Since I'm deaf, I appreciate dogs who get rowdy and bark when someone comes to the door. The thing is, I want them to stop once I know the "why", otherwise a bigger commotion would ensue when the door was opened.
The solution was simple. Tell the dogs to "sit". Of course, then I had to learn to how make dogs sit, and wait for one minute. I had to practice sit and wait and release repeatedly, pushing out on waiting time. Finally I rehearsed for opening night by combining the doorbell, the rowdiness along with the sit/long wait, release.
After a few weeks we had unexpected company. Doorbell rings..., imagine a golden retriever and standard poodle going wild with glee.
"Sit!" They sat. They waited. We had company.
The moral of the story is, "If you want your dog to change, you have to participate."
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