Barking at delivery trucks and packages

[JeremyGreco]

My dog always barks when she can hear delivery trucks coming up our long driveway. If they deliver packages to the front door she'll bark at those, too. Because she can't see the trucks from inside because of the design of our house and they've been leaving more and more of our packages by the garage door instead, sometimes she just keeps barking. If I can get her attention she'll stop for a minute but then she'll race right to the front door or a window and start barking again. Can you offer any advice for how to handle this?

[Adrienne]

Hello,

Welcome to the forums.

These cases often require a multi-faceted approach involving management along with some level of training and behavior modification. First off though, lets take a closer looking into the dynamics and why this type of behavior occurs in the first place.  Here's the thing: just as it happens with dogs who bark at the mail man, dogs who bark at delivery trucks come to believe, that, it's thanks to their barking that these delivery trucks eventually leave!

Well... we all know what's really happening instead. In reality, it's not like the delivery truck is really retreating specifically because the dog barks, it's just that the driver happens to have to leave and continue his route as always-but dogs instead seem to perceive things this way. Therefore, day after day, a dog's barking will keep persisting, and the more the dog barks, the more the behavior becomes ingrained and more difficult to extinguish.

Actually, the barking with time may increase in intensity and may start happening earlier and earlier such at from quite a distance. It's as if the dog was saying to the trucks, "What part of my message are you not getting? Go away! I just said go away! I'll keep on barking until you leave and if you don't, I'll bark louder and will go to plan B."

So let's take a closer look into how this type of issue is tackled. 

Management. Management involves making the behavior less likely to occur by removing access to the trigger (hearing the delivery trucks/ seeing packages) or at least reducing its saliency. Management helps prevent rehearsal of the problematic behavior, which as mentioned, left to its own devices, is prone to putting roots and becoming more and more established.  Following are some ways to make the barking less likely, while we  plan to work on behavior modification and training. Therefore, management should always be implemented when we cannot actively work on the behavior in a systematic way. 

Block visual access to packages. If your dog engages in frantic barking at the sight of packages, it's important to prevent her from seeing them. You can apply temporary window film to your door's windows, pull down the blinds or draw the curtains closed or simply block off access to the door area. For example, you can simply keep your dog in a room where she cannot see outside or erect a baby gate so she stays far from the door. Another option is to use an indoor extendable gate for dogs to block off the area.

Keep your dog indoors. If your dog is kept outside in a fenced yard for prolonged periods of time where she gets to practice the barking behavior, it's important keeping her indoors as much as possible and keeping her busy with more productive behaviors such as training, walks, brain games. The fence marks the perimeter of your property making your dog more likely to act territorial towards triggers. 

Buffer the sound. If your dog reacts to the sound of delivery trucks passing by, you may find it helpful to buffer sounds by keeping the radio or T.V. on in hopes of masking these outdoor noises. It also helps keeping your dog in an indoor area more distant from the road. 

Behavior Modification

Management doesn't really go to the root of the problem, but it paves the path for a successful plan because as mentioned, dogs are prevented from rehearsing certain behaviors. Behavior modification instead entails actively working with the dog at a gradual pace (desensitization) while working on creating positive associations (counterconditioning) with triggers that the dog is struggling with:

You can read more about desensitization and counterconditioning here:

You can read about these two behavior modification methods here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning

With these in mind, the goal is therefore to initially expose to lower audible levels of delivery trucks driving by (from a distance from the road, with some background noise to buffer the sound) and gradually increasing the intensity of the sound (less buffering, then closer to the road), while also creating positive associations with this sound.  You can also try to record the sound the delivery truck as it passes by one day and practice with that initially presenting it at a lower volume.  Read on here how to do this using the "hear that method:"

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

Training 

Now, once we have exposed our dogs to low levels of their triggers, and gradually increased intensity, while creating positive associations, we may have calmer dogs which opens the lines for training. Here's the thing; when a dog is too aroused by a trigger, his/her cognitive functions tend to lower, making it more difficult to get them to pay attention to us. In technical terms, when a dog is too aroused by a trigger to pay any attention, he/she is said to be  "over threshold"-you can read about threshold levels here:

