Adrienne is a certified dog trainer and former veterinarian assistant who
partners with some of the best veterinarians worldwide.
There steps you can take to try to reduce your dog’s barking at home.
Sereja Ris
Why Is My Dog Barking at Family and Friends?
Did you recently add a new dog to your home? Has it been barking at your
husband, daughter, or son? Did a new boyfriend or girlfriend move in and now
your dog is barking at them the moment they enter the house or the room your
dog is in? If so, rest assured that you are not alone. Countless dogs are
uncomfortable when new people enter their homes!
Even though dogs do not go through divorces or need to balance their
checkbooks at the end of the month, changes can still stress them out. Many
people assume that dogs that are barking at people who are walking into a room
or through a door are doing so because they want to be “in control” of who
comes into their perceived “territory.” However, behind what looks like a bold
dog engaging in territorial aggression is often a fearful dog who simply feels
unsafe.
Unfortunately, this misinterpretation often makes matters worse. Some people
may feel like they “must challenge the dog” by moving into its space and
waiting for it to back down. This approach only increases the dog’s fear and
may make it feel even more motivated to bark/lunge/growl more in the future
because this person has now proven to them that they are truly scary and
untrustworthy. Not to mention that cornering a fearful dog can result in
defensive biting!
When Comfort Zones Are Invaded
The truth is that dogs seek security and peace in the home just as humans do,
and there is nothing worse than not being able to relax because a particular
person makes dogs uncomfortable and nervous. These dogs may not get the
restful sleep they need and they may never really fully relax.
It doesn’t take long for dogs to learn to use their barking behaviors to let a
particular person know they are getting too close for comfort. Fearful dogs
will therefore often lunge, bark, growl, and show their teeth to signal that
they do not appreciate having their personal spaces invaded by a particular
person/persons.
For sake of comparison, let’s imagine for a moment that you are scared of
mice. Just the mere thought of seeing a mouse is terrifying to you, and if you
happen to see a mouse, you stomp your feet and make a hissing sound to send
the mouse away.
If this helps in sending the mouse away, most likely you’ll keep on doing the
stomping and hissing behavior because you don’t want mice near you! Soon, this
becomes your default behavior when you see a mouse approach. Did hissing and
stomping your feet though teach you to like mice more? Most likely not—you
probably still think mice are scary creatures, and you’ll probably keep doing
these behaviors to maintain distance from these critters.
Dogs who are fearful will often revert to their barking/lunging/growling
because it is highly reinforcing.
Simone Dalmeri
What Is Negative Reinforcement?
In the same way, dogs who are fearful often revert to their
barking/lunging/growling because it is highly reinforcing. For the science
junkies out there looking for an explanation, it’s a matter of negative
reinforcement. The behavior of barking/lunging/snarling is reinforced because
it makes the “bad person” that makes them feel uncomfortable or “unpleasant
situation” go away.
Now, of course, no bad feelings should be taken if your dog categorizes
someone as “bad.” It’s not that your dog really thinks this person is really
bad as we perceive it, it’s just that, likely, this person may have
inadvertently startled the dog at some time. This can happen in a number of
ways, from carrying large tools in the house to coughing loudly or sneezing to
simply having an appearance the dog feels intimidating (high stature, facial
hair, wearing hats or sunglasses, moving fast, loud footsteps, etc.).
Back to being terrified of mice, how would you feel if one day, upon seeing a
mouse, a 20-dollar bill magically fell from the sky? At first, you probably
would be surprised and may think it’s just a mere coincidence, but what if
this reliably happens every single time? Every time a mouse appears, a
20-dollar bill falls down. At this point, most likely mice are starting to
become appealing!
Classical Conditioning and Desensitization
At closer scrutiny, what has likely happened in this scenario? In this case,
mice, which had a history of eliciting a negative emotion, now have come to
elicit a positive emotion, for the simple fact that mice have started to
predict the money. In behavior terminology, we call this “classical
conditioning,” which along with desensitization, can be a very powerful
behavior modification tool.
Desensitization means in layman terms “to make less sensitive”. Back to the
fear of mice, would you feel better if you were immersed in a room full of
mice or if you were given time to get used to being around mice in a step-by-
step gradual approach? Most likely, the latter. Overcoming fear takes time and
requires baby steps meaning that we are exposed to less intense versions of
what we fear. If you are exposed to a too intense version of a fear-evoking
stimulus, there are high chances your fear will increase rather than diminish.
