Dog Aggression at the Door

Dear Dogfather,
                      I have a 4 year old Shepherd mix named Zeus. He's a sweetheart, except at the door with guests. Even though I hold him back and tell him it's OK, he's scary. I need help. Thanks, Susan
   Dear Susan,   
                   There are 6 to 8 types of aggression, depending on who you ask and how you define. If you get to a house with a fence around it and there's a German Shepherd behind the fence you're unlikely to open the gate and walk in.  Territoriality. It's why every time you get to a house with a dog and ring the bell you know what you're going to hear next. It's one of the main reasons man and dog bonded thousands of years ago.                     Training a dog is letting the dog know you like the behavior or you don't, AS THE BEHAVIOR IS HAPPENING. Dogs primarily live in the moment, and they read two things. They read body language and voice intonation. (There's no domestic animal that reads the body language of a human better than a dog).                     So let me tell you about the INADVERTENT REWARDING OF UNWANTED BEHAVIOR. I had a client whose dog used to bark at her whenever she was on the phone, jealous of the phone time. So what do you think she did to stop the barking so she could have a peaceful phone conversation? You guessed it -- she tossed treats to him. It worked!! But from the dog's perspective, the dog had the lady trained. It's called extortion! "Gimme treats or I'm barkin and you ain't talkin!".                      Back to the door. If you had a three or four year old child who was frightened of the ghost at the door on Halloween, you could say "It's OK, it's just a little boy under a sheet." But Zeus doesn't speak that language.                        So the bell rings and Zeus does his job charging at the door and barking (territorial response is instinctive) and you hold him back while petting him (body language) and telling him soothingly "It OK" (voice intonation). You're actually rewarding his door behavior ---- inadvertently.                         In training I call it the door turmoil routine, the routine at the door to end the turmoil, and it's usually one of the later lessons because it requires redirecting territorial aggression, which can be difficult. How many times have to come to a house and rang the bell and heard the owner say, "I'll be right there, just let me put the dog away"?                        It's one of the later lessons because I need the dog to be pretty well trained in order for me to be successful with the door routine. I start with my imaginary friend Neil. From within the house I ring the bell or knock and then reward the dog for barking and warning me that somebody's entered our territory. The reward is praise. Then the dog is directed to a spot with a view of the door, told to lie down and stay. He usually gets a treat here. Next I open the door and invite my invisible guest, Neil, into the house. This is muscle memory training. I want success to build on success, and he's not ready for a real human at the door. I briefly talk to Neil and then release the dog who can come forth and sit politely.(He gets another treat here).                       When that's going well I have one of the owners ring the bell and we do the routine. When that's going well, I'm at the door and the owners are doing the routine. The homework I suggest is that, henceforth, no one, but no one enters the house unless the person who is home does the routine. Period. If you just try doing the routine for the intermittent guest it won't work.                          You might need professional help with this routine. Good luck.                                                             Tom