast yapping all the time.
I learned a neat little trick to teach a dog to stop barking on command, and it works on my very talkative Phyllis.* First, use the opportunity of the dog’s barking to teach it to “Speak” on command. Once the dog understands that, you can teach it “Enough” (as opposed to “NO”; “No” means the activity is never allowed, whereas “Enough” means it’s sometimes allowed, but we would like you to stop now).
Much nicer than “Shut up.”
*When we tell Phyllis to “speak,” she has to work up to it, starting with low growls and working her way up to a tentative bark. With encouragement she finally gets going, and that’s when “Enough” comes in handy, with plenty of petting to tell her that we enjoyed the game.
Her sister Dottie never “speaks” in the house, except for a “happy growl” during playtime. But she has a remarkably deep and large WOOF! when she’s outside. You’d never think it came from a little springer spaniel. Meanwhile Phyllis’s outside bark is more of a high-pitched “yipe!”
I’m with you 100%. Dogs are pack animals, and you are (hopefully) the leader of his pack. If you “bark” (and “shut up” or “no!” do sound a lot like barks), then you’re telling him he’s doing the right thing by barking. He must be, because you’re looking fierce and barking too! Obviously, this is the right time to bark and look fierce!
What I find works is to quietly and calmly say, “Thank you, Fido. Good job! That’s enough.” He knows he’s done his “job” (alerting the pack to potential danger), and that I acknowledge and am ready to deal with the “danger”.
Can you train a dog not to bark at all to a knock on the door? Maaaaybe. I think it depends on the dog. Frankly, I don’t mind one or two barks: if it were a bad guy, he might be less likely to break in knowing I have a vicious pug on the other side of the door.
My dog goes positively apeshit when someone knocks on the door, and I like it that way. All I have to say is “Enough” and it tones him down to a medium whine-growl type thing.
Yeah, because the dog just thinks you’re “barking”, too. He has no idea what “shut up” means-- he doesn’t speak English.
I purposely trained my dogs to bark when someone knocks at the door. I have a big house with thick walls. I don’t always hear a knock at the door. They stop when the visitor either comes into the house, or I say, “Okay, thank you!”
The best way to train them to stop barking, I’ve found, is to say your silence command (“okay” or “hush” or “enough”) and immediately give them a treat. (Make sure it’s something really yummy to make it worthwhile to the dog, like pieces of hotdog or cheese.) When their mouths are occupied, they don’t bark. Praise them while they’re eating it using the command word, “Good ‘hush!’ Good ‘hush’!”
After a few times of this, show them the treat, and say your command, but don’t give it to them until they obey. After a few times of this, you won’t even need to have a treat handy.
