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Post by sugar on Mar 31, 2014 13:55:23 GMT -5
So in or old apartment, the doorbell sounded like a bell (nice ding-ding noise). Chubby would *maybe* peek into the hallway to see but for the most part never really bothered too much. We moved two months ago to a forth-floor walk up and the downstairs buzzer (to get into the building) and the front door buzzer both sound awful (you know typical alarm clock noise of EEHH-EEHH-EEHH, very mechanical sounding). Now Chubby is a 99% quiet dog (unless you are eating something, then he 'talks' to you) but now when either buzzer goes off he is racing to the door and pacing and barking (very very loudly, not angry bark or snarly bark...just like a bark to make a loud noise). I can't get him to settle down. We had delivery yesterday and I put chubby on a leash tied in the bedroom (door has issue closing properly) so I could get the door. He was barking so much the delivery guy actually closed the door on himself until I had counted out my cash because he was afraid of the dog barking (he was afraid the dog would charge out at him). This noise is seriously freaking Chubby out. My parents have a doorbell he has never bothered with (more electronic musical notes sounding). I can't really disable the buzzers, but I don't know what do or how to teach him to relax at the sound of either buzzers (downstairs or front door). Other than the buzzer he is adjusting great to the new place, but this is getting worse.
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Post by sugar on Mar 31, 2014 13:55:54 GMT -5
ps: hope all my attempts at making the sound effects makes sense works
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Post by sugar on Apr 2, 2014 8:31:40 GMT -5
Anyone got ideas on how to help Chubby and his new doorbell problem? Thanks
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Post by maryellen on Apr 2, 2014 11:23:39 GMT -5
You could try clicker training, every time he hears thd buzzer he gets a treat , or maybe cat or bat training?
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Post by melonie on Apr 2, 2014 12:21:19 GMT -5
^ What she said. A long time ago I saw an episode of the show that Victoria Stillwell was/is on. In it the dog would go nuts anytime someone was at the door. She showed the owner a way to overcome this by not opening the door until the dog was quiet. I'm sure there was more to it, but I can't recall. Your situation is a bit different, but maybe this could work in with the clicker and bat?
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Post by sugar on Apr 2, 2014 15:05:00 GMT -5
what is cat and bat training?
I think its more the noise of the buzzer vs the person buzzing. I've opened the front door so he saw me (and he was relaxed chewing a Kong) and then I pressed the buzzer and he jumps up and barks while running to the OPEN door I'm standing in. He knows it was me there, it seems to be the noise is freaking him out (which is funny because his thunder-phobia has gotten so much better)
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Post by maryellen on Apr 2, 2014 17:11:13 GMT -5
Cat and bat is behavior training, i think Mary has them stickies here somewhere
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Post by megan on Apr 3, 2014 5:33:09 GMT -5
What about finding the noise online or on your phone and doing counter conditioning it with food, while separately teaching a "go to bed" cue... Eventually pair them together so the buzzing noise becomes the cue for the "go to bed" behavior?
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Post by RealPitBull on Apr 4, 2014 8:38:49 GMT -5
^ What Megan said - try finding a dupilcate noise and teaching him that the sound means "run to your bed and get a treat". If you can't find something similar, just try to do some counter conditioning by saving something he absolutely loves JUST for the doorbell. When it rings, make a big show of talking to him, running to get his treat and directing him to a certain spot in the apartment (his bed, a different room, the couch, etc).
It's hard because you have no control over the buzzer. The best you can do is try some counter conditioning. That MAY work really well and solve the problem. But you'll have to have the treat ready so that every time the buzzer goes off, it is a solid predictor of said treat. Keep us posted to see how he does and then if it doesn't work, we'll try to get creative and see what else we can do.
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Post by megan on Apr 4, 2014 11:56:26 GMT -5
I did a google search and the first link that popped up seems to have some buzzer noises, so I imagine you could easily find something that sounds like the noise you have. The last two here are buzzer type noises www.soundsnap.com/tags/door_buzzerAnd like Mary said, because the real buzzer is unpredictable it can be a bit challenging, so if you find a noise that sounds similar, doing it frequently and "randomly" will help with the ones you can't control. Now, that's random for him, but you know it's happening so you can countercondition! I'd keep a bag of treats handy in the fridge, I like bits of beef heart or something like that, cut them up and cook them in a pan and keep in the fridge/freezer for easy access when the actual buzzer goes off. Or if you have something that doesn't need refrigeration (like peanut butter in a squeeze tube!) you can have it closer to where you need it.
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Post by megan on Apr 4, 2014 11:57:20 GMT -5
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Post by sugar on Apr 4, 2014 13:19:02 GMT -5
great ideas!! I'm going to try and get some stuff together and get this started (can't listen to the buzzer noises at work, but I'll check later at home. Worse comes to worse I was planning to record it on my phone). Ok, feeling a little less overwhelmed! Thanks everybody
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