I have a one-year old sheltie (Ranger) who has developed a serious barking problem over the past several months that is leading up to a crisis stage. A family member works nights and sleeps from noon till 8 pm. Unfortunately, when I get home from work at 5pm, Ranger will start to bark the minute I pull into the driveway. I have tried parking further down the street, tried to sneak up to the front door, but the minute he hears the key in the locks (we also have a deadbolt) he goes crazy. He runs a circle from the living room through the dining room into the kitchen and back to the living room, barking the entire time. Even when he hears me telling him to hush, to be quiet, he continues to bark. When I get inside, he will look straight at me and continue to bark and run.
This is equivelent to any of us who sleep nights being woken at 3 a.m. in the morning day after day after day. It is reaching a frustration point where I may be forced to give him up and I don't want to do that.
I have tried shock collars, citronella collars, lemon juice sprayed directly in his mouth, a flyswatter, putting my hand over his muzzle and firmly saying "no!" once I get inside, all to no avail. He doesn't even notice the various collars, and though he is scared of the flyswatter, it doesn't stop him from running and barking.
The local humane society suggested throwing a handful of dog treats past him to draw his attention away from the door when I come in but he's already at full running speed and doesn't even notice any treats.
We have a three year old black lab (Vader) who does not bark at all in these circumstances. They play together very well throughout the day, sometimes rough-housing with each other and sometimes just grooming each other both in the house and outside so he has an excellent camaraderie with Vader and there are plenty of chew toys and soft, cuddly toys. They sleep on mats on the floor in my bedroom at night. When outside in our fenced back yard, he will also start to bark randomly at nothing it seems. I've tried using the garden hose on him but he already knows to run for cover and hide amid the bushes and trees so it's difficult to reach him. Clearly, he knows the behavior is not acceptable.
He is friendly, loving and playful. He simply insists on barking when anyone comes into the house, even when it's someone who lives here and who he physically sees and recognizes. I've read all the previous messages on barking and am about ready to buy a super-soaper watergun for when I walk through the front door. I have tried having the family member who sleeps days put him into the kennel we have in the house when he is ready to go to sleep at noon, but he starts barking right away and doesn't stop at all then. There is no one else at home to help "throw a blanket" over him as I come through the door, so I don't know if it would help if I did it once I get inside, assuming I could catch him. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I've tried desensitizing him to knocking on the door, key turning in the locks, etc. by doing it repeatedly and he will look at me silently then like I'm the one who's crazy, but he seems to have no ability to link the sound and the message to be quiet then to when I actually come home.
Help!
