Haven’t read through all replies, just to the point where I think 3dog recommends giving treats to quell the barking. I have an Aussie who’s my husband’s dog, and it’s taken a while for us to bond.
His deal is the UPS, or heck, ANY diesel truck coming up the road. He’ll bark and run down the hallway, landing feet first about 2’ off the ground against the main door. Obviously undesirable behaviour since that door is partly GLASS. It’s taken about a year of consistent work, and coincidentally, I’m unemployed now so I’m home quite a bit, which helped the bonding. Here’s what I’ve done/ do:
I hear truck, dog hears truck. I tell dog “good boy”, with a reassuring pat on the head and let him bark once or twice. After 2 barks, I call him to the kitchen and use the “Wanna Goodie?” cue, or something similar. I continue to tell him/ thank him for letting me know the truck is here, but I walk out of the kitchen to another side of the house, praising all the way. The dog has a strong food drive, so it works. He gets the treat when I’m on the couch on the other side of the house. Dog will still sometimes persist, and grumble as he heads to back door – especially if the delivery is TO the back porch. Of course mayhem ensues when the delivery driver hits the doorbell. But honestly, praise him, thank him for doing his job, then distract. No beatings, no continued yelling, although I do have to get pretty loud initially to get his attention. I do this by calling his name repeatedly, and I touch him on his scapula and scratch his rough.
You have to get yourself to a place where you want to like this dog. I didn’t like DHs dog initially, though over the years I have learned to respect his immense intelligence and compassion toward other animals. Of course DH hung the moon, but when my last dog died, DHs’ wouldn’t leave my side for weeks, and even now sticks with me on the couch when DH goes to bed early. It’s kind of neat.
BTW, DHs reaction is to get physical with the dog. It makes me crazy and I’ve told him. I can see it’s a reflex thing and I’ve called him on it. He’s learning, but he comes from a long line of hicks who’ll take a disobedient dog out back and shoot it in the head for chasing cattle, instead of tying it up, or heaven forbid TRAINING it. He IS evolving though, because he sees the success I’m having with the problem children I bring in the house (children meaning critters, of course).
Best of luck.
