This is a long one…sorry!
Zeus responds very well to the Dog Whisperer type of training. We had a problem similar to yours where Zeus would sit on the back of the couch, look out the window like a big tough guy and bark at any individual who dare pass "his castle"! I read as much as I could on his sudden behavior change and dealt with what I thought the root of the problem was...his anxiety and fear as my first step. I had to remain very calm and try to view the barking as a cry for help and not an annoyance. Keeping my energy positive, not raising my voice, and being in control were all very important in order for Zeus to be able to feel like he didn't need to protect me or be so anxious.
Here is what worked for us:
~I sat with him at the window and when I would see him tense up or start to focus on someone outside I would make a quick "tsss" sound while I touched him on the side of the neck lightly with my finger to redirect his attention. In what I read they said that when you yell at dogs and use a lot of words they view you as unstable and become more anxious and fell unsafe...so it’s really important to say as few words as possible.
~At first my corrections would only break his stare briefly and then he would start to bark or growl again seconds later. I made sure to say "good boy" every time he didn't start barking again. Each time he made a peep I would correct him again. He finally decided that the window was not so fun anymore and it was time for a nap.
~A couple hours later we went back to the window and this time after I corrected him he would stay silent for a few minutes instead of seconds. At this point I added in a bit more positive reinforcement and started to really emphasis my happy emotions when I said "good boy"..."that’s a really good boy" etc...
~For a few days I kept the window shade closed when I wasn't home and there to correct him so that he couldn't undo our hard work. I also would leave the radio on a very low volume so that he would feel like somebody was home watching him. It might be effective if you put a low jazz station on the radio and positioned it somewhere by the door they are guarding…it may help to distract them when your not home.
~ It only took a few days to see a huge difference...I would say 80% less barking after 3 days but it took a couple weeks to totally break the habit.
Now we have no more barking and I can leave the shade up again. He still sits and looks out the window but he is calm, cool, and collected....unless of coarse the big bad UPS guy
comes up the driveway...he really dislikes him for some reason...but if he barks I just make the "tsss" or "eehh" sound and he stops immediately and doesn't make another peep.
I am in no way a trainer or behavior specialist…but I wanted to share what worked for us. Hope it helps and if you are interested I found both of Cesar Milan’s books very helpful in understanding Zeus better. I think there are even training DVD’s now too but I haven’t looked at any of those.
If I can be of any help feel free to PM me and we can either exchange phone numbers or talk though email…Good Luck…hope this helps.
~Cara
