Hi Salli, I have two Chihuahuas, Poncho and Dolly. They bark so loud. Here's the deal.....I have a salon in my house which is very busy. People come and go all day. Dolly has been exposed to this since we brought her home, age 8wks. Poncho came into our home permanently a few months age. They hear clients pull up and park. The moment they hear the car door it begins. They run through the dog door to the gate barking the whole time. Barking the client all the way into the house. It's driving me and them crazy. They do stop once the client has acknowledged them once in the salon. How do I get them to stop on command? I like the warning part but the continuous barking
has to stop. Any ideas?

Thanks, Debra

Dear Debra,

My first suggestion would be to seal the dog door during the day when you know clients are coming. Basically what's happening is that because they are the only ones greeting people at the gate they feel the need to alert you until you are in control of the situation (once everyone is inside). You have unwittingly put the in the position of sentinels. A sentinel's job is to alert the one in charge that something is going on. They are simply doing the job you gave to them, and doing it rather well, I might add.

If you are worried about the housetraining issues with a temporarily sealed dog door, that's a whole other conversation. Dogs who use a dog door are, in my opinion, not really housetrained because they have never learned to hold it. If this is the case send me another e-mail and we can discuss it further.

Very best,
Salli