# Barking at other dogs at door?



## Zar (Sep 22, 2011)

Lucy is generally very well behaved - any issues we've encountered have been an easy fix, except this one.
Whenever I put a leash on another dog to take them outside, she jumps/barks at their face when they're at the door. Sometimes she just barks, other times she jumps up at their faces, though usually once I get onto her she stops the jumping. She'll sit at the door and do excited grumbly whines beside the other dog.
I have tried to put her in a sit, tell her "NO!" every time she barks/jumps, and not open the door until she stops, but it doesn't seem like it's worked much. She only does this when I am taking other dogs through the door. If I'm just walking out on my own without another dog she will sit patiently and quietly or back up and allow me to go out the door without her when I tell her "back".
The other dogs are unfazed by this, but it's still annoying.

Anyone dealt with this? Any idea how to make her stop?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I would take her away from the door altogether. Don't allow her to be there in the first place. Take her to another part of the house far away from the door. If you have a crate or kennel I would put her in there if she's been crate trained. Preventing her from doing this is the first step in modifying her behavior.


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## Zar (Sep 22, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> I would take her away from the door altogether. Don't allow her to be there in the first place. Take her to another part of the house far away from the door. If you have a crate or kennel I would put her in there if she's been crate trained. Preventing her from doing this is the first step in modifying her behavior.


A lot of the time I do lock her in my bedroom or something when I go to take the other dogs outside (especially at night, her barking when people are sleeping = not good), but it doesn't seem to make any difference the next time she's around them at the door. 
She has been crate trained and likes her crate very much.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Well, that is the first step. You have to do more than just that to break her of this habit that is now well ingrained. Its going to take a lot of work and behavior modification and there's still a chance that she just can never be at the door when you take your other dogs out. 

Is there any reason why she needs to be there at the door when you take the others out? Because I can just tell that her reactions are due to frustration and stress that you're taking the other dogs and not her. I'd say that the easiest and least amount of work to fix this is to just never allow her to be at the door when you take the others out. Being in her crate with an extra special treat or distraction would be the best bet IMO. Because it sounds like there is no reason to have her at the door....? 

Do you take her out separately?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

With I got my dog, everything excited him - he had been in a back yard for about two years with no human interaction so he pretty much went nuts over everything.

I decided to just wait him out. Once, we sat for three hours in the yard when I wanted him to calm down. It was a long, slow process. When i was at the point where he understood (and would mind) "down" that helped alot. 

I thought a few minutes would do it, but he was also smarter than me. He would act like he was calm, and as soon as i released him he would immediately revert. One thing i figured out was that nothing is immediate (at least for us). One day it took two hours, the next it took an hour and a half. Slow, slow process. i spent alot of time standing there reading a book.

At the door, we did the same thing. Going outside was a reason to spin, bark, froth, knock me down getting through. 

Today, i can leave any door or gate open and ask him to stay back and he will wait. But it literally took about a year to get there.


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## Zar (Sep 22, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> Well, that is the first step. You have to do more than just that to break her of this habit that is now well ingrained. Its going to take a lot of work and behavior modification and there's still a chance that she just can never be at the door when you take your other dogs out.
> 
> Is there any reason why she needs to be there at the door when you take the others out? Because I can just tell that her reactions are due to frustration and stress that you're taking the other dogs and not her. I'd say that the easiest and least amount of work to fix this is to just never allow her to be at the door when you take the others out. Being in her crate with an extra special treat or distraction would be the best bet IMO. Because it sounds like there is no reason to have her at the door....?
> 
> Do you take her out separately?


I take several of them on walks together, so at times it is necessary for them to be at the door together because I leash them all up in the house then head out the door. She continues the jumping/barking at them as we're walking out, no longer at the door, a bit too. Once we get walking for a minute or so she stops. Even when allowed out with them, she does it. So it does not seem like a frustration over them going out without her deal. 
She is also let out separately sometimes as well. No barking at the door then. She will occasionally do it as I'm walking the other dogs back into the house too.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I would work with her individually from this point on. Walk her alone and leash her up at the door alone. Once she has this down perfectly, add in another dog that you think will be the less arousing to her. Work two dogs together until she is still doing perfectly. Then work her with a different one but still just her and one other dog. Build it up gradually. I think it's all just too much excitement for her 

Another thing you can do is work the door manners when you're not actually going for any walks. Make meal time door work time. Working on settling and focus.


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