I have a 3-year-old mini Australian Shepherd who works as a pet sitter with me. She loves her job and all the friends she gets to meet but during meet and greets and drop offs she barks her head off non-stop.
This has led to us losing clients as they wouldn't want their dog watched if they thought they were going to get barked out the entire time.
During meet and greets she will circle the dog or owner barking. Sometimes she barks at the dog, sometimes bark up in the air, or at no one in particular. It doesn't matter if we're at home or in public. When I meet outside my home it is usually at a dog park and we are the only ones there. In this situation I've tried:
Exercising her beforehand. She has unlimited energy so this didn't work.
Giving her a completing task (getting toys, lay down, etc) and rewarding differential behavior. Inconsistent and hard to truly reward as she is very fixated on the new dog.
Removing her from the situation completely, she barks even worse when she can't see the dog. Not an option as I don't want my clients thinking I'm torturing my own dog.
Giving her treats in moments of silence. Very short-lived and her eyes are always on the new dog. This technique is the most ineffective as it seems to excite her more.
Slow introduction or rewarding staying calm at a distance. This typically works but when it's at my house it really isn't possible.
When a dog gets dropped off she will also bark. I've tried similar to the above but it's all very similar. She just gets over it faster. If the dog is old, small or anxious, she will leave them alone completely, MAYBE one or two barks. If they are "fun" the barking lasts longer. For repeat customers she barks the most and gets very excited.
She's never had any issues with any clients so I am positive this is not aggression barking. My other two dogs I've trained to go to their crates when the doorbell rings but she refuses.
My undergraduate degree is in behavior analysis so it's been pretty easy to train them except for this one issue. Maybe I'm not understanding the antecedent properly? Or is this a more complex behavior (excitement + herding instincts)?