Dog reactivity towards apartment door

[u/Single-Review8110]

We just adopted an 11 month old lab mix rescue 2 weeks ago. For almost her whole life before coming to us she was in a foster with other dogs and got along with all people and dogs per her foster mom. Since bringing her home she has shown some reactivity. We live in a busy apartment complex where she crosses paths with a lot of people and dogs daily even when we try to go out on off times. She occasionally barks and growls at dogs or people outside but that has already gotten so much better and that is less of a concern for me now. Overall she is a very anxious dog and does well after slow introductions. The big problem we are having is her barking and growling at the door. It is only at certain noises. One noise in particular is a dog collar she hears when a certain dog walks past our door. We have a sound machine and she is still able to hear it. We also cannot remove the door from her eye sight because where we spend our time is in the living room which faces the door. We have been attempting to give her treats before she starts barking to work as counter conditioning but she typically hears the noise and barks before we even notice the noise and I do not want to reward the behavior by giving her treats after she barks. Once she starts barking she also does not listen because she is so locked in on the noise. We have tried bringing her to another room but that seems to increase her frustration. I understand she is still adjusting to our apartment and all about the 3/3/3 rule but I do not want her practicing this behavior and it getting worse. Any advice would help!!

[u/calm_on_the_leash]

You’re already trying to catch the sound before she reacts, which is a useful place to start. Could you try a treat station a little farther from the door, so she can hear it and still turn back to you? Happy to think through other setups too.