So with this in mind, with the help of a professional, you should work on
presenting less intense versions of your dog’s fear and create positive
associations with it. Next, let’s see an example of some work I did with a
client’s dog who barked every time her new boyfriend walked into the house.
Scroll to Continue
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Molly had a fear problem . . .
1 / 2
How I Helped Molly Conquer Her Fear Using Negative Reinforcement
When I met with my client, her dog, Molly, was shaking from fear on her
owner’s lap, yet according to the owner, she was actually doing well
considering that her boyfriend could not get anywhere near her without
triggering barking behaviors. I took notes about her triggers, and while we
were talking, her boyfriend happened to open the door after doing some
gardening. I heard Molly growl, and her owner remarked, “See? She is already
getting nervous, and he hasn’t even come into this room yet!”
Then, her boyfriend peeked through the room at distance to salute me, and
Molly jumped off the owner’s lap and started barking, barking, and barking. We
scheduled a day when her boyfriend was likely to be home so we could do a few
rehearsals and work on the problem.
We met on a quiet Saturday morning and I asked that her boyfriend stayed in
the yard until he was given directions. I had my phone ready to communicate
with him and provide him with detailed directions. In the meantime, I sat on
the couch with the owner while Molly was on the leash next to her. The owner
had a treat pouch full of high-value, bite-sized treats, and I told her to
keep several readily available in her hand.
I called the boyfriend who was in the yard, and I told him to just push the
door open a bit without coming through the door. As soon as Molly’s ears
tilted in direction of the sound, I told Sally to immediately feed her a
treat. We repeated this exercise several times until Molly came to understand
that the sound of the door opening was a predictor of a treat coming her way.
We knew this happened when, upon hearing the sound of the door, she looked at
Sally’s hand for a treat.
In the midst of these exercises, we only heard a few barks happen the first
couple of times. Afterward, Sally seemed to catch on quickly. In the next
series of trials, we only heard a muffled bark once.
We then progressed to having her boyfriend come through the door and walk a
few steps. We repeated the exercise, but this time, the owner was to feed her
treats upon hearing the steps, rather than the door opening. However, if
occasionally, the door opening was a bit louder than others, we still gave
treats for that and kept giving them when he walked in. Molly was getting a
hang of the game, looking for her treats every time she heard the footsteps.
We then decided to further increase the criteria and this time have the
boyfriend say something upon coming in and taking a few steps. Every time he
said something, Molly was given treats. We also gradually added fake coughs,
walking more heavily, carrying noisy tools, clapping hands, and more. Treats
were always given when these noises occurred. Molly was starting to understand
the game; indeed, every time she heard a less intense version of something
that in the past concerned her, she would search for her treat.
Molly that day was left with some homework. When she didn’t have time to work
on the issue and her husband had to come in and out often, Molly was to be
kept away from all the commotion. She could have kept her in the farthest room
or taken her out for walk. This is because if Molly was allowed too much
barking at the trigger, this rehearsal of the problem behavior would have
taken us several steps back. When then Sally and her boyfriend had free time,
she was to repeat the exercises, but without progressing any further until we
would meet again.
When we met again, Sally said she had seen a great improvement in Molly, she
did very well and only managed to make a muffled bark just once or twice. This
is somewhat expected at some time or another. So that day we worked on adding
sights. Molly seemed to have accustomed to most noises made from her boyfriend
coming in. Sally said she even practiced having her husband do push-ups in
another room (something that triggered barking) and fed her treats while he
did those and she did great.
So now we had her boyfriend walk in from the door, take a few steps, talk and
now move towards the room where we were sitting, just making a brief
appearance at a distance. Molly was fed tasty treats, every time he popped up
into the room. We even practiced a few “Peek-a-Boo games” too. Almost towards
the end of the session, her boyfriend was able to walk halfway into the room
without her barking. At one point though, when the boyfriend started coming
into the room we had an ‘oops moment”, her boyfriend dropped his phone and
when he bent down to grab it Molly started barking.
It’s OK, we are humans and we make mistakes sometimes. Molly’s barking though
told us that she wasn’t ready for this intensity level. So we practiced having
the boyfriend pretend to pick up something from a distance, but we further
split this into small segments to not overwhelm Molly. We told the boyfriend
to just bend down a bit and gave Molly a treat, then told him to bend halfway
and gave Molly a treat and then told him to bend all the way and gave Molly
2-3 treats at once. We ended this session with this positive ending so to
leave a happy impression in her mind.
