Put them on lead and teach them to "say Hi" to all incoming traffic. Praise them for being correct and social, and physically force them to be civil and allow themselves to be petted after they get a sniff. Praising them for allowing new people to pet them after they come in the door will work. Also, so that you can have the dog on lead before company comes, have a set up and have them call when they are about at the front door so the leads can be on before the ring of the bell. And practice having the leads on in the house some first so that they don't associate the leads with anything, and break any current associations before the first set up. sheila Judy Mendelsohn <judsohngsd@xxxxxxx> wrote: I am hoping all you list members can help with my problem...........we have been remodeling the house for months, and it has been very hot in Arizona, so we have left the dogs in their crates in the house so they could be in air conditioning......After running to the door and barking ....and then being put in crates, they have decided this is what they are supposed to do.....So now my big brave GSD's bark and run in crates. I have tried locking the crates, but they just bank on the doors and try to pull them open......How do I stop them from doing this new learned behavior? any help would be appreciated Judy Judsohn German Shepherds judsohngsd.@xxxxxxx Visit our website judsohngsd.com ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - URL temporarily deleted due to AOL issues ============================================================================ Sheila of Miami Mernydex GSD's Loving Obedience Dog Training --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - URL temporarily deleted due to AOL issues ============================================================================