PammyT wrote:

Why cannot you simply yell "'oo issit?" through the door, over the sound of
several big dogs barking. Then say "what? I can't hear you" a couple of
times or "hang on, stand very still and I'll open the door, don't move a
muscle cos I can't 'old 'im". You'll find canvassers, salespeople, jehovas
witnesses and the like will have disappeared when you open the door, leaving
only legitimate callers.
Works every time for me :-))

Me too )

My dogs make a different barking noise if it's friends, postman,
milkman and salespeople. They really like the krishna guy with the
encence sticks - I suppose they smell him miles away. They detest the
postman and whines almost howling for the bin men. I think it's the
truck that bother them. I can also see through the yellow of the
stainglass tulips on the door so if it's a parcel, I tell the chap to
hang on and lock my dogs in their cages. I never needed a door bell.
Summer is a problem as my dogs are outside in the front garden lounging
around and the young one is a bit of a woolf type and she creeps up on
people growling. She's a darling really, but don't tell anyone ;o)