First off, I want to say that I am still in the beginning stages of trying to re-train my unneutered Mal. I had previously posted about some concerns, and decided it would be best to take some time off, strengthen our bond with play and tug and totally not use the e-collar until I learn more about it. It has been going well. I've been keeping him out in his 10x10 dog run most of the day, with visits from me to play tug, soccer, and go for runs.

I have also been bringing him into the house for 1-2 hour periods during the night when we are hanging out. He has a blanket, so I tell him "place," and he won't leave it until I release him. That has also been going great. He understands it very well and really doesn't test it at all.

The Problem:

1. He anxious barks if someone comes in/knocks on door
2. If I try to correct him, he SCREAMS bloody murder and bares his teeth at me

He barks frantically if someone knocks on the door. They come inside. He keeps barking frantically. I understand this is a guarding breed, and I don't mind a few barks, but it needs to end at some point.

Well today I had told him "enough." He stopped for a brief moment, and then continued along with his barking. I then went to administer a correction, which (for barking) happens to be to grab his snout and give a firm "quiet."
----I had previously been using prong corrections, but he would start screaming as he was corrected. Mind you, this was not a very hard correction. It was embarrassing to have a guest standing at the door and the dog was screaming his head of right there, so I resorted to grabbing his snout to muffle the screaming.---
Well, he then growled at me, and bared his teeth! He has NEVER done this before, ever. I was totally stumped.

I do not know the proper way to deal with this. I don't feel he is a dominant dog, or agressive in any way. Could I be scaring him? I mean, is this an okay way to get the dog to stop screaming and barking, or should I be trying a different method?

I had previously been training him that knocks-on-the-door + quiet = treats, but he knows when it's us training and when it is a real life guest, and he doesn't much care for the treats when he is barking at a real guest.

I'm sorry I keep posting problems lately, he is my first Mally (tougher breed) and he is coming right into his prime testing age. I want to nip problems in the butt before they get out of hand.

Also, if anyone knows anything about, or has experience with a screaming dog, I would appreciate any advice you're willing to solicit! He mostly just does it when he is in a really high drive state and is anxious (like jumps up out of a down stay b/c someone is walking up to pet him and he knows it. If I give a leash pop, he screams and gives a little "show" to anyone in a mile radius) It is very obnoxious. I figured he would grow out of it... now it doesn't seem so...

Have you trained (or started to train) a behavior that you do want when the doorbell rings?

Training what you DO want is so much easier and less stressful and clearer than constant "NOs."

"NO" for me is saved up for situations that I can't train or manage my way around.

Also, until you have a door behavior trained, do you have a crate?

That whole ruckus around the door when you don't have a reliable command yet -- it's not productive. The owner's frustration, the raised voices, the "let's all bark really loud" (natural reaction from the dog), the stress level .... nothing you want. Every time the doorbell rings and a loud anxious excited commotion ensues, the dog learns over and over that doorbell = all calmness out the window.

We do have a crate. I don't put him in it in the house, it stays in the garage. He knows to stay in his "place" (on his blanket) and even with the barking and commotion, he doesn't get off it. If I were to bring the crate it and use it in place of the blanket, he would still bark...and probably spin as well.

On practicing door knocks and bell rings, he does great. It is when a real guest comes over that is the problem, because he is anxious... he wants to run up to them and sniff them, and possibly solicit a pet, but I don't want him to greet that way so I don't allow it. If he can't do that, he resorts to the barking.

I would just remove him from the situation/not even put him in it in the first place, but again, he does great during practice sessions. Is there something in between a practice and a real life situation that I could do to make the adjustment easier?

How does he know they are practice sessions? Are you prepared ahead of time? Is he reading something from you?

If so, try setting it up so that even you don't know when it's gonna happen. Call the neighbor or a friend and ask them to come and knock on your door sometime in the next hour. You will be doing what you normally do... watching TV, reading, on computer.. whatever.

You could have the neighbor kids play "doorbell ditch" with you... ring the bell or knock and run away. That way, the ring or knock on the door doesn't mean that people are ALWAYS gonna be there...

Also, have you tried a bark collar? The correction is instant and does not come from you. One on a low setting works well for my Mals (they are really sensitive to corrections as well).

Good luck.

Also, marker training the wanted behavior would have built into the process "stop barking." You don't mark behavior you don't want.

That is, whatever the wanted behavior is, it would be marked and rewarded only when it was done without accompanying barking.

Doorbell behavior, if it was basically, say, "place," would (IMO) need a new command, new training, Square One. The gradual introduction and increasing of duration would be marked/rewarded only when it was done no-barking.

I wish I wrote what Connie wrote. I agree with her 100%.

Behaviors accompanied by adrenaline "rushes," whether from stimuli perceived to be positive or negative by the dog, seem to stick pretty quickly (and permanently, or are at least hard to reverse) for this breed, so keep that in mind.

Teach the behavior you want and then add the distractions gradually. Corrections might play a role in later stages, but then it is for disobedience of a known command/behavior.

The first time my ACD curled his lip and growled low at me, I took him by the collar and put him out the door. It was dark and cold out. Left him there 4 hours. No comment, GOODBYE. I was "stand-off-ish" for several days after that. He had to suck up and do right. It hardened my heart.

I understand that these hi drive dogs will do this, that it's part of who they are, but for me personally, my dog needs to understand that biting me is a line he must NEVER cross.

Another time on leash while herding when he was in super hi-drive
mode. Told him WAIT. He lunged ahead. Yanked the lead. He came right up the leash at me.Mouth open, teeth bared. He was PISSED. If I had tried to force him to back down there, he would have attacked me, no doubt. Our bond would have been destroyed. I removed him from his calves and put him in a dark box stall. I didn't even take the leash off. I did not yell, or say anything. I just put him in there. I left him there from 11 am until 9pm. Interestingly, he did not whine or bark. When I went to fetch him, he came to me in a submissive way.

He's been good for about 4 mos. I know it's there though, that "turn on you" side of him. Because I am a wimp, and I have seen some really scary bad dogs, it frightens me. To cope, I have learned to avoid confrontations when he is super wound up, and he has learned
that he looses contact with me if he directs aggression toward me.

Knowing that he can bite and get pissed, I try to avoid scenes that bring on that behavior, the same way I don't offer my alcoholic son a beer.
It's kind of a respect thing.

It's hard to be a leader 24/7. Some days I wish I had a hound instead.

 Quote: Betty Landercasp

It's hard to be a leader 24/7. Some days I wish I had a hound instead.

You nailed it there! It really sounds like you've done a great job in 'time out's Betty. I can only hope I have that much self control if I ever get in that situation with my guy. I'm only assuming I will as time passes. Turn off all emotion, and put the dog away.
Thanks for the inspiration! Great advice.

Watching Ed's engagement video brought me back to reality. Today when we went to get the cows, I got the cows, Pink hunted up 3 mice and a mole. I had to use Halloween candy to get the mole away from him...... so things aren't perfect by a long shot.