Behaviour consultation at your home
€ 150
IVA included, allow an hour and a half
You want to know what is really going on and what to do about it.
Request thisHome → What you are dealing with → Barking at the door and the gate
Barking at the door and the gate
Does this sound familiar?
- Your dog barks all day at everything that passes the gate
- The doorbell sets off such an outburst that you have to shut your dog away first
- Barking at night that keeps everyone awake
- Your dog jumps up at everyone who comes in
- The neighbours have said something about it
The message is ready. All you have to do is press send.
What is really going on
Barking at the gate is rewarded every single day. Somebody walks past, your dog barks, and that person carries on. So as far as your dog is concerned, it works. The territory has been defended and it succeeded. That repeats twenty times a day, and that is how it becomes a habit.
In this region almost every house sits behind a gate on a street where people walk past. That makes this the most common problem here, and at the same time the problem people wait longest with, because nobody dies of it.
At the door something else is going on. Excitement comes into it. Your dog sees you running to the door as well and concludes that something important is happening.
How we go about it
- First we take the view away where we can. A dog who cannot see the street does not have to react to it. That is not a solution, it is the calm you need in order to work.
- We teach your dog that you deal with the gate and the door. Alerting you is allowed, after that you take over. A dog who knows that you handle it does not have to carry on.
- We start by letting your dog hear the doorbell so quietly that they can stay lying down, with something nice at the moment it sounds. Only once that stays calm does the volume go up. A hundred repetitions of the bell at full volume makes it worse, not better.
- We build up a fixed spot your dog goes to when visitors arrive. Not as a punishment, as a job.
How long does it take? Calm in the house often within six weeks. Getting the gate out of the system altogether usually takes a few months, because that is behaviour rehearsed twenty times a day.
When it works, someone passes the gate and nothing happens. Your dog looks up and lies back down.
A hundred dogs, no two the same
100+dogs helped since 2020
In six years I have worked with well over a hundred dogs. Some of those cases produced assistance dogs, dogs who ended up doing work for their owner.
There are dogs I follow for months because a lot has to change, and families from the village who have me over three times and manage on their own after that.
The approach is the same in every case. Look at what is really happening, then teach the owner what they need to do differently.
Frequently asked questions
Does an anti-bark collar work?
That suppresses the sound and leaves the reason in place. You often see the behaviour come back somewhere else, and with an insecure dog it makes the tension worse.
Is my dog still allowed to warn?
Yes. A dog that lets you know someone is coming is useful. The problem is the carrying on after you have looked.
My dog only barks when I am not there.
Then it is probably not guarding but tension about being alone. Have a look at the page about separation anxiety.
What fits your situation?
Four questions. You will not get a price list back, you will get what I would do if you rang me now, and what the first step costs.
What makes it shorter
- It has not been going on for months
- You can practise ten minutes a day
- Everyone in the house does the same
- Your dog is young and nothing is stuck yet
What makes it longer
- It has been there for years
- There has already been a bite
- At home everyone does it slightly differently
- Your dog came off the street and the history is unknown
- Pain or illness plays a part
Why I do not quote a total price
I do not know how many appointments your dog needs before I have seen them. That depends on how long it has been going on, on what has already been tried, on who at home takes part, and on what your dog has been through.
Anybody who gives you a number up front is selling you a figure, not an approach. What I can do: tell you exactly what one appointment costs, and after that appointment tell you honestly what else is needed. Even if that means you do not need to buy anything more from me.
Travel costs per visit, from Jávea to you
This is how it is worked out. The starting point is the centre of Jávea. Of the total travel time there and back, the first hour is included in the fee. Anything beyond that costs € 75 per hour, pro rata per minute. For example: Valencia is an 80 minute drive, so 160 minutes there and back. Of that, 60 minutes are included in the fee, and the remaining 100 minutes come to € 125. That amount is fixed in advance, so you know it before I get in the car.
| Town | Driving time | Surcharge per visit |
|---|---|---|
| Dénia | 25 min | geen |
| Moraira and Teulada | 25 min | geen |
| Benitachell and Cumbre del Sol | 12 min | geen |
| Benissa | 25 min | geen |
| Gata de Gorgos | 12 min | geen |
| Pedreguer | 20 min | geen |
| Calpe | 35 min | € 12.50 |
| Oliva | 40 min | € 25.00 |
| Altea | 45 min | € 37.50 |
| Gandía | 50 min | € 50.00 |
| Benidorm | 55 min | € 62.50 |
| Alicante | 75 min | € 112.50 |
| Valencia | 80 min | € 125.00 |
Where you start
All rates
What the other way of working costs and when it fits is on the page about rates.
What it costsIs there more going on?
Not coming back when you call
Your dog never goes off lead any more, because you do not know if recall will work
Read →Dog from a shelter or off the street
Your dog does not dare go outside, or will not come inside
Read →The first weeks with a puppy
Your pup bites hands, trouser legs and anything that moves
Read →Adolescence, it was going well at first
Your dog was well behaved and for the past month has listened to nothing
Read →Your neighbours can hear it too
Barking is the problem people wait longest with, because nobody dies of it. It is also the problem that turns into a habit the fastest.
Usually within a day, with no obligation.
Of kijk eerst hoe ik werk op Instagram.
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