One reason your puppy barks is from an instinct handed down to her from her grey wolf ancestors of 15,000 years ago. Wolves then (as now) lived in packs, and barking was a way of scaring off intruders and alerting the rest of the pack to a probable danger. Currently, you and your family are your puppy's "pack," and she engages in this sort of territorial barking whenever she senses a stranger nearing her pack's "den" (in this case, your home). Not surprisingly, it can be this incredibly habit within your puppy that makes her a good watch dog, so it's probably not some thing you want to quit completely. The dilemma arises when your puppy starts barking at the approaching letter carrier or family friend and does not quit.
When your puppy initial alerts you to someone at the door, you should let her know you might have received the warning with a warm pet and whatever verbal indication of approval the two of you might have worked out by this point (which is likely to be some variation on "good dog"). At that point, the barking must cease. If it does not, use a short command like "Stop" or "No a lot more," delivered firmly and strongly, but not angrily.
As with most training, you need to back up the command with positive reinforcement when your puppy obeys you. It could take a even though for your puppy to stop barking and exhibit the behavior you would like to reinforce with praise or a treat. But eventually, she will quit barking and as soon as she is silent for as briefly as a few seconds, pour on the reward.
But whilst all this is going on, the individual outside is waiting for someone to open the door, creating this type of training rather impractical to use on just any approaching stranger. One approach to get about that's to have a friend volunteer to play the stranger in a purposely planned training exercise. Have your designated stranger approach the home and ring the bell while you and your puppy wait inside. When your puppy starts to bark, thank her. If she keeps on barking, give her the command to "Stop!" and wait quietly until she does. When your puppy stops barking, give her praise along with a treat. Then move away from the door, have your "stranger" ring the bell, and start off the process over again.
By then end of various repeats, your puppy must be responding a lot more speedily to the "Stop!" command. Do this over numerous days, and your puppy need to understand to fall silent in just a couple of seconds. Your volunteer stranger will spend a good deal of the exercise standing outdoors, which is why you may want a especially patient friend to help you with this game. And you'll definitely want to do it in good weather!
When your puppy initial alerts you to someone at the door, you should let her know you might have received the warning with a warm pet and whatever verbal indication of approval the two of you might have worked out by this point (which is likely to be some variation on "good dog"). At that point, the barking must cease. If it does not, use a short command like "Stop" or "No a lot more," delivered firmly and strongly, but not angrily.
As with most training, you need to back up the command with positive reinforcement when your puppy obeys you. It could take a even though for your puppy to stop barking and exhibit the behavior you would like to reinforce with praise or a treat. But eventually, she will quit barking and as soon as she is silent for as briefly as a few seconds, pour on the reward.
But whilst all this is going on, the individual outside is waiting for someone to open the door, creating this type of training rather impractical to use on just any approaching stranger. One approach to get about that's to have a friend volunteer to play the stranger in a purposely planned training exercise. Have your designated stranger approach the home and ring the bell while you and your puppy wait inside. When your puppy starts to bark, thank her. If she keeps on barking, give her the command to "Stop!" and wait quietly until she does. When your puppy stops barking, give her praise along with a treat. Then move away from the door, have your "stranger" ring the bell, and start off the process over again.
By then end of various repeats, your puppy must be responding a lot more speedily to the "Stop!" command. Do this over numerous days, and your puppy need to understand to fall silent in just a couple of seconds. Your volunteer stranger will spend a good deal of the exercise standing outdoors, which is why you may want a especially patient friend to help you with this game. And you'll definitely want to do it in good weather!
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Pet Places provides resources on how you can choose which puppy to buy and how to take care of puppies.
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