I saw Molly for another 4 visits and meanwhile, Sally did “homework.” She was
instructed that if any time she saw Sally get uncomfortable giving signs of
stress (she was provided with a handout on signs of stress in dogs) she would
end the session on a positive note letting her boyfriend do something she
didn’t seem to mind and giving her 2-3 treats for that. She was then to make a
note of what exactly happened that made her uncomfortable. We would then work
on that and split the action in smaller components.
I knew my work was finally over when Sally’s boyfriend was able to able to
come into the room, talk, cough, pick up items and then even sit down next to
Sally. Every time the boyfriend was able to sit down next to Sally, the
boyfriend would give Molly a big reward consisting of an entire cookie or a
pig ear or small bully stick to chew on. Molly became more and more
comfortable around the boyfriend and we knew he gained her trust when one day
she even managed to walk onto his lap and fell asleep! Way to go Molly!
Why You Should Work With a Professional Behavior Consultant
If your dog is barking when somebody is walking into a room, see a
professional to help you out. Finding a professional who focuses on force-free
behavior modification techniques is important because a dog who is fearful
doesn’t need anymore more stress due to the addition of aversion-based tools
or methods.
The assistance of a professional is important for correct implementation of
behavior modification (going too fast in the process can create set-backs that
can even have a permanent impact if not remedied correctly) but also from a
safety perspective. Dogs who are fearful may bite if they are faced with too
intense versions of their fear. And this may even involve owners who the dog
appears to trust due to re-directed aggression when dogs are excessively
tense.
If your dog is reactive toward people walking into a room or into your home,
seek the assistance of a force-free professional to help you out.
This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It
is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription,
or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional.
Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a
veterinarian immediately.
Questions & Answers
Question: I have a 3 year old mix breed Heller/Jack Russel. For some
reason he barks at my wife when she enters or leaves a room. He will continue
to bark until she returns and sits down. He does not exhibit this behavior
with me. This guy is a bit neurotic, he barks at random items he feels do not
belong. He will bark at an item that has been in one place and moved somewhere
else. He is a loving dog but this is quite frustrating. Thoughts?
Answer: Sounds like a dog who has a hard time dealing with
novelties/changes. The same behavior modification described above can be tried
with the aid of a professional. Since this happens only when she enters or
leaves a room, then you have a predictable behavior that you can work on.
About the items, you can help him adjust to these changes by purposely
changing them slightly and tossing treats and praising him everytime there’s a
change, but don’t make the changes too overwhelming.
Question: How long did this process take for the dog to finally be able to
not be fearful?
Answer: The process took about 1 month of weekly behavior modification
sessions with the owners working diligently in between and continuing to work
with the dog. The owner reported a couple of setbacks over the course of the
following months, but these are quite normal in a dog who has been behaving
this way for a long time. One thing to precise is that a fearful dog is never
really fully cured: it is important to always manage the environment and do
some rehearsals of behavior modification every now and then to “maintain” the
progress.
© 2017 Adrienne Farricelli
Comments
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on August 25, 2020:
Hi Paula, if your little dog barks when anyone enters the home, and you want
to tackle it, he needs behavior modification.
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on August 25, 2020:
Deborah, Remedial socialization, making great things happen when people are
presented at a distance without making your dog go over threshold.
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on August 25, 2020:
Collete, the article explains why dogs may bark at people entering the room
and offers a detailed behavior modification plan on how I worked on such a
case. Please seek the assistance of a dog behavior professional using force-
free methods to help you out.
Paula tompkins on August 15, 2020:
Hi, my little dog barks when anyone comes into the house or even down the
stairs and into the same room as her, how can I stop her?
Deborah Foley on July 27, 2020:
I have an adopted 2 year old Chaion who’s absolutely adjusted to being around
the other 2 dogs and is very attached to me however, any time my roommate or
anyone walks into the room or stands up after sitting with me.
Alex was only with a foster mom for 2 weeks and was picked up as a stray so we
don’t know his history. He goes with me everywhere in the car and listens so
well.
How do I get Alex socialized with other people?
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on June 23, 2020:
Hi Julie,
She may need some time to adjust and learn to trust your husband more. Your
best bet is to enlist the help of a dog behavior consultant using force-free
behavior modification as the methods described in the article.