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

So training wise, it's ideal to train your dog an alternate, incompatible behavior to the barking behavior.  If your dog tends to bark at the sound of delivery trucks, you can train her to engage in an alternate, incompatible behavior such as training your dog to lie on mat where she will receive some super-duper yummy long-lasting goodies (that you'll keep readily handy so to give at a moment's notice and just for this purpose) that she can enjoy, hopefully until the truck is gone. With her lying down (dogs are less likely to bark when lying down) and her mouth busy, she should feel less tempted to bark. With frequent repetition and when implemented correctly, your dog should therefore come to look forward to the truck arriving due to all these positive associations!

Here's how to train a dog to lie on a mat:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

Another helpful exercise is training her to go look at the package left by the door and come to you for a little treat. You can do this by training the "look at that exercise" only that, instead of looking at triggers passing by from the window, you will practice with your dog looking at packages! So you can train this by just placing packages out there at several times of the day-and initially not right after the delivery guy has come as your dog will likely be too over threshold to listen. 

Here is how to train it:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

So after several reps and fluent responses, it would be time to chain the two behaviors together:

1) upon hearing the delivery truck coming, you'll have your dog lie on the mat with a long-lasting goodie that takes her sometime to consume:( think, bully stick, stuffed Kong, large cookie)

2) once the truck has left (and when your dog finished the goodie) you can guide her to go "look at the window" then make your smacking sound and give her several treats tossing them on the ground the opposite way (even kibble may work once she's calmer) as you go get your package -if safe to do so-that your dog can't escape. If your dog may escape of you're still struggling in controlling her, it helps to keep the area by the door blocked off by a baby gate/extended dog gate.

A few words of caution: 

-Avoid touching your dog such as grabbing her by the collar or pushing her away when she's barking/aroused as dogs who are aroused by outdoor triggers may sometimes be so over threshold that they may instinctively bite when touched. 

-If your dog is unable to focus on you and follow your directions, she should go a few steps back in the process until she's calmer- and unti then- should not be put into that same situation until she has shown signs of being more composed. If at any times, she ever shows signs of aggressive behavior, please consult with a dog behavior professional. The use of antianxiety medications along with behavior modification and training may help some dogs that otherwise wouldn't be able to succeed.

I hope this helps,

Best wishes,

Adrienne 

Disclaimer:  Some dogs when very aroused/frustrated may bite.  If your puppy or dog is showing aggressive tendencies or is very aroused/frustrated, please play it safe and consult with a dog behavior professional (DACVB, CAAB) for safety. 

[JeremyGreco]

Thanks for the advice. We've tried the baby gate/indoor fence thing but she determined she could just jump over. We can't have TV sound or music in the main area of the house because my grandma sits there all day and pitches a fit if she can't watch the muted TV with no music. I'm also a bit concerned about giving my dog long-lasting treats every time a delivery comes because, given the pandemic and the number of adults living in the house, we get deliveries 2-4 times a day. Should that frequency of deliveries alter anything about the plan?

[Adrienne]

Let's see what else we can try then, but may need some more info.

What breed is your dog?

To understand right, your grandma doesn't want any music playing?

Does your dog like her kibble or what you feed her daily a lot?

How long does it usually take for the truck to arrive and leave the package?

Can delivery guys call before arriving?

Do you happen by any chance to have the same delivery staff over and over? 

With deliveries so frequent the biggest downside is if the dog cannot be prevented from rehearsing the behavior or at least reduce the saliency of the triggers. Practice makes perfect. Also, if the dog is so frequently stressed, most likely her stress hormones are repeatedly circulating leaving little time to recover in between which increases arousal forming a vicious cycle.  But we have several other options still to lower her threshold. 

