Alex Lopez, AKA The DogFather, is a professional dog trainer who owns and operates the DogFather Dog Institute. Learn more about him on his Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. 

Tips

Introduce and build success with the “place” command in separate training sessions. “Place” is going to be essential for this doorbell practice so make sure your dog has a strong foundation of knowing where their Place is and the expectations of that command. 

Use high-value rewards like Sundays Food for Dogs to capture the moment your dog has settled. 

Practice this game with the leash on if you need to guide your dog to their Place. 

It's best to practice in small sessions that last 5-10 minutes and you can work in multiple little sessions throughout your day. 

Steps

Before you begin, the goal of this exercise is to create the scenario that causes your dog to bark. For example, if someone is knocking on the door, rings the doorbell, or the mail is dropped off. We are recreating these scenarios but in a controlled training setting. This allows our dog to learn what to do when those triggers are present.

Begin with setting your dog’s cot or bed in an area you would want them to go if guests were coming over, away from the front door. This can be somewhere nearby like the living room or even a bedroom. This will help your dog find space from the trigger and it will allow guests to enter more comfortably. 

Start by having your dog on the leash and knocking on various surfaces around your home. You can try with a table or wall in your dog’s sight or anything that may make it easiest for your dog to understand that you are doing this. I want to point out that it is OK for your dog to bark, but we do not want the barking to override their listening. Allow your dog to bark until they naturally start to settle then ask them to “Place.” If they continue barking and do not move towards their Place make sure to guide them with the leash and rewards to finish the command. *Remember to repeat the hand signal for Place rather than the command word* If your dog attempts to break the Place by stepping off, this is when you would correct or readjust them. Once your dog has found their Place, repeat the knock and wait for the moment your dog is quiet to reward them and mark the moment with a “Yes.” (Repeat this at least 10-15 times before moving on as this part should feel too easy before continuing)

Next, you can expand to knocking somewhere your dog can not see, like around the corner or in another room. With every knock and bark ask your dog to “Place” and reward them on their Place during a moment of no barking. Repeat this game and build on success. Eventually, you can knock on the front door while you’re inside the house and then have a partner knock outside of the door for the exercise. 

Once your dog gets used to the knocking sound you can increase the challenge to the doorbell. Have a friend or partner ring your doorbell or you can use recorded doorbell sounds like we do in this video. 

With practice and lots of repetition, your dog will learn that this is the system you follow when someone arrives at the house. Practice this when you are NOT expecting guests, that way you and your dog know what to do when guests do arrive.