Julie on June 21, 2020:
Just got an 18 month female golden retriever. She has been here 3 days now.
She is adjusting very well except when my husband walks into the house. She
barks at him till I tell her it is ok. What can I do?
Giuliana on June 10, 2020:
My dog only barks at night when someone gets home. He is usually laying down
on the second or third floor of the house. He will start growling when he
hears the garage door and footsteps coming up the stairs. Even when he
recognizes the person, he will continue to growl and bark. This problem ends
up waking up everyone in the house. When someone gets home during the day,
however, he will not bark.
Jaline Gutay on June 06, 2020:
Hi! I have a 1 year old toy poodle that barks at anyone who enters my room. He
only does this when in the room but hes chill with them outside my room. This
has been going for a long time and I don’t know how to stop it.
Dannette Nix on May 16, 2020:
My one year old westie, Rose, is guarding all family members. If I am on the
couch and one of my teenagers walks in the room she will bark and show her
teeth warning them not to approach. If Rose is sitting near my son and I walk
in the room she will do the same for me. We have tried to approach with treats
or a favorite toy, but Rose is not distracted by these. In addition, when she
comes to sit near any of us and we try to pet her she will growl (not show
teeth) at the same time she is lifting her her paw or rolling on her side to
have her tummy rubbed. Her words are go away but her actions say please pet
me. We are so confused. Clearly there is some resource guarding issue, but she
guards all four of us from each other and anyone who comes over. It happens if
she on the couch, the bed, or when we have demoted her to the floor. She has
bitten once and I know she will again if we don’t figure out how to reverse
her behavior. We can not continue this way
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on December 17, 2019:
Rosa Milo, you are very welcome, happy holiday to you too! Good luck with dog,
feel free to post updates or other questions you may have.
Rosa Milo from Canada on December 16, 2019:
thank you again for your advice much appreciated and happy holidays to you and
your family
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on December 14, 2019:
You are very welcome. I think your vet may be suggesting seeing a DACVB
(board-certified veterinary behaviorist). If you Google exercise pen, you will
see a variety of examples of these enclosures. Sturdy ones cost more but are
worth it if your dog is highly motivated and tries to push through. There are
also dog gates that are tall and meant to contain dogs in one area.
ROSA MILO on December 13, 2019:
hello thank you for your advice. i spent 1000 dollars at the vet office to see
if he had any medical issues and he is healthy. i got him up to date with
vaccines and my vet wants me to go see a behaviorist therapist because my vet
is not certified or trained to do behavior therapy. What is an sturdy exercise
pen?? I mentioned it to my vet but my vet only speaks french and he does’t
understand what a sturdy exercise pen is he has no clue what you are talking
about. can you send me a link to tell me where i can purchase this sturdy
exercise pen.
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on December 11, 2019:
Rosa Milo, you are describing what sounds like a HIGHLY STRESSED dog who
spends most his time acting defensively. I am guessing that tossing the treats
is not working because he is so over threshold he won’t eat or he eats but is
quickly back to being reactive. More than a dog trainer, I think it would help
to see a veterinary behaviorist, so to rule out medical problems and see
whether meds can help calm him down and lower his threshold so that he can be
worked on more effectively. Muzzle training is certainly important for
liability and also to keep everybody safe when you are doing behavior
modification. Any chance that you can use a sturdy exercise pen in the bedroom
to prevent rehearsal of the running/barking behavior?
