DOES YOUR DOG BARK AT THE SOUND OF A DOORBELL?     How many of you encounter this embarrassing problem.  Every time the doorbell rings, your dog rushes to the door and unloads a non-stop barrage of barking.  You then continue to open the door for your now timid guests, only to have your dog scratching the door and barking at the same time.  Your guests are now deathly afraid of what beast lurks on the other side the door.  Now you’re trying to hold your dog back,  welcome your friends in, while holding your 3 month old baby all at the same time while assuring your frightened guests that Fido doesn’t bite even though he keeps jumping on their legs and barking.  We use to encounter this problem every single time door bell rang.  A doorbell sound from the television would even set of our dog.  Although not very menacing looking, our Bichon Poodle mix, Muffin, can let out an annoyingly loud bark.   At some point, we decided it was time to take action and train her that it was not ok to bark at the sound of a doorbell or jump up on unassuming guests.  The first call to action was to stop her barking at the sound of a doorbell.  Many people make the mistake of trying to calm their dogs down when the doorbell rings and their dogs start barking.  They accomplish this by calmly telling their dog “Its Ok” in a soothing voice while stroking and petting them.  This somewhat mimics what a mother would do when attempting to calm a child.  Unfortunately, this behavior actually reinforces the action of barking at the sound of doorbell.  When you pet your dog and use a calm voice, you’re letting your dog know that it’s okay to bark, rather than NOT to bark.    The method we used to train our barking Muffin consisted of simply standing in front of her when the doorbell rang.  For training purposes, we had one person stand outside and ring the doorbell.  As soon as Muffin started barking, I stood between Muffin and the front door while facing Muffin.  Simply standing over her lets Muffin know that I am the dominant one rather than the subordinate figure kneeling beside and petting her.  Along with standing in front her, I also used a stern “NO” each time she attempted to bark.  We did this consistently about 10 times, and by the end, she had stopped barking completely whenever the doorbell rang.   As of now, Muffin still has some rare bouts where she will start barking when the doorbell rings.  However, one glance from me, and she knows immediately to stop.  All in all, training takes consistency and the proper method.  Knowing which method to use can mean the difference between improving your dog’s behavior or making it worse.  For any question on this article or to see more articles, please visit www.swankpets.com.