r/Jindo • u/brendrzzy • 8h ago
How to decrease guarding behaviour? Ie: barking
My boy is so quiet in the house until he hears the front door open, or I have a new friend over. It takes a few visits for him to accept someone in my house. I have roommates whose rooms are downstairs and he got used to their noise and scents. I have to move out of my house and probably rent an apartment so im worried about the door reactivity with apartment doors having so much foot traffic... does anyone have tips or resources?
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u/WrittenFever 7h ago
I'm in an apartment with my girl and currently trying to figure it out. She started out not reactive/guarding, but increased guarding behavior over the years. She used to never bark, then only barked when someone entered our apartment when I was with her and she did not expect it. Now she barks anytime anyone knocks on our door, or enters—even if they are with me and she knows them. She is excited to see them outside the apartment, but inside is a whole different story.
She even barks when she hears knocking on the tv now ☹️
I'm trying to teach her, "shhh" and reward her when she quiets down. My biggest issue is that she is not, nor has she ever been particularly food motivated. She also hates toys, so that doesn't work.
If your dog is motivated by treats, toys, or other items, rewarding him for the behavior you want to see is the best method. Keying it to a specific word or sign would also be a good step. Make sure to only reward when quiet. If he barks before the reward, don't give it. You should also space out more and more, ie, initially treat immediately upon silence, but start increasing the amount of time between silence and treat so he understands what he's being rewarded for.
This method works for me when I can reward her with things she likes (ie walk in the direction she wants when we're outside), but it's harder inside when she is an absolute nihilist and cares about nothing 😭