by Mary Green
Not only do we have the traditional doorbell, but we also now have electronic doorbells such as Ring. In my household, just hearing the alert tone for the Ring camera can set my dogs off on a barkfest. I find this behavior very irritating.
From the dog’s perspective, every time the doorbell rings and we don’t answer it, the dog thinks he has successfully chased off a potential intruder. Also from the dog’s perspective, when we answer the door, maybe it’s the food delivery driver or a friend coming over to visit, and the dog is excited about either scenario. So barking and carrying on become a bad habit.
Curbing Barkers and Bolters
Here are a few strategies for controlling barkers and bolters.
Teach your pup to grab a toy when the doorbell rings. Choose a favorite toy and give it a name (Monkey, Bear, Squishy — your choice). Start by holding the toy, then toss it, and tell your pup, “Go get Monkey.” This is a fun game to play with your pup.
You can teach the names of multiple toys and discriminate between them. (Check out Chaser, the Border collie with the largest tested memory of any nonhuman animal. Chaser could identify and retrieve 1,022 toys by name.) Once your pup can find a toy by name and bring it to you, use this method whenever the doorbell rings. It’s hard to bark with a stuffie in your mouth.
Keep a leash near your door at all times so that if someone comes to the door, you can quickly leash your dog. It’s terrifying to think that your pup could bolt out the door and be struck by a car or that he could run away from home because you opened the door. Make it a habit to NEVER open the door without a leash on your dog. Bolting is an impulsive behavior that most dogs will do on occasion or as a matter of routine.
Get creative and train your dog to use an alternative behavior. Dogs are impulsive, but they can choose a good option if they know what you want them to do.
Teach “Go to your mat.” At K9 Manners, this is one of our foundation behaviors, useful for so many situations. In the doorway situation, the mat can be a doormat.
Teach the dog that the doorbell sound is a cue to go to a predetermined spot. For example, if you have stairs near the door, teach the dog to wait on the stairs while the door is opened.
If there is a difference in flooring between the entryway and a hallway or adjacent room, let that demarcation be the cue for the dog to “Get back.” You can train him to “Get back and stay back.”
Teach the dog that the doorbell means absolutely nothing. This tip is so much fun, but you need a helper. Pick a time when you and the pup are doing nothing special, and arrange for your helper to ring the doorbell. Sit in one spot and don’t get up, even if the dog is barking and going to the door. Have your helper ring the bell again a few minutes later. This time, go to the door and grab the leash that is hanging on the doorknob or nearby, leash the dog, and open the door. But your helper has disappeared! No one is there! What? Next, shut the door, take the leash off the dog, and go back to doing nothing.
This is something to practice a few times per week and to maintain periodically. If you don’t have a helper, use your Ring application or a doorbell tone on your phone to practice.
Additional Advice
Here are some management tips that can also help curb barking and bolting.
Confine the dog to a kennel or in another room with a closed door before you answer the doorbell.
Install baby gates or some type of barrier gate at all doorways. However, this isn’t always possible at an exterior door and could be dangerous for people who need to exit quickly in case of emergency.
If you have friends or family who just pop in, ask them to call or text before they arrive so you can prepare.
Have a dog snack jar or a Ziploc bag of treats handy on the outside of the door so that when people come in, they can bring treats for your pup. He will figure out that is more to his advantage than bolting through the door would be.
If you rely on your storm door, be 100 percent certain that it latches completely. I can cite so many examples in which the dog was sitting looking out the front storm door, saw something interesting, and bolted out easily because the latch didn’t hold.
The doorbell is a predictor of great opportunities for dogs to get excited and possibly bolt. If the doorbell loses its meaning, the bolting behavior can lessen considerably.
Mary Green is a Certified Professional
Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA), Certified Dog Behavior Counselor (CDBC), and Certified Nose
Work Instructor (CNWI) at K9 Manners
& More in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
