A Pooch's Point of View: 'Who is that at the door?'

I wonder if humans know that we dogs have super-sensitive hearing?

I can hear people coming to our house long before the humans in my house can! But I'm not always sure if they are friendly or someone is trying to invade my territory. Except for the postman, of course - I know he comes at the same time every day and pushes a lot of paper through the letterbox, and it's a habit now. I bark, he waves, and my human knows that he's got mail!

That's why I'm always on alert - sometimes it's a friend who comes to visit regularly (and I don't mind that!) But it might be a stranger that I've never met before! I do get a bit nervous of strangers. I once had a bad experience when a strange man shouted very loudly which made me very nervous, so now it takes me a little while to get used to someone new - my human Mommy always keeps me close to her if there's a stranger coming and she reassures me that everything is going to be OK. She even gives me treats when I don't bark - and that helps a lot!

I used to bark a lot when I was a little pup. Everything was new and I was a bit nervous, especially if the doorbell rang, there were loud noises, or I was left alone in the house when my human Mommy went out. But then she took me to socialisation classes where I met lots of other dogs and I learned a lot there - like, other dogs bark a lot too and they don't all want to make friends!

Who's At The Door?

'DING-DONG'..Woof, woof what's that? There it goes again, that bell always rings when someone comes to visit or there's a parcel delivery! There are a few reasons why I bark when the doorbell rings.

• Maybe I'm having a little doze whilst the house is nice and quiet. My bed is lovely and cozy but if the doorbell rings, it startles me and wakes me up, so I bark.
• Sometimes, I need to let the humans in the house know that someone is visiting. They don't seem to hear as well as I do and I'm just giving them a little warning that someone's there, so I bark.
• I do like it when different people visit as they always seem to want to stroke and play with me (I'm very cuddly and cute!) and I get quite excited, so I bark.
• There are also times when I feel unsettled and I want to protect my humans in the house, and barking is a good way to warn strangers off. If I think there's a potential problem, I bark a lot to sound the alarm!

Barking is one of the ways I let people know what I'm thinking, but I get the feeling that the humans in the house don't like me to bark too much as my human best friend is teaching me how to stay calm when someone visits, or if something scares me. They also plug this thing in the wall that helps me feel calmer, I've heard them call it ADAPTIL.

If I stay nice and calm when they say 'quiet', I know that they're proud of me and they give me a treat! They also tell me I'm a 'good boy' if I sit still or go and lie down in my cozy bed, once I've told them that someone's at the door. Sometimes they even give me a toy to play with - they know I love my KONG toy as there's always some lovely food inside that keeps me busy. Peanut butter is my favourite - it's quite a workout to get it out of the KONG but I love the challenge!

But I do sometimes have to tilt my head if I'm not absolutely sure where a noise is coming from. I get especially confused if I hear another dog barking in my house and I can't see it! I do my best to sniff it out but I can't smell it and it does sound a bit distant - I get very excited but then I realise the humans are watching the TV - and another dog! Once I've worked out what it is I feel relaxed again and I lie in my comfy hideout near my humans.

Hey - it's a dog's life and I wouldn't have it any other way!