THE SAVVY TRAINER
The house is finally quiet. Dishes are washed and the kids are doing their homework. At last a moment to relax, then out of the blue, DING-DONG, the doorbell rings. Chaos ensues as the dog charges the door barking and jumping. You yell ‘Quiet!’ while trying to push him aside to clear a path to the door. Now the kids are up, the cats have run under the bed, and all sense of peace is gone.
There is something about the sound of a doorbell that makes dogs go crazy, but the type of crazy varies greatly. Protective breeds feel the need to warn all potential intruders to ‘go away or else,’ while social butterflies can’t wait to see who has come to play with them. Fearful dogs just want the visitor to leave so they won’t have to deal with the scary situation, and herding breeds feel the need to assess the intruder and put them in their place.
There are many potential solutions to the doorbell problem, but one of the easiest is to teach your dog that the sound of a doorbell is a cue to do something. A cue is anything that gives the dog information about what you want them to do. It can be a word, hand gesture, or sound. Teaching a dog that the ding-dong of the doorbell means ‘run to you and get a treat’ is a straightforward process.
Start by teaching Bubba that the sound of the doorbell predicts that a treat will follow.
1) Place him on a leash and have someone ring the doorbell. Immediately give him a treat. Do this exercise two times per day for about five minutes. You are creating a conditioned emotional response (CER), meaning the dog will experience a good emotion at the sound of the doorbell because it equals wonderful treats.
If you don’t have a helper, use a recorded doorbell sound. If your dog is overly sensitive, start working with a recorded sound played at a low volume and gradually increase the volume. You can download doorbell sounds at findsounds.com. Look for one that closely matches your own doorbell.
2) Next, work off leash and position yourself a short distance from him. Ring the doorbell. Now Bubba has to move towards you to get the treat.
3) Gradually increase the distance he has to move toward you for the treat. When he will move towards you from anywhere in the room, add a ‘sit’ cue before rewarding. This step ensures that Bubba will run up to you and automatically sit when he hears the doorbell.
4) The final step is to continue adding distance by working with him in a different room. He should learn to run and find you from anywhere in the house when he hears the doorbell.
The sound of the doorbell can create considerable anxiety in our canine friends. Teaching your dog that the doorbell results in big rewards eliminates a behavior that is very frustrating for you, scary for your visitor, and unhealthy for your dog. It’s a win-win!
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