Hi there, Monty's mum here with another little issue that perhaps you can help with.  Monty has developed a habit of barking if he hears a noise outside our house, it starts with a low growl and then develops into a proper bark.  So, if the people opposite are seeing friends off, if someone walks past our house talking, Monty has a go!  Is this normal?  How can I get him to be more selective? The funny thing is, we live in the country and sheep baa, cows moo, owls screech, and Monty ignores them!  Ideas please

100% normal. It's this trait that led people to use them as watchdogs in the first place. Monty can't tell whether the people are innocent or up to no good so he warns of them all. When you're with him you can say something like "Thank you Monty, that'll do now" to acknowledge his warning of possible intruders. You may have to keep him at the back of the house when you're out.

That's exactly what my Lab does, one long deep growl, and then barking as loud as she can to tell people, cats to go away. You should see her when the window cleaner comes. Once shes met them and knows they're ok to be around me, she's fine.
Emma + May

Ours is just the same - but if we tell her 'it's alright' she usually shuts up, reassured that if we're ok with strangers nearby, then it's ok for her.
She doesn't ever bark when someone comes to the door, never has - probably because we don't make a fuss. She will also leave the post if we say 'no' firmly enough. She's 6 months old now, and we hope she stays that way :)

When we had the miniature and the toy though, they were hard to quieten - they developed a sort of bark/howl in harmony - quite curdling! :D

When he was younger (about 5 months old if I recall rightly), Nips started to bark at pretty much everything that came past our house - tractors a real speciality. He also decided that, if we were outside and our neighbours came home and went up their own front path, they needed barking at too. They also needed to be reminded that they couldn't use their own back garden without him piping up.

Since I don't need or want a guard dog and Jack Russells are gobby enough anyway, I put a stop to the unrestrained barking by telling him to "Stow It" and saying "it's just a ........".

This phase didn't last long and now, at a year old, he seems to know exactly who is "known" to the household (including the postman) and, only if someone unknown actually comes to the door, will he bark once and then shut up. He doesn't give the time of day to tractors, combines and the like.

So unbothered is he by "known" people that when a friend (and his breeder) came round early yesterday morning to mow our lawns with a great huge petrol driven mower (there's a long and irrelevant explanation as to why!) he didn't even stir. Six months ago he'd have barked his head off!

My experience is that barking can be stopped provided you find an approach that seems to work and then apply it consistently. Good luck!

My bitch is very inclined to bark at absolutely everything (Border Collie) so I use the same 'That'll Do!' command that I use to bring any activity from playing ball to guarding the house, to an end...This command also brings her to my side and I will always investigate what she has been barking at and praise her when she returns to me.

My two are the same.  And as you I also investigate and ask them to stop - which they do

My westie barks at everything that passes and the postman and knocks at the door. I wish I had stopped it sooner when he first started barking - I thought it wasnt too bad then but now it is out of hand so If you can control it now then do it. Unfortunately my telling him to stop doesnt work. My trainer told me to keep a house line on him so he cannot run away when I am trying to stop him barking and if he doesnt stop put him in a boring place for a while,  in our case the utility room with a stairgate to block it off. When he starts barking I am to show him a treat under his nose and when he stops say "quiet" and then click the clcker and give him the treat, gradually increasing making him wait longer, and hence quieter for longer, before giving him the treat. Sounds easy! However I think the little B********* is now deliberately barking to get the treat!

Now, that's really quite strange, because Monty is a Scottie, it seems to me that this breed although small in stature, have got a great deal to say for themselves!:rolleyes:

It's terriers! The smaller they are, the more noise they tend to make! I thought Nips could be gobby until I met a Yorkie which could have put in a gold medal performance for Great Britain if yapping ever became an Olympic sport :rolleyes:

Definitely terriers!! I have a GSD & a terrier, it's always Tilly the terrier who does the guarding of the house & garden. Only trouble is terriers just don't seem to know when to stop! She knows I will tell her to be quiet, but she can't help it. She knows that Zak (GSD) only lets her eat any bits out of his bowl that he drops by accident. I watched her tonight eat all hers & then stand as close to him as she could & start barking. Very crafty because she knew he would look at me with that 'for god's sake shut her up' look in his eyes. At this point she dives into his bowl to eat the last few bits!! Terriers are extremely intelligent, but very naughty & defiant. That's what makes them little characters!