I think the noisy can thing might work (at least for a while), but IMHO, it's only half of the strategy. The other half is praise/reward. The second the barking dog gets quiet, praise heavily!!! "Good Dog, Quiet! Still quiet? "What a good puppy!" Still quiet? "You are so good! Let's go get a treat!"
If you wanted to work at it hard enough, you could teach that the doorbell is a cue to run to Mommy for a yummy treat.
Positive trainers say that instead of focusing on what the dog is doing that you DON'T want, figure out what you DO want instead. Then teach and reward that behavior. You could train "run to mommy for a treat" when the doorbell rings, or for the dog to "down" beside the door, or whatever you choose. |