Bernice: Damien needs to know the difference between barking at the fence because I am in the house and he is outside and he needs to "protect" and when I am standing out by it talking to the nieghbor.Your dog first need a VERY good grip on the basic sit command....I found that when Damien would go running up to the fence like a fruitloop...I would grab his kong (his absolute FAVORITE toy) walk over to him...stay calm,and very matter of fact with him...I would step into his view and tell him to sit..if he kept barking I would grab his collar and lead him away from the fence..tell him again to sit.If he did it he got his kong (but I wouldn't let go of it) I would keep the string in my hand..tell him good boy..pet him up..let him know THAT is what I wanted.I would start to talk to the nieghbor..still with the kong in his mouth and me playing with him..then I would give the out command and tell him O.K..to let him know he was relised from the sit..if he choose to hang out with me and want the kong to play then after one more sit (he works for everything he gets) he would get the kong free and clear to go play..if he chose to go back to the fence..the excercise would start over from square one.Honestly..if you can get a friend to help you do this..he will learn alot faster!! I agree 110% with srnity...you have to do this over and over and over..he will get it,it just takes time and ALOT of patience on your part,lol.Now...When the nieghbor walks up to the fence...Damien will run over and bark a few times..look back at me...if I command him away from the fence then he will come to my side or go get his toy.Good luck and let us know how it goes :)