Hi everyone, as the title says, my dog barks for hours at the door to be let back in.
Titi is 5 years old (the vet's estimate) and I adopted him 4 years ago.
We have a house with a large garden. He sleeps indoors at night.
So, the problem is that Titi can bark for hours at the door to be let in. We've tried everything: at the start, we used to let him in as soon as he barked too much – we know that was a mistake now – but we've been trying to fix it for years. A dog trainer advised us to ignore him, but he just keeps barking for hours. We've tried giving him toys to keep him busy outside, telling him off, taking him for really long walks, and calling him in when he isn't barking so he gets the idea, but nothing works.
As you can imagine, it's really stressful having this little Jack Russell barking non-stop for hours, so now we just give in and let him in... We have a second, older dog who doesn't do this; they play together and get on really well, so he isn't actually on his own out there.
What can I do to understand my dog and correct this behaviour?
Translated from French
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So, based on all the replies, it seems like there’s no issue with bringing the dog inside as soon as he starts barking. I guess my trainer didn’t have the right approach after all… Right, I’ll try to be more on the ball and bring him in at the very first bark! I just want to clarify that I was only following what my trainer told me, and I’d even emailed a really popular celebrity trainer who runs a big online programme—someone I thought was a real expert—who also told me that I should just ignore him in those situations. I just wanted to point out again that it wasn’t my own idea! Thanks everyone for all your advice.
Hi there,
I’m currently training my puppies (teaching them to nudge a bell hanging from the door handle with their nose to ask to go out). Once they’ve mastered that, we start training them to bark for the other way around—so they can ask to come back into the house—and also barking on command (to get them to quieten down or give them the okay). With Oxane, my Lab, I really had to do it, otherwise she’d have been forgotten outside too; it’s very handy in winter. Mind you, it’s not always easy because sometimes she takes advantage of the coming and going since my mum gave them little treats when they came back in... That habit was picked up in less than two days at my parents' house—my Lab’s tummy and their Golden soon figured it out!
Still, it’s better than ending up with a scratched door or shutter, or having to listen to them howling a serenade...
Hi Emma,
^^ I’m just like you, as soon as the weather's nice, the door or window stays open.
Hi there
"I adopted him 4 years ago."
"He sleeps indoors at night."
"At first we used to let him in."
He barked, you opened the door (rightly or wrongly, it doesn't matter, it's the routine you've established with your dog).
That's what he's used to and, in a way, what you've set up yourself.
A trainer comes along and tells you that you shouldn't open the door for the dog when he barks.
So, "my dog barks for hours at the door to be let in."
Well, that stands to reason.
What is it you actually want in the end? It's not very clear.
Are you going to start refusing him access to the inside?
Only opening up after one or two "woofs"?
How do you want him to signal that he wants to come in?
Ask yourself all these questions first.
My dog used to jump up at the patio doors when he wanted to come in. Not ideal.
Now, the deal is a little tap with his paw. And if I don't hear him, another tap. If still nothing, a "woof". Otherwise, he gives up and waits outside... only to try again a good while later.
I went from having a 97lb brute standing on two legs against my patio doors to a little paw tap, by asking him for a "sit" before letting him in, I believe, and using a "no jumping" command. Only then was he allowed to come in...
Mind you, I'll admit, in the summer we leave the door ajar. I'm sick of playing doorman for both the dog AND the cat. Everyone just comes and goes as they please.
My adult dogs let me know when they want to come in (Hiami gives one woof, Elastic does three 'woof woof woofs').
My one-year-old pup hasn't got a clue about barking to be let in. As a result, I left her outside one evening and only realised in the middle of the night that someone was missing from the dog room... I can't tell you how much she fussed over me after thinking she'd been abandoned at the door for hours. Anything could have happened; I felt so guilty.
Does he bark as soon as he’s outside with the door shut, or is it only after a long while?
Could it be that he just hasn’t understood why he’s being put out in the garden?
Does he know the "wait" command?
Is he getting enough exercise?
How long is he left on his own (with nobody else at home)?
A dog barking to come back in is perfectly normal, isn’t it? What’s the point in leaving a dog outside anyway?
My dog has been around my two-year-old godson since he was a tiny baby, and I can promise you he’s absolutely fine.
I actually think it’s quite handy when a dog lets you know they want to come in. Nika has never done that, so I always have to keep an eye out, otherwise she just sits there waiting by the door 🙁
I also reckon that if your dog understands they can come and go, they won’t be nearly as barky.
So basically, if you don't open the door the very second he wants, he just starts barking his head off, if I've understood correctly. He doesn't know how to wait quietly.
Perhaps you’ve been slow to let him in quite a few times when you weren't really around and he panicked? Or maybe you've let him in too often while he was actually barking?
If you don't find the root cause of the behaviour you’re unhappy with, I’m afraid you won’t get on top of it because you’ll likely keep making the same mistakes, which will always lead to the same result. Even if you do manage to get him to stay quiet, don’t forget that you (and your family) will then have to be very strict with your own behaviour, being as regular as clockwork for quite some time (bearing in mind that very few people manage that, and even fewer with their dog).
You should only open the door for him when he's quiet, but for that to work you have to be right on the ball, all the time (will you be able to do that?). If you eventually manage to make him understand, it also means he might end up waiting for hours in front of the door without you knowing he wants to come in, since he won't be alerting you anymore. Does that work for you?
Your trainer told you he was the boss, just for this specific problem? Or was it more for a combination of things?
Do you take him out for walks away from the garden every day?
I’m still living at my parents’ for another year or so, so I don’t want to lumber them with installing a cat flap; it’s something that’ll probably happen once I’ve got my own place.
It wasn’t a problem for me at first; I’d just let him in and enjoy his company. But when I contacted a dog trainer (just for some basic training), she came over, watched my dog, and so on – I’ll spare you the details – but she told me straight out that my dog shouldn’t be barking to be let back in. Her explanation was more or less that it shouldn’t be up to the dog to decide, but me. As far as she was concerned, if I let him in as soon as he barked, he was the one in charge. So, she told me I had to ignore him when he barked so he’d understand he can’t just come back inside whenever he fancies it.
It isn’t really a problem as such because he’s indoors most of the time, but the thing is, I’d just like to teach him to come back in when I call him rather than when he starts barking, if you see what I mean? Plus, I’m now looking after my one-year-old nephew who’s crawling and putting everything in his mouth, so for hygiene reasons, I’d like my dog to stay outside at least while the baby is over.
