Trifecta Of Troubles Part 3 "You Have A visitor, Mr Puppy."

The third cornerstone of the Trifecta of Troubles at the door is greeting guests politely. You might ask how can this be addressed when no one has come knocking for a month? Well, when you first brought Buster home as an eight week old pup or adopted your “foster” dog, Bongo, who had never spent a minute inside a house, the ring of a door bell or a door knock had no significance for either dog. This would have been an ideal opportunity to make the doorbell or knock a signal to come to you, like a hearing dog, or to go to a bed or crate, or to Sit. But over time, the knock or ring announces, “You have a visitor, Mr Puppy,” who assumes any guests arrive to play with and admire moi. Behind door #1 is an excitable human, revving up and rewarding all sorts of misbehavior- jumping, barking, nipping. Or perhaps the caller is a scary apparition to bark at and run from or a trespasser to frighten off. Now is the perfect time to redefine the meaning of doorbells and doorknocks. (Also, make sure there is no visual stimulus with Buster shrilling an alarm from a sentry post at a window- block visuals.). If the initial reaction and race to the door can be avoided, Buster will not be at a high arousal level when the door is opened to a future guest. To begin, put Buster on leash at the door. Praise be, both to you and to Buster at his solid Sit as the door opens. Your practice from Part 1 has paid dividends! Ring the bell and/or knock when out on the porch. Have Buster Sit and reward him. Repeat. Repeat until there is no reaction to the bell or knock. You are breaking his pattern of behavior you do not want and are establishing a pattern of what you do want. Before long, barking at a closed door from the outside porch is not all that exciting. So, now, let’s go inside. You can start with the door open and Buster on leash. Have someone ring the bell or knock. Tell Buster to Sit and he gets rewarded. If you live alone, record and play back the sounds of the bell or knock on your phone. Repeat the Sit and reward at the signals. When you get little or no reaction to the sounds, begin work with a closed door. Continue with the Sit at the sound of bell or ring as you work in different areas about the house. Periodically, take him to the door and open it- there is nobody there, as an accomplice has knocked or rang the bell and vanished, as you instructed. The sounds no longer trigger a reflexive dash to the door. Buster’s new strategy is to Sit patiently for a treat at the doorbell or knock. This is the foundation you need to begin work with family members “arriving” at the door and ringing or knocking. 

An alternative to having Buster Sit, is to teach him to trot away from the door at a ring and/or a knock. Send him to a bed, a crate or to jump onto a designated chair or bench at the signals. When Buster is not too frenzied at the bell or knock, forgo the Sit and instead toss a savory bit on his destination as a family member knocks or rings the bell. Guide him to his spot, on leash, if need be. Repeat until his response to the sounds is automatic and enthusiastic from increasing distance. Later, after several sessions, send him to his place without an inducement on the bed and reward him after his arrival in place. Use a tether and chew toy to expedite his delight at going away from the door and remaining in his appointed spot. Once he is proficient at going to and chilling on his station at the signal of the ring and/or knock, lead him from his place to the door.  Have Buster Sit, as the door opens, and again, he discovers an empty porch. Switch training roles with other family members until Buster responds happily to all trainers in the family. 

 A third option is to replace the ring of the bell with something completely different. One family’s bell broke while working on this issue. They replaced it with a model that played music rather than a bell ringing. Their dog never figured it out and they didn’t have to bother with any of this training stuff. Don’t count on it being so easy with your clever Buster! Use a recording on your phone or an inexpensive wireless bell activated by an easily concealed remote button, that plays snippets of song or different chimes. From the get go, pair up the new sound with a Sit or by sending Buster to his place. Once Buster is solid with this response, continue practicing.  If you are handy, replace the original bell. Or, better yet, once Buster is on automatic pilot, reintroduce the original bell just prior to the newer sound. Faze the new sound out when he will reliably Sit or scamper to his place at the signal of the original bell. 

Once Buster is meticulous with his Sit or smartly heading to his place on cue, enlist a family member to ring the bell or knock. With Buster on leash, head towards the door and have him Sit, ten or more feet back from the door. We want him “below threshold” at the distraction of someone entering the door. The alternative is to accompany him at his bed, crate or perch. In either case, instruct your helper to enter and calmly walk about, ignoring Buster and then leave. Reward Buster for keeping his Sit or remaining in place. Repeat until it seems natural. In real life, family members may not ring or knock when entering home but here they mimic a future guest. Periodically have your clan helper approach Buster and treat him in his spot. Swap training roles with all interested house members. (Later, training can be adapted to send Buster to his place with a Go To Bed, Place, Kennel, etc.as a family member arrives home but does not ring or knock). Once Buster is proficient with all in the family, coming and going, ringing and knocking, he will be well positioned to politely make the acquaintance of real guests, pandemic permitting. At this point, with the nervous pup or the protective dog mentioned above, meet future guests outside the house at a comfortable distance. Know when every visitor is arriving, by text or phone, so Buster can be set up to show off his accomplishments and not backslide into old uncivilized customs. If you want Buster to bark to alert you to visitors, let him woof- one, two, three times, then instruct him, “Sit. Good fellow!  Thank you for informing me. Here’s a treat. I will take it from here.”  Our next crucial step, how to train those unruly humans at the door, will be left for another time. You have redefined the doorbell and doorknock- the sounds now announce, “Mr Puppy, you have a visitor…..Not!”

Now is the ideal time to dust off the project of training the darn dog that has been languishing in limbo. The Trifecta of Troubles can be daunting but don’t be surprised when Buster rises to the herculean challenges. Fifteen or twenty minutes of daily training will teach Buster what you expect of him at the door. The focus is to minimize or prevent future problems when ‘normal’ life returns. Give Buster a chance to show you how clever he really is. Who knows, maybe you will be possessed to read and reread The Dog Vinci Code by John Rogerson and Don’t Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor, replace Buster’s kibble with organic, gourmet, homemade meals, to translate Buster’s commands into French or, inspired by TreT (see youtube- TreT Parkhour Dog From The Ukraine), construct an indoor/backyard Parkhour course as an outlet for Buster’s pent up “zoomies.”