i have a 7 month old akita, and a 6 year old sheep dog, both the softest of all dogs, they are so well tarined now in all aspects bar one, when people enter the house or pass the house, or even enter through the gate, they start to bark, in excitement, ive tried the turn your back on them the wait at the door till they relax, they relax, and as soon as the person enters bang barking again, water works on the akita but not on the sheepdog, and i feel if i get the sheepdog in order the akita will follow, as it is copying max the sheep dog.... any hints????? thanks

lots of things going on here it sounds lol!firstly,you need to own the space at and around the door,the dogs should be sat,and not allowed near the door space.secondly,you need to make sure no one pets the dogs when they enter the house until the dogs are calm,then they get fuss!....hope that helps x

they sit on top of the stairs (upside dwon house) someone will walk in they start barking on the stairs, they dont run down just sit on the top of the stairs.....

correct the barking,before opening the door,it may take time,keep getting someone to knock etc,this behavior is excitement,they need to be in a calm state,and be rewarded when theyre calm.

Have you taught your dogs to bark on command?

If you haven't, then practice teaching them to bark on queue, as they learn this then you can add the command "quiet".

So basically, try and get them to bark, by playing excitedly or whatever works for your dogs. Make an open close (like chatter sign) with your hand and say "speak". Do this until they can bark when you say "speak"

Once this has been achieved, get them to bark and then do a hand signal, you choose, it doesn't matter - aslong as it stays the same and say "quiet". Only say it once, maintain eye contact, as SOON as they are quiet "good boy" in a high pitch voice and treat (I can reccomend using liver cake, cheese, or chicken).

Once they can bark and be quiet on queue, enrol a friend to come and help. Get them to ring the doorbell, and you use your 'quiet' command, this will take a while but it's worth it. And begin to gently open the door, as soon as they start to make a noise, the door shuts "ah!" and then again "quiet" (with your hand signal of course). Continue to do this until you can open the door fully without your dogs barking.

It's very important to be consistent, the moment that you let a person in whilst your dog is barking then it'll make the work 10 times harder. You could even put a sign on the outside of your door (which I did) saying "Dog training in progress, sudden door shuts to be expected. Thank you for your patience".
You'll be amazed just how much patience a person will have (mainly postmen).

Let us know what you think of this method, and keep us updated.

will give this a go, he can bark on command but the quiet is not working as yet, but the treats i have not implemented i shall try this thank you xx

How have you been training them so far?

i agree as the sheepdog was scared of other dogs which is why we got an akita just need this barking under control, thanks for your input ill try anything right now xx

so far he sits on command and enters rooom on my command, he will speak when i say speak but havent done the hand signal, he doesnt go anywhere near the person he just barks... he sits down, at the moment im trying for guests to turn their backs on him seems to work whille their backs are turned but then they might start up again...... in all other aspects they are perfect.... protective of their house o guess x

thankyou albert this has been tried and works till the people come up the stairs we have waited 30min before now and still they will start again llol