[tx65]

We have a 14 month old Norwegian Elkhound and she NEVER barks inside the house for any reason. However, we take her outside and she is a barking machine to tell all her dog buddies hello and let them know she is out.

Back to inside the house, we would like her to bark when goes up to the dog gate or door needing to go out to take care of her business (she currently quietly walks over to the puppy gate and doesn't make a sound) and we hope she will bark when she hears a noise or someone knocks at the door to at least alert us to something unusual.

She is very loving, lets both cats boss her around and the plays with every animal she meets so she is not ill tempered. When she encounters another dog, she is almost hyper wanting to play.

Any thoughts or ideas?

[Lunareclipse]

Take your dog outside and when he barks, put a name to it and give him a treat. Tell him "bark". Then tell him "stop" with enough force that he stops even though he might not know the stop command yet. If it's said with enough force, he should stop. When he barks again, say bark and give him a reward. Or you can use "speak" for the command. Do this over and over for several weeks. He should understand after a while. Them try speak inside the house after he understands outside the house. Make sure you have his most favorite treat at hand and let him smell it, but don't let him have it until he speaks inside the house on command. After he gets that part down, ask him if he has to go potty. Tell him to "speak for potty". It is a slow process, but with patience, it will work.