Barking when visitors come to the house

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Max2015
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Joined: 10 Jan 2017, 20:53
First Name: Christine

Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Max2015 »

Any help would be appreciated!
Max is 2 and when friends or family come round he gets so excited he won’t stop barking. We have tried putting him in another room and saying ‘quiet’ then reward when he is. He then just starts again and if our visitor/s goes into the room he jumps up barking at them which we don’t want him to do. I have tried bringing him in on a lead which helped a bit but just trying to work out the easiest way all round. He is so calm and well behaved until this happens. Any suggestions would be welcome
Oscar 12345
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Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Good luck with this one Christine. I failed miserably with Oscar. I just used to tell people to ignore him and after what seemed like a couple of minutes sure enough he would be all barked out but then would start again when people got up to leave. I tried lots of things - with Oscar it wasn't excitement it was defensive and he kept his distance which was a positive. One thing I couldn't do with Oscar because he had a sensitive tummy was give him a chew like an Everest Chew or antler that he wouldn't want to put down and therefore would stop him barking so it would be a case of bringing out the treats that can't be eaten straight away and are really high value to him. I did this with Otto and an Everest Chew when some friends came round and he spent 30 minutes with it in his mouth thinking about where to hide it so it was lovely and quiet and he was highly entertaining too.
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jacdales
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Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by jacdales »

Hamish is just like Oscar and I cannot change him he will ignore treats, I have had a little success showing him the toothpaste which he hates so hides in his bed. but I'd rather her was more tolerant of invited guests. Ignoring him is by far the best no eye contact or offer of hand to sniff, He will come round if left to his own devices and will accept the visitor in the room even go up and sniff them provided they doesn't move. It took a year and 3 nips before he would accept R my now husband. It was a test he had to really like me to run the Hamish Gauntlet lol.
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Schnauzer Sam
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Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Hi Christine,

Rosie isn't a very hospitable schnauzer either but things are improving. She used to bark at everything that came to our house but now she accepts the mother and father in-law =)) .

We keep a bowl of treats beside the door and ask our visitors to offer them to Rosie in as neutral a way as possible and we think this is helping.

She's actually a really affectionate dog but I'm sure that some visitors would have a very different view!

Good luck with Max
Country Girl at Heart (Molly) 8 April 2003 - 22 December 2018

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Max2015
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Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Max2015 »

Thanks for all your comments-I think its worse because we don’t get many visitors so he’s not used to it. It’s just finding a way to get it through to him that he really doesn’t have to bark when they come (easier if it was a child and we could tell him)
Hopefully we will find a way-was thinking of pet corrector spray but don’t want to scare him as such-anyone been lucky with this method?
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Schnauzer Sam
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Location: Guernsey

Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Hi Christine, I must confess that I'm not a fan of deterrent training rather than reward training. I believe it's better for the dog to behave to please rather than from fear but I know people who have used water pistols to stop their dogs from barking.

You could try an approach I used with Rosie as a younger puppy when she was like a crocodile. Rather than immediately trying to stop her from biting I played rough with her for a while so she could identify the behaviour I was trying to modify.

My previous mini was also a barker when people came to the house. We actively encouraged her to be noisy when we said "quiet". I then introduced the phrase "that'll do" when I wanted her to be quiet.

With Rosie I'm trying something different (largely because Guernsey property prices mean I leave in a terrace and I don't want to annoy my neighbours by encouraging Rosie to bark) which is why I'm using the bowl of treats by the door. I'm happy that she barks to alert me to someone being at the door but I then want her to accept that that's the end of her job!

Good luck
Country Girl at Heart (Molly) 8 April 2003 - 22 December 2018

You're never alone when you own a schnauzer

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Robin black mini
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Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Robin black mini »

The breed standard for minis states"
"Temperament...l
Alert and spirited, yet obedient to command. He is friendly, intelligent and willing to please. He should never be overaggressive or timid."

One reason I bought my mini was to have a "mini alert dog",as we live in a large house and I feel she adds to my eyes and ears here.

So for me,I'm pleased when the doorbell rings and my dogs kick off..they do bark when people come in,and we say "well done" as they have done their job....Then I say " enough" and mine usually settle back to being quiet.At this point the poodle greets,but the schnauzer is still reserved....she takes a little longer,but will usually gravitate to one visitor during the visit.
My visitors are asked wait for the dogs come to them and meanwhile ,ignore them...and within a few minutes both dogs are greeting the visitors...

We live in a fairly isolated place,a country village, and I count on the dogs to alert me if I'm on a different floor( house is 4 floors) to any strangers ..
But I don't let them bark unnecessarily...it all comes down to verbal praise for me...I cannot be rushing for treats to stop them barking...they are praised for doing their Job,then told to be quiet ( I say enough) and they are very good at understanding they have done well.
If I shut the dogs away when people come,they learn nothing and their frustration builds..,their training comes from you,so they will look to you for direction.
I talk to my dogs a lot..they understand everything ...if you stay calm but firm,this transmits to the dog.

One strong memory I have when I went to visit my dogs breeder for the first time was to be rushed by twelve minis screaming their heads off...breeder appeared and said " QUIET" in a firm voice,and not one dog barked again...I was impressed.He smiled and said you just have to tell them what you want....and it's true.if you talk to you dog,tell them when they do well and vice versa.
So many times I'm on a walk and see a dog doing daft things eg ( beagle dragging owner into a drain ditch last week for example) ...distraught owner was silently dragging desparately on dogs lead..she implored me"what should I do? " ..I said" tell him what you want.." And it worked.
Max2015
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Joined: 10 Jan 2017, 20:53
First Name: Christine

Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Max2015 »

Thank you all for your comments and advice-some really good points to read here. I will definitely try what has been suggested-thanks for taking the tone to share your experiences
Clown9644

Re: Barking when visitors come to the house

Post by Clown9644 »

I read where one person trained through reward incentive that when the door bell rings their dog goes to their crate and lies down. This would be a replacement response as I recall. You would of course have to have a means of ringing the bell and then taking your mini to their crate and rewarding them. It is just another conditioned response and I am sure it is a teachable response with patience. Personally I feel that barking at something out of the ordinary is what my dog's job is. I want to know if a meter reader is in my yard, someone is walking up the drive or even ringing the bell. It is, by the way, one of the characteristics of a Schnauzer to bark as they were bred to do that in case they are in a hole getting a critter and got stuck so the owner would know where to dig. Really hard to stop something that a few thousand breeding's put into a dog.
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