Why is my dog barking excessively at the door? How can I stop it?

Question

Last November a man broke into our apt. while we were supposed to be away. I heard the door open and assumed it was my fiancé. Draco started growling and barking uncontrollably. When I told Draco to stop the man realized I was home and left before I realized what was going on. Before this Draco had never barked at anyone coming to our apt. But now he barks at everyone. We have a gate up in our apt. so he can’t get to the door but he can see the door. How do we stop all this barking at the door? Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | neutered | 1 year and 5 months old | 5.5 lbs

Jessica Desrosiers · Accepted Answer

Poor Draco! He probably is barking more now because it worked to scare away the burglar and so he feels the need to protect you and the house. Barking can be hard to stop because often times the "reward" of someone going away easily reinforces the barking outside of your control, especially if it's a delivery or postman stopping by. You can work on it a few ways, by either having him greet people at the door by sitting nicely and accepting a treat (basically refocusing his behavior on sitting and waiting instead of barking), or by distracting him with something such as a Kong or chew toy when people come by to divert his attention. Working on commands such as quiet or even speak can help him associate barking with those as well instead of what's at the door. If the barking continues, talking with a local trainer is also a good idea as they will better be able to observe the behavior in person and provide a more tailored response.

Why is my dog barking excessively at the door? How can I stop it?

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