Nonstop warning barking

[SMB]

3 dog household; pet door to fenced yard; a LOT of toys; oldest dog (9) starts barking at delivery trucks, mailman, etc from the second she hears them (the younger ones join in as it seems fun). The oldest does not stop barking until the "intruder" leaves -- this makes it very hard to talk to them, accept deliveries, etc. No commands work and dogs are out of my immediate reach. Any suggestions??? Tried pebbles in can, ultrasonic device, yelling.....

[KOPsBecks]

Hey,
Thanks for your post, sounds like you've tried a lot of different things first which is good. In this case I would suggest that you set your dog up in controlled scenarios to train her. I would suggest separating her from the other dogs and set up people to come and visit at set times. You should keep your barking dog in a small confined area on a lead so that you can control her. When you have set a time for someone to come around, be prepared, be there holding your dog's lead and as soon as she starts to even react badly to the visitor pull on the lead sharply and say "NO!". If she even hesitates for a minute and looks like she is listening then reward her with treats and praise. Keep doing this until you see a response. Unfortunately it is necessary to keep her apart from the other dogs for this training exercise as distractions make it very difficult to train dogs especially if they normally ignore your commands.

I would also suggest try going to obedience classes, these increase the strength of the bond between you and your dog and make them more inclined to listen to your commands.

Good luck with everything,

Becks