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Sounds silly, but when my Shar Pei (currently near 2 yrs old) was a pup, she barked at every passing car, person. She learned 'no bark!' too well, and now wont even bark at all Except rarely, in play) When someone knocks at the door, she is visibly upset. She looks to me for clues, and I strongly encourage her to bark, even mimicking a bark, and all she does is a odd, strangled sound I know she physically can bark with no problem. We have tried having one of us knock at the door, with the other encouraging her to bark, with dismal results... we have no nearby friends to help. Any ideas?
Is there any reason why you want her to bark when someone comes to the door, or do you think it would help her overcome her anxiety over the caller?
A quick look on the internet suggests that Shar Pei don't tend to bark much apart from when anxious or playing - and you don't want her to be anxious when people come to the door so I wouldn't be hoping to get her to bark. (My dog is a type that doesn't bark much and I have taught him to bark 'for fun', but sometimes he can't manage a proper bark and can only come out with a squeaky sound ) She might just be anxious now because she knows you expect something of her but doesn't know what.
Hi, I appreciate you both taking time to answer. Yeah, I know Shar Pei aren't big barkers, but the several I have known and have had we all good watchdogs, barking when someone was at the door or in the yard, which is important to me, to let them know there is a dog in the house and in my area, it helps prevent trouble. I have a couple signs up, but silence is ...not good We will continue to love her, of course, but I am disappointed, especially since she had the instinct to begin with and has zero problem barking when at play....
Do you mean when you play with her? If so you can work with this by playing until she barks, giving your 'bark' command and then rewarding her. She will link the command with the action/reward and then you can get a stooge friend to ring the doorbell or knock at the door, you tell the dog to bark and reward her when she does. BUT you also need to teach 'shush' at the same time or you will get a dog that barks when you don't want. or barks too long. Let us know if you want to work with that and we'll go into more detail.
If you mean she barks when she runs about with other dogs then you will not be able to harness the bark in the same way.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
Except rarely, in play) When someone knocks at the door, she is visibly upset. She looks to me for clues, and I strongly encourage her to bark, even mimicking a bark, and all she does is a odd, strangled sound 
) She might just be anxious now because she knows you expect something of her but doesn't know what.
