NOISE!BARKHOWLWOOFBAROOOOOoooooooo!

The dog across the street.
Every time you try to walk by, he comes exploding out of the backyard.  He rushes the fence, teeth flashing as he lobs a volley of sound bombs through the boards at you.  You can hear him growling and pawing at the fence, and you think "whew! Thank gosh he's not loose!"

The dog tied to the tree a few blocks over.
You don't even have to be close for her to start making a racket.  Bouncing up and down at the end of the chain; pounding her forelegs into the dirt.  Hackles raised, tail waving about; you've taken to walking on the other side of that street, or avoiding it altogether---What if that chain breaks?  Or her collar snaps?

The tiny dog in the apartment across from you.
The incessant, piercing barks that stab the air and slice through whatever task is at hand.  There's nothing to bark at!  Each outburst lasts 20 minutes or more, and literally, there is Nothing happening.

The middle of the night baying from some hound on the other side of the neighborhood.
Never fails, you finally get the baby down for the night, when "Broe!Broe!Broooooe!" begins...

Your dog + Doorbell = Insanity.

So, what the heck is happening?  Don't these dogs know you aren't a threat?
Well, no.  Actually they don't.  Most dogs that have what we Humans call "barking issues" are actually doing their jobs, or are prone to noise because (again) we Humans have bred that trait into them...We actually wanted that happening for years and years.

Take dog number one, the one that barks like he's possessed every time you walk by his yard.  In his dog perception, he has effectively frightened you away and saved his pack from potential death.  You approach, he rushes the boundary with all his noise and bravado, and you leave.  The dog doesn't realize you've only continued walking, in your unconcerned way because you, Human, know he's behind a fence and can't do anything...No, he actually believes he's made you leave.  Repeat this process with however many people walk by him in a day's time, and now he has an established habit. With each success, he may amp up the intensity of his rush, because he has learned that the more noise and growling he presents, the faster the "threat" passes....See?  Doing his job.

Chain dog?

She is Bored, Angry, Frustrated and most likely lacking in any kind of Social Skills.  Her Humans don't interact with her, and keeping an animal on a chain can quite literally make them crazy.  They become open to threats such as wandering dogs, cruel kids and Lord knows what else may come their way.  She is scary.  You should be worried about that situation.  But not because she may get loose one day, but because no one ever lets her loose....Bites from chained dogs are more likely to be serious.  This is a very unstable dog, and she is letting you know in the only way she knows how.

Does she have water?  Is it knocked over because she dragged her chain under the bowl?  Shelter?  A dog on a chain cannot get away from it's own elimination mess most of the time, as the chain usually gets tangled or wrapped around the dog's own feet....Most city ordinances prohibit tethering a dog without supervision.  Should you see one that lives this way, please call your local Animal Control and report this.  It is dangerous not only for the dog, but for the community around it as well.

Tiny Guy in the apartment across from you...
Holy Cow Batman! Did you ever think something so small could be so annoying?!
Ok, here's the down low on little dogs...They have a job, or at least, they had a job waaaaay back in the day.  Some of them were used to hunt vermin, while others were strictly bred down in size from their larger, more functional ancestors, in order to make a constant companion.  A hand-warmer with personality.

Being a constant companion meant one thing:  Constant Companionship.  These little guys went everywhere with their people.  When you begin to 'size down' something genetically, you wind up with certain quirks and personality traits that one can ignore due to the fantastic "look" of a thing...So we wind up with a lot of easily nervous, shaky little guys....Intelligent little guys.  Smart little guys with nothing to do and no one to interact with can lead to reactive tendencies to EVERYTHING.

That little guy across the way has built himself a habit of sounding off, because he has no one to help him stop.  It has most likely become a compulsion that he no longer can stop, until he has worn himself out a bit.  At which point he quiets because he's tired.  But wait.......what was that? "BarkBarkBarkBarkBark!" His person leaving him alone all day, with nothing to do, and most likely, nothing to mask the sounds of the "scary" outside world, has left you listening to his incessant noises....that poor dog.

Dark of the night howler: Um yeah, this Human should be more considerate and bring the dog indoors.  That dog is most likely genetically prone to howling and baying like that (think Husky or Hound or something) and is alerting to a creature prowling the neighborhood.  Good Job in the country, not considerate at all in a more suburban setting.  Not the dog's fault.

Doorbell Insanity:
I suffer from this at my own home.  Not because my dog's are idiots (well, ok, they have their moments) but because there isn't enough consistency in teaching them how not to freak out.  I live with other Humans.  When I am not present, there is not enough follow-through, so my dogs continue to have Doorbell Insanity....sigh...
Anyway, they feel like they are doing their jobs.  They are alerting me to the potential threat or excitement that a doorbell noise brings:  The Strange Human on the Other Side of the Door.

Look at it this way...
The doorbell rings.  The dog barks.  You open the door.  The stranger comes in.  The dogs get to meet someone new who pets them and coos over how wonderful they are.
Or this.....
The doorbell rings.  The dog barks.  You open the door.  The person on the other side is soliciting something, so you tell them "no thank you" through the exterior door.  The Threat leaves.

Where in there do you see a non-reward from the dog's perspective?  That's right, there isn't.  The dog did his job.  He alerted you, and you came to address the situation.

If I want success, first I must set up the scenario for it.
Step 1:  Teach the dogs to go to Place and stay there.
Step 2:  Download a doorbell sound that is as close to your actual bell as possible.
Step 3:  Use Great Patience to teach the dogs that the doorbell noise now is a cue to run to Place, lay down and stay in order to get a reward.
Step 4:  Have a friend park down the street, walk up to door, ring bell, and wait appx. 2 minutes on my porch before repeating.  While friend is doing this, I am inside enforcing the Place = Reward for the dogs.  At no point will the friend ever come in through the door for this step.
Step 5:  Friend now rings bell, dogs go to Place, I now open the door and address friend.  Friend still does not come inside, as dogs will most likely attempt to join me at door.  Door is closed, and dogs are put back to Place. Repeat 'til this no longer is the case.
Step 6:  Friend now may ring bell and be let in to house.  Should dogs get off Place, Friend must immediately turn and walk out door.

Can you see where this would require some consistency?
There are other ways to accomplish this task.  Other personalities to take into consideration.  That example is what would work best for my particular dogs.  But all that hard work would be for naught, should someone ring my bell when I wasn't there to enforce what I wanted....Say someone in my house orders pizza during this "training phase."  I may be at a point where they are reliably running to their Places, but the person who ordered the pie may not reward them.  Or may not put them back when the door is opened and they run up to see the Pizza Man. Or may just ignore the barking altogether and slip out on to the porch with the delivery guy.....

Sidenote:  The last friend (canine) I had, knew to run to the couch and get comfortable and quiet, when the door was knocked on and I said "Pizza Man."  You can use whatever cue you want, just be consistent :)

The point is, dogs don't just bark.  In fact, there have been recent studies that lean towards the realization that most dogs bark for us; Humans.  Well before that darn dog was disturbing your day, we were using them as alarm systems for our tribal camps.  We chose and selected the 'wolves' that made noises when they saw something approaching, as it made us safer.  As our society changed, and we began selectively mating dogs for appearances and duty, we also bred for sound.

Our dogs learned quickly how to vocalize to get what they wanted from us.  In a wild pack, this much noise would get someone killed, but in our 'evolved' lives, barking gets attention.  It gains food, toys, affection, and attention....and when it doesn't, they sometimes escalate it in the hopes it may.

Why wouldn't they bark?