Rosa Milo from Canada on December 11, 2019:
I adopted a rescue dog 6 months ago he is half malteese half shitzhu. i
adopted him when he was 1yr 5 months. i am his 4th owner. 1st month i got him
he was fantastic loving to my husband 13yr and 17yr old daughter. its going on
5 months now he doesn’t stop barking at my guest when they come through the
door. when ever i take him for a walk if i talk to my neighbor or say hello to
someone on the street he barks and growls at them. whenever i have friends or
family over and they get out of the washroom he barks at them. if my guest try
to walk in my room or daughters room he growls at them and won’t stop barking
unless they leave the room. if he is lying down on my 13yr old bed with her
cuddled up and my husband or 17yr old walk in he will bark and growl he also
bit my daughter and husband. vice versa if he is in my oldest daughter room
the 13yr or my husband walks in the room he growls barks and and bites. what
is really strange is he never does this to me. i am also the one who feeds him
everyday and walks him everyday, i have a trainer and my trainer thinks he is
territorial towards me he wants no one to be next to me. my husband can not
kiss me he will bark bite him. my big issue is at night time he is not crate
trained and we have been trying for 6 months maxmium to crate train him he
will stay 10 minutes i throw treats on a daily basis in the crate to get him
used to his crate but he won’t stop barking he doesn’t want to stay the big
issue if i am watching tv at night time he is laying down on his bed next to
me on the floor. if my daughter or husband walks in the living room he will
run bark growl and bite them in the middle of the night if someone wakes up to
go to the washroom he will run bark growl and bite we have night lights
everywhere in the house so he can see our faces. (he won’t bite me) he once
bite my husband so bad we thought he needed stitches . the trainer says before
we get out of the room to keep calling his name and throw him treats. it is
not working. she also told us to roll play it every night before my girls walk
into the living room to text me and i am ready with treats so i can give it to
him he still keeps barking and growling but i have a leash on him and keep it
close to my side..if it doesn’t work out with me they will put him to sleep. i
don’t want to give up on him. my vet tells me to put him on a muzzle when i am
walking him or have guest over not to get a lawsuit. right now at night time
he sleeps on his bed on the floor next to me and i close my bedroom door. my
husband is sleeping next to me and the dog seems to be okay with this but the
minute my husband gets out of bed to go to the washroom and tries to walks
back into the room he will run growl and bark. . ohh one more thing he also
did obedience school but he is the only one in the class barking and growling
at all the other dogs. i don’t want to give up on him
Ann on November 04, 2019:
Great piece.
Have two eight month old pups from my boy and gal. So a pack of four.
Little ones hark at everyone incl my son when he and other visitors entered
the door. Even of my son opens the bedroom door.
The mama has started same too. Papa is quiet and tried to shut them up
Going to try the treats told my son to make friends with the pups sit and
cuddle them and off them treats.esp the younger one as he is clearly scared
and starts the barking.
They are well socialised from v small. So that’s not the issue.
I notice some sleeping across doorways blocking the route to my room so seems
a security issue for them. As only in the home.
I am hoping it will work. No trouble any other way just this barking with
visitors and ones they have known since birth.
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on February 04, 2019:
Flick, the whole article covers dogs barking when someone enters the room and
tips on how to stop it.
Collette Doyle on January 21, 2019:
Hi, I have a 5 month old miniature pinscher and he always barks, growls,
wimpers and jumps up at my son every time he enters the living room, not sure
if it aggressive behavoiur or if hes scared of my son. Why does he keep on
doing this and how can I stop my dog from doing this?
Adrienne Farricelli (author) on August 31, 2017:
Miss Cellany, you raise a good point. First off, give yourself a big pat for
the effort and good job done. Enlisting the help of a good dog trainer may be
a good starting point as many have other co-trainers or friends to work the
role of “strangers.” I have personally used a co-trainer or assistant or even
my husband many times to work as “stranger” for many cases as yours. Patricia
McConnell in the book “Cautious Canine” suggests to even practice with the
pizza delivery guy. I wouldn’t practice though with repair people or
construction workers as this may be too much for the dog due to the abrupt
movements and noises produced.
Miss Cellany on August 25, 2017:
Lovely step by step training guide – however what do you do when the dog is
comfortable with everyone it knows but is terrified of strangers as my dog is?
You can’t really use this technique as after a few repetitions the dog gets
used to the person doing the exercises and they are no longer a stranger (have
been working heavily on desensitization and socialization with strangers and
she gets used to new people quickly now – after a few treats and ignoring her
for the first few minutes she works up the courage to approach and sniff them
and will even usually let them stroke her, but any new person STILL gets the
barking, hackles up, threatening treatment).
Would you have a whole bunch of different people the dog has never seen coming
and going one after another and give treats to the dog each time? I don’t know
this many people (that the dog doesn’t already know) so what do I do? – please
help!
Muhamed Mostafa on March 07, 2017:
Thanks so much wonderful theme
Heidi Thorne from Chicago Area on March 06, 2017:
I think one of the most important parts of this case study is patience and
persistence. People often expect pets to get the hang of environmental changes
right away. I just think of how long it takes me to get acclimated to a
change. Ack! Love the mouse analogy. Sums it all up. Thanks for another great
insight into our furry family!