Is your dog territorial?

by Anne-Marie Mayes

Many dogs have some level of exhibiting protectiveness or guarding of their home, even barking as people pass by. Specifically, many dogs have issues with people entering the door. I would like to discuss how to deal with your dog in order to reduce territorial behaviour at the door. The door is a very exciting and stressful place for the majority of dogs as this is where people come and go from the house.

People who do not live in the home come through the door to visit or drop off packages which may cause our dogs to be stressed whether they are socialized well or not.

There is a common scenario that occurs when most people have someone arrive at the door. There is a knock at the door or the doorbell rings. Dogs bark ,people yell, and then there is a rush to see who makes it first to the door. Dogs are still barking while we are holding them back while trying to hear or deal with the person at the door.

Really why do we do this to ourselves? Some people hope the next time will be better but without changing the situation, it won't suddenly improve. I am going to recommend a few different scenarios for to teach and work with your dog to answer the door with a little less noise and stress. 

The first step is to have a plan before the chaos of someone arriving at the door. You can put a sign on your door with a message like "Dogs in training, please be patient. It may take a minute or two for us to answer the door." This way you won't have to yell over the sounds of dogs barking or risk missing your package drop off. Next is to have a plan for answering the door while keeping the dogs contained. This could change depending on the situation. Here are a few example plans:

Plan A: Bring your dog to a safe location, such as outside through an alternate door, or into the bedroom with a kong. Then answer the door while the dogs are busy elsewhere.

Plan B: have to have a gate at the top of the stairs or another location so your dog cannot reach the door. There are many different types of gates these days for large or open concept spaces, and more stylish options than your typical baby gate if matching your decor is important. Both plan A and plan B are what we call Management Strategies. This is something you put into place (usually temporarily) to stop the unwanted behaviour.

The next two are the training plans, where you actively work with your dog to show them the behaviour you want instead. 

Plan C: if you know the person is coming over, have the harness and leash on your dog and treats in your pocket. When your dog hears the person arriving and starts to bark do a u-turn and reward the dog when they turn and walk with you. Then turn back around and move towards the door. If they bark again, turn and repeat. If your dog is familiar with this person, once your dog is calmer you can ask the person to offer a hand target or calm behaviour to greet. If not, move your dog out of the way and have your company enter the house and sit down before you bring your dog to greet the visitors. This way your dog will be less excited.

Plan D: Be outside with your dog on leash when your company arrives. Walk around the block with your dog and the visitors. This gives your dog the opportunity to be around them without being in the house. Reward your dog for being calm and not barking at the person. Once back at home, let the visitors enter first and then bring your dog in.

These are all just examples and may not be the right plan for you and your dog. Create your own plan, whether it is a combination of the plans above or something different, then start training.

There are way more options than barking, yelling and running towards the door that will make everyone in the house hold a little calmer