Getting dogs to not bark, when someone enters the house

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Ranyhyn

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Looking for a little help here.

Since moving in with OH last year our 3 dogs have got on great - the only problem being they wind each other up. My two were never encouraged (and so didn't) bark when people came into the house when I was on my own. They'd get very excited - but they'd be silent.
Now we're here they have started the retriever off barking - he's the barky type when he's excited. Which of course has now sent them all into full voice.
The retriever also knows our cars, which starts him off, which starts everyone off :(

My OH sometimes works late with the work he does, meaning he can come in any time between 6pm right round to 3am. With a new baby on the way I'd like to find a way to cure this :o

Any ideas?
 
Oooh when you find out how to do this, let me know please. I have same problem - OH (and now teenage son) coming in late at night and the dogs going stupid and waking me up. At least I do know then that my son has made it home after a night out, so it does have some advantages. OH is out late working, BTW, not partying (or thats what he tells me!).
 
Don't know what you've tried so far, but I would ignore the dogs until they calmed down, otherwise you are praising them for their barking. When my dog was a puppy she used to wet herself with excitement when we came home, and as hard as it was we had to completely ignore her until she had calmed down, and then just give her a little fuss, which completely cured her. She will bark at strangers (feel free to provide advice on that front!) but she is completely quiet when any of the family come home, even though she is a very vocal JRT!
We can now fuss her normally, now she knows not to get too over excited, and sometimes she cries a bit with excitement if we have been out for ages, but no barking and no weeing so all good :)
 
Sorry should have said, we ignored-still doesn't work, there's a long wait between the car coming up the driveway and getting in the house-by that time they've already started :(
 
Not really got any advice re curing the barking, mine are pretty good at recognising cars and don't bark at people they know. Have you tried putting them out of the room when they get excited, and not letting them back through until your OH or whoever has been in the house for a while?
However, you will probably find the baby will soon learn to sleep through dogs barking, both of mine did, out of necessity probably as I had 5 GSDs. :p
 
That's exactly what my mother said MM, that baby will just have to learn. I don't know how because when they start barking I'm always woken up!

As for putting them out I'm finding it hard to get any consistency in training purely because a lot of the time when OH comes in, I'm asleep (or I was ;) ) and they shut up once he's in the room - so it's kind of after the event? :confused:
 
Have you tried to teach them to bark on command, and then reward them when the you tell them to stop?

The old 'speak' thing....
 
You'll find that a baby can sleep through the most ridiculous noise, but a squeaky floorboard in a silent house will have them wide awake and yelling. :rolleyes: When my daughter was a baby we used to go to a lot of dog show weekends, Saturday nights there was generally a disco. She would be wide awake in her pushchair but within in 5 minutes of going into the marquee or wherever the disco was she would be zonked.:p
 
As HM The Queen's trainer said to Her Majesty in answer to her query about dog training, "It's all done with cruelty, ma'am".:)

Buy yourself a water pistol and teach them the word "NO!".
 
The Petsafe anti bark collar works a treat on my girl.....spray lemon which she hate....she only has to know she has it on now :D it's just me remembering to put it on!:(
 
My 2 dogs are the same.

If they hear the car pull up they know exactly who it is and get very excited and start woofing and going mad. Iv found if im in the house and mum or dad are pulling up on the drive, the dogs start off and I make very short sharp high pitched sounds and raise a slipper or shoe in the air. The older one immediately quietens down and the younger one gets quieter.

The reason for the slipper/shoe in the air was with my previous dog (who died) and my now older one out the 2 i have currently used to play fight and it would end up getting very rough and the older one would get worn out. So we used to make a loud sharp noise and raise a shoe in the air (which we slapped on the floor which instantly stopped them from carrying on). But they learnt and in the end all you had to do was raise a shoe - without slapping it on the floor - and they stopped.

We have since carried this on with the pup (who is know 18 months) and our older one (he is about 5) and the older one has always remembered from when he was a pup and our old original dog was alive.
 
Dry Rot said:
Buy yourself a water pistol and teach them the word "NO!".
Click to expand...

We use a water spray bottle - although we always ask for quiet first in a calm voice, and if he carries on he gets a squirt (the threat of a squirt is usually enough).

I also have a baby on the way (2 weeks to go!!) and I'm convinced the baby has already heard the dog bark a million times and never reacts at the moment, so I'm sure it will be fine.
 
Practice.

If the dogs know stay then when the door goes put them in their place- be it beds or whatever. Command them to stay there. Do not open the door until they stay where they are told and remain there. If they try to move correct them and put them back.

When the volunteer eventually gets let in then make sure they ignore the dogs. Don't make a fuss of them at all, don't even make eye contact. If they get out of their place correct them and put them back. When they eventually relax and stay where you put them them invite them to say hello.

They will soon learn that calm behaviour gets them what they want.

That's how I would tackle it anyway, works on mine anyway :-)
 
My dog to barks when someone she doesnt know comes in as she is doing her job, and I wouldnt have her any other way. Have never stopped this.
 
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