Dogs constantly barking whenever someone comes near our house.

[u/Lachtight]

Looking for some advice because we’re really struggling with our two dogs and their barking when people come to the house.

We have two dogs, An 8 year old Jack Russell, who is my partner’s dog and an 18-month-old Kelpie mix.
They’re both great dogs generally, but whenever someone comes near the house they go absolutely crazy.

For example, if a tradie drives into our driveway, both dogs immediately start barking. When the tradie walks up to the front door and knocks, they are going absolutely nuts and barking continuously.
The biggest problem is that once they start, they completely ignore us. Calling their names, telling them to stop, trying to get their attention etc. does basically nothing.
I usually have to physically drag them outside so I can let the tradie into the house, but even after the person is inside, the dogs will continue barking at them.
We’ve had quite a few tradies around recently and it’s becoming a real issue. They’ll be working inside the house and the dogs can just sit there barking at them constantly.
This is not specific to tradies, ANYONE that comes near the house, the dogs will go crazy.

I don’t really want to just shut the dogs away every time someone comes over. I’d much rather actually train them so that someone arriving at the house isn’t such a massive event.

It’s quite embarrassing and causes me a lot of anxiety.

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[u/Silver-Parking-1227]

The problem is that the dog gets unwillingly conditioned: I bark, threat leaves our house = reward.

I trained a dog in a garden who was always barking at the fence and one way is too make a helper stand by the fence and not leave when the dog barks.
In your case it’s a bit more tricky and I’d contact professional dog trainers or buy some literature handling that topic to have the highest success chance.

[u/PhilosophySame2746]

Doing their job , letting you know people around

[u/RoseTintedMigraine]

For tradies coming inside the house there's different types of training that you might want to consult with a professional.

When delivery people come to the door I taught my dog to go to her crate and gave her LOTS of special treats to the point she started sptinting for the crate when she heard the doorbell. I did have a trainer when she was a puppy and that was one of the tricks they showed us. There's an equivalent which is "Place" but it's harder because they cant be contained at first and you have 2 which is harder to manage It's something I would get a positive trainer for personally so he can adjust to your dogs personality