How to Train Your Herding Dog to Stop Barking at Guests

In this Omaha dog training session we worked with Bear, a four-year-old Sheltie, who needed help with door manners and to stop barking at guests when they arrive and leave.

When I chatted with Bear’s guardians I learned that Bear liked to bark when greeting guests and when they were leaving the house. To help him with his door etiquette we used two different methods. Since Bear liked to bark at people when they would leave the home and then start spinning in circles I used a counterconditioning method where I gave him treats for staying calm while I walked towards the door. This helps him make a positive association between people leaving and his calm behavior.

To help Bear stop barking at guests when they arrive I used our Claiming the Door exercise. This exercise uses the method of setting invisible boundaries to keep Bear away from the front door. This will give guests plenty of room to walk into the home and help Bear start to relax when guests arrive as he stays farther away from the door.

As you can see in the video, Bear didn’t stop barking initially when going through this exercise. That is completely normal and okay. Over time and with plenty of practice Bear will eventually stop barking and learn how to relax when guests arrive.

By the end of the session Bear was no longer barking when guests arrived at the door and stopped barking when guests left the home. To keep up with this good behavior I want to remind the guardians to continue to use our Petting with a Purpose method to reward him for good behavior and use our Escalating Consequences to disagree with him. We wrapped up this this dog behavior session with Bear’s Roadmap to Success video, which you can watch below.