My dog loves to sit on the back of the couch and look out the window. He rarely barks, but if we have company or the FedEx guy walks up to the door, he goes balistic! It annoys us yes, but we're on the fence about disciplining him...since he's alerting us to strangers. Is it okay if he barks in this manner? He doesn't bark at any other time unless we're playing and he gets too excited lol.

Praise and treat as soon as he starts barking, to distract him and cut it off.

Barking is self-rewarding -- the more he barks the longer he will bark.

The purpose of the bark is to alert you -- once you're alerted he doesn't need to do it any more. Barking scares a lot of people, so you want to cut it off. But his job is to alert you to strangers, so you don't want to stop him altogether.

Barking is a dog's way of protecting his territory. I let my dog bark because that's what she was born to do. If the noise is too much, instead of scolding him, teach him the "be quiet" command and use it only sometimes.

That's totally fine! he's protecting his territory and his owners ( you ). So let the dog bark. :)

yup that is fine that just means they are just barking because they want to or because they are guarding their land.

Its perfectly normal.

yup

sounds like your dog is doing his job!! most people want their dogs to alert them to strangers or anyone approaching their home. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

the best way to control how much your dog barks is to first actually teach him to bark on command, when he barks you say, "good bark," or "good speak." eventually you will be able to say "speak," and he will bark for you. the next step is to teach him the command, "quiet." do this by waiting until he is barking then say, "good speak, now quiet." and as soon as he stops barking if even for a moment you say, "good quiet," and treat him. it is much quicker and easier to teach a dog first what they are doing, then the opposite... just saying "quiet" without him knowing the "speak" command takes longer and is confusing to the dog... they think you are correcting them for a behavior they think is their job, and they can get discouraged.

so, "speak," then "quiet" and your dog will be happy and obedient...

as with any training, start with treats and praise then gradually remove the treats to an occasional treat, but be sure to remember to praise your dog for the behaviors you want. i tend to spoil my dogs, but only when they behave... i call it "spoiled obedient" rather than "spoiled rotten."

owner, trainer and lover of dogs