Any Suggestions on Hyper Active-Barking!!

Millie (again) is now off the Clomicalm, and is making excellent progress. She seems to be calming down a lot and is more accessible to training. However! she has one problem that is a bit hard to break. We have a back door leading into the garden and at the bottom I feed the birds, also beyond the hedge is a School Playground. She is used to both but when I open the back door she tears down the garden yelping and screaming at the top of her voice, and Patch follows suit, egged on by Millie. The silly part is that we have a pet flap in the door and they are in and out of it all day long, with no problems.
I am bothered about the noise (especially at night) if I need to go out to the shed. The neighbours must think she is potty. But honestly she really is coming on so well. Any suggestions Please.
AnneXX

I'm pleased to hear that Millie is off the meds and doing well

As I understand it she displays this behaviour only when you open the back door? Does she do this every time or only sometimes?

I am not sure how far her training has progressed. Will she 'wait' while the door is opened? If so I would do that. Make her wait and then either heel her down the path or, if she is not yet heeling, I would put her lead on and walk her down. This will prevent her zooming off in a state of high excitement. As you walk her along quietly putting a command on it, e.g. "quietly, good quietly". Praise & reward the good behaviour. If she shouts on the lead take her back inside and leave it for a while before trying again. It may take a bit of patience,and perhaps inconvenience on your part, but she should get the idea that walking sensibly and not screeching is rewarding. After a while you can try opening the door whilst she is waiting, telling her "quietly" and releasing her. If she reverts to her old ways then you will have to step back and start again with the lead.

Thank you very much for your reply Shadowboxer. Millie is coming round , but very slowly. I have to admit she goes 'ape' when the doorbell goes, or even if she hears someone opening the front gate. The back door problem is outside the house and I worry about the neighbours but we 'cope' when it is inside the house. When we got Millie we got the impression that she may have lived in a 'lock up' type shed. Not badly treated, but not used to a home environment. Therefore she covets her loving home a bit too much. So we are taking things slowly, don't like to be too hard on her, just firm when needed. At the moment we are getting results, gradually, if you understand what I mean. This is why we got Patch and they have bonded so well, he is a sweety but when Millie starts to bark, he follows suit!!!. But they are very good otherwise. When we go out we ask if they have been a pest but we have been told that they are really quiet till we get home.
Hope I don't sound too silly, we just love them to bits and want the neighbours to like them instead of thinking they are a nuisance. Had no complaints so far. Touch Wood.
Regards,
AnneXX

sometimes,teaching dogs to bark on command can be a help.my 2 both "speak"and it is easy to teach them "quiet" once they can bark on command.you basically woof and then once they grasp the concept say speak,once they have learnt this you add the command "quiet" once they stop barking,reward.
diesel runs out first thing in the morning barks at the fence,i tell her quiet and she stops glad the clomicalm worked

Hey Anne - you don't sound in the least bit silly I suspect that most of us would walk through fire for our dogs.

You are going absolutely the right way with Millie's training, slow and steady to build her confidence and ensure that she thoroughly understands one command before moving on to something else is far better than trying to rush her and risking confusion As you say though, you do need to be firm when necessary and not permit her to get away with unacceptable behaviour. Even if she had a bad start in life and you feel a bit sorry for her she will be far happier if she knows her boundaries.

Griff's suggestion for teaching 'speak' and 'quiet' is a good one which has worked well for many barkers.

Another way is to disrupt the barking by clapping your hands or making some other noise. Immediately the barking stops you put the command "quiet" on the silence, click or use your marker word "good" and then treat & praise like mad the non barking. If you are patient and very consistent they both should learn what 'quiet' means.

It is no bad thing that they alert you to various sounds but, ideally, once they have sounded the alarm and have attracted your attention they should stop and let you take over. Mine carry on like lunatics when anyone approaches the house or the doorbell rings but once I am there and tell them "enough" they usually pipe down and go into watch/guard mode

Hi!!!!
My xbreed is a terrible barker and sounds just like your dog!!! Barks at the door/gate etc, but is controllable, can amble outside in the day, but at night charges out, knocking everything out of his way, barking as loud as he can and starting our BC off and on occassion the pup!!! Arghhhhhh!!!!! The only way we've been able to stop him is to hold him back and let the others out first, then walk him out slowly. I've done it by holding his collar rather than putting his lead on but he's probably a little taller than your dogs!!!! Not charging out with his mates seems to break the habit!!!! Hope this helps!!!!

Thanks everyone I have plenty now to work on and from what you have told me I feel more confident, I will get there with them. I will, I will!!!!
I shall give you an update in a while, to let you know how we are going.
Many Many Thanks.
AnneXX