[JeremyGreco]

She's a mutt of some kind. Mostly Mountain Bernese by coloration and face shape, but with shorter hair and smaller so I've always guessed beagle.

Correct. Grandma will stand for no constant noise levels.

The trucks are rarely here long, usually just a couple of minutes.

No, the delivery guys can't call before arriving. They're just the UPS, FedEx, USPS, and Amazon people.

No, it's not the same people over and over, either.

 

For what it's worth, if my dog can be kept ANYWHERE but in the main living area, her barking is diminished or halted entirely. I can have her in my room, which is directly above the garage and therefore actually closer to the driveway, with a gate in front of the stairs and she might whine a little to let me know she's heard them, but she won't bark at them. If the gate isn't there she will run downstairs to bark at them.

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful. 

So, further tips to manage this behavior that come to mind based on your information.

Options to keep her away from the area:

-If she's on the rather smaller size, like a beagle, then there are now some extra tall baby gates meant to contain some rather big dogs. You would have to look one  with vertical bars so dogs have nothing to grasp on to climb over. Some dog owners have had success mounting on top of the baby gate one of those partitions from a crate. 

-You can have her wear a leash tab (short leash) that you can grasp as soon as you hear a truck and take her to a farther area and practice creating positive associations with the truck sounds feeding her goodies. 

-I think there are some cool technical tools lately that allow you to know in advance when a person or vehicle is approaching your property in advance (it emits sounds) so that you can prepare. 

Other options to reduce sounds:

-White noise machines, like fans. 

-Dogs reactive towards noises can be trained to wear noise-cancelling headphones, such as Mutt Muffs 

-Upon hearing the truck, teaching her to follow you to the farthest room and close the door for a treat/kibble while somebody else gets the package. 

In some mild cases, a dog can be trained over the weekend (when no trucks stop by) or if there are some gaps on orders, to respond to the smacking sound. The briefest time it took me once was one and a half day for mild barking, although some barks occurred on occasion, but they extinguished gradually.  If you have delivery trucks passing by at a distance to other neighbors you can also practice outdoors with your dog on a leash or long line. 

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

It is good that your dog doesn't react much when anywhere but the main room. This means, you have a way to keep her under threshold and gives you a starting point, in other words, you can keep her here for those times when you cannot actively work with her. 

About the concerns for giving treats/chews for the frequency of the deliveries, I hear you. We don't want to give her too many calories, but we have many options to reduce caloric intake while keeping her busy during those couple of minutes while also creating positive associations. 

-For instance, when trucks come by, we can provide a stuffed Kong filled with a portion of her kibble and maybe some other healthy goodie mixed in to keep it interesting (like some plan canned pumpkin, some peanut butter or mashed banana). Kong website has many recipes.

-We can just smear a bit of peanut butter on a Licki-mat, which makes it take long to clean up. 

-We can toss her a portion of her daily allowance of kibble if she loves it. Toss it the opposite direction of the door so that she gets farther away. 

-Upon hearing the truck, we can teach her to follow to the farthest room for a treat/kibble making it a fun game. 

If she's unable to eat or disengage, that means she's too over threshold and we would need to troubleshoot more on how to lower her arousal. 

Disclaimer:  Some dogs when very aroused/frustrated may bite.  If your puppy or dog is showing aggressive tendencies or is very aroused/frustrated, please play it safe and consult with a dog behavior professional (DACVB, CAAB) for safety. 

[JeremyGreco]

We'll try all of that! Thank you so much for your prompt and helpful responses! Since I've got your ear, can you direct me to the brain games? I was looking forward to trying to play with her in a way that might help her behave better but I haven't been able to find them on the website.

Thanks again!

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome, 

Keep me posted on how things turn out. I am always here if we need to do more troubleshooting. 

The Brain Games are on this page below. There is an obedience course 101 prior to that that can turn helpful for some brain games (some games require dogs to know how to sit or stay etc), however, not all games require training or if your dog is already trained, you can just scroll down to the brain games section. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/

And here is the main menu if you need to find anything else:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne