How do I keep dogs from barking when DD is sleeping!?

[elektra]

It seems like the only time people ring my doorbell is when DD is napping. She is not a good napper and so I really try hard to have the optimal nap setup for her. I get livid when random people ring my doorbell because my dogs go crazy and wake DD.
Do I need to just train the dogs better? I have tried treats when people knock or ring, ( I still do it every single day in fact when the nanny arrives) but it doesn't work for me like it does on TV, and my dogs still bark and jump on people.
Any tricks anyone has to share?
Should I put something on the front door when she is sleeping, like some kind of sign?

[jillc]

I hear ya! It drives me nuts when people ring the doorbell during naptime.

I made a sign to hang on my door that says "Naptime is precious. Please knock."

HTH & good luck!
Jill

[bubbaray]

You don't. Seriously, I've tried. I even had my DH un-wire the doorbell. So now dumb dog (good dog, really) barks if someone even passes by on the sidewalk beyond our house.

I've been told that its best not to have "too quiet" an environment so that your children will learn to sleep through anything.... THat's my story and I'm stickin' to it. LOL.

[carolinamama]

If your dogs are anything like mine, you won't be able to really stop them from barking when your door bell rings. Mine has actually gotten better since ds1 was a baby....only because he's geriatric and his hearing is all but gone, not because we did anything. Sometimes when ds1 was a baby, I would lock him in our bedroom during naptime which worked if he was feeling lazy.

My first thought was to put out a sign on your doorbell or door about not ringing it. I remember getting so upset when something like that woke ds1 because he was such a bad sleeper anyway. Not to mention that it interrupted my only moment of sanity during the day! :)

[elektra]

I've been told that its best not to have "too quiet" an environment so that your children will learn to sleep through anything.... THat's my story and I'm stickin' to it. LOL.

LOL. Definitely not too quiet around here! And when it just happened 2 minutes ago, she did actually sleep through the barking. Might have been a first.
It just feels like such a circus every time with me running to the door, trying to shush the dog, while the person at the door sees a crazy person peeking out urging them to please go away. And the fact that my skinny dogs are all bark and no bite somehow irks me in this situation because I feel like if a dog is going to guard bark they should actually be able to follow through on it! Otherwise, just stay quiet! ;)

[Jo..]

I crate mine when the kids are napping (crate is far away from the bedrooms)...

If the kids are napping, the dogs have to take a nap too, LOL. I have a very yappy Pomeranian who has given me no alternative.

[Cam&Clay]

This has been a huge issue in my house. My doorbell is so obnoxious, and the barking dog makes it even more so. I put a sign on my doorbell that says, "Please do not ring doorbell." When people knock, the dog doesn't go as crazy and I usually have time to hush him before he manages to wake the baby.

Susan
DS1 age 10 years
DS2 age 1 year

[trales]

I hang a sign that says "Don't knock or ring, baby napping". The UPS and mail man leave packages outside, everyone else walks away.

[Snow mom]

LOL. Definitely not too quiet around here! And when it just happened 2 minutes ago, she did actually sleep through the barking. Might have been a first.
It just feels like such a circus every time with me running to the door, trying to shush the dog, while the person at the door sees a crazy person peeking out urging them to please go away. And the fact that my skinny dogs are all bark and no bite somehow irks me in this situation because I feel like if a dog is going to guard bark they should actually be able to follow through on it! Otherwise, just stay quiet! ;)


:hysterical: I think we are living the same life... except I have two dogs that can't back up their bark with anything. So far DD has done well sleeping with the dogs barking unless they are very close to her. We put our dogs in crates when the doorbell rings-- they would rush someone who comes through the door or worse yet rush out into the street. I've been thinking of training them to put themselves in their crates when the doorbell rings (like the sound would be their signal to go into their crates.) I'm sure it would take a bit of work but I think it would be a neat trick and would diffuse the barking situation. A bigger challenge around here is that we live in the middle of the city but our dogs think they own the whole block...

Good luck!


~Lisa

[ritacheetah]

On that same note, I wish I could figure out how to keep my CAT quiet after everyone is asleep. She is getting old and I think senile and as soon as the kids are asleep she starts screaming. And then again at 5:30 am and she is loud. Even if I get up to feed her she just starts screaming again after she eats! Argh!!

[BabyMine]

When my kids are napping our dog stays in our bedroom. We also disarm our doorbell.

[linsei]

I feel your pain...

That said, I've had minor success with talking our dog out of barking at the door, but it only works if I see the person coming before he hears them (which is rare). I guess it is kind of like de-escalating? He still might do the the throaty, closed mouth quiet bark, but it is quieter than the regular labrador-somebody's here just to see me and scratch my back and throw me frisbees and they brought me a steak-bark (or so you would think).

[kimberley-k]

Have you considered a bark collar? We have one that sprays citronella in the dog's face when she barks. It is unpleasant but not painful or cruel. Unfortunately ours stopped working awhile back and replacing the batteries didn't help. I'm not sure if the can of citronella is empty or if the thing just died, but I need to figure it out before this dog wakes up my baby one more time! She barks not only at the doorbell and knocking, but even if she hears someone come up to the porch - even if she can see through the window that it is just me watering the plants!

Good luck,

-Kim

[doberbrat]

somewhat depends on how 'barky' the dog is. on of my perm foster dogs is a barker. its part of the reason he was never placeable. if we walk across the floor he barks. a leaf outside, let alone the doorbell etc.

we have stupid chimes too so we disconnected them. we know people are on our doorstep before they ever touch the doorbell anyways.

we've done extensive training - its a part time gig for me so I do know what I'm doing. When dd goes to bed, I put a bark collar on until she's deeply asleep. doesnt keep him from barking, keeps him from barking for a lont time.

my other dogs will bark, but then quiet when told to so they're not as much an issue. I find that a couple of barks doenst wake dd - its the persistant barking and the ensuing frenzy w/everying running up and down the house etc that wakes her.

[vejemom]

I'm actually amazed at how much dog noise both of our girls can sleep through. Our Frenchie is an INSANE barker - a leaf falling in the next street over sets her off - so it isn't even just people coming to the door. She has a bark collar, which helps somewhat, but she appears to be getting somewhat immune to it as of late. Our mastiff is a very judicious barker - if he barks I get up and check it out because chances are something is amiss outside. But... if the doorbell rings his tail starts wagging, and the wagging tail of a 250 pound dog hitting the walls and floor sounds like a rifle shot going off.

I think the best thing is probably crate the dogs during naptime. Bark collars do help somewhat. (BTW- Kim, you need a citronella refill canister). If you have the time, you can train the dogs to go sit in a predetermined spot when the doorbell rings. Both of my dogs were door trained like this, but since the girls were born, I just haven't had the time to reinforce that training and we've lost it.

[Melaine]

This is the million dollar question! I often end up taking her in our bedroom and letting her sleep at the foot of our bed (and sometimes I might take a nap too). My dog cannot refrain from barking to save her life.