YOUR TURN #2 - Door Manners - You and A Sign

Ok, your dogs go crazy when someone pulls into your driveway or arrives at the door, and you want that to change. You want to be able to have someone over without having to yell louder than your dogs are barking, and without having to apologize seventeen times for your dog jumping up on, or knocking over, your guests. You are not wanting too much to want peace at the front door.

A good place to start is with a written or mental list of all that you truly want. You being clear about what you want will help you be clear in your communication with your dog. Dogs need jobs, and your dog being crazy about visitors has become his job. You've made it his job. Even if he decided it was his job first, your allowing him to keep the job, or not giving him another, solidified The Door as His Job, and he is ON it! Especially for hounds, hunters and herders, their genetics make them very sensitive to sights and sounds. Door guarding and "prey" or intruder identification are their strengths and ideal jobs. You can give any dog the satisfaction of performing these jobs without creating chaos and safety issues. Start with what you want.

I don't mind that Luna and Foster bark to let me know someone is arriving or even when someone is in the cul de sac. What I do mind is continual barking. Therefore, once they've barked to alert me, I signal to them Enough, and they need to stop. That is what I want. You may want something different or more. Most people want less barking, so that is what I will highlight this week, but still, you need to know what you want before you start to work with your dogs.

What I think is the next most important thing is to be aware of your attitude. You can call it mood, energy, emotional state, etc., but what I mean is that you need to be aware of yourself. Are you excited about someone coming over? Agitated about someone coming over? When your dogs begin barking do you become angry and feel rushed, irritable or embarrassed? Your dogs feel all of this too. They are aware of you, often before you are aware of yourself, so make an effort to be what you want your dogs to be - calm and well-behaved. If you have a plan of how you will act, and how you will direct your dogs, you may help yourself feel more calm about the door, and be much more likely to make your vision appear in reality!

The next step is to make a sign. Initially, this is hard for some people to do. I hear often, "A sign? Oh gosh. Now everyone will think I have a horrible dog..." I say, "Anyone who has come to, or passed by, your home has experienced your dogs barking. They're probably already judging you." It's true! People already know your dogs bark hysterically. When you put a sign on your door, you are showing you are aware and working to improve your dogs' behavior.

The message should inform visitors that you are working with your dogs, it might take you a minute to get to the door, and once you do, you want your visitors to ignore your dogs.

I recommend something like:

"Please be patient. Dogs in training. Please ignore them."

Cesar Millan recommends:

"No talk. No touch. No eye contact."

Compose your sign to say whatever you'd like, and make it visible to visitors at your front door. Prepare yourself and a sign and meet back here for the next post on the next steps. Your One Week To A Calm Door is happening.