we need help with answering the door- dog Q

[melanie]

Hi all,
we are in need of some training tips for greeting visitors at our house. my 8yo sheperd X is a good girl, very friendly, and well trained. but when someone comes to the front door and knocks she goes a little bark crazy, yes it is of course normal to bark when someone comes to the door but this is a little over the top (she is not a barker at anyother time of day except for at the postlady). but she is not being angry aggressive when she barks, she wags her tail and welcomes them warmly when they enter with a big lick and cuddle. the biggest problem is that she scares people (especially those who are not dog people) and annoys the hell out of me as she wont shut up for a good 3-5 minutes. before we open the door i make her go outside most of the time (unless it is her friends) but she barks just as loudly and for just as long when she is out the back. i dont want to stop her barking, i would just like her to stop it when i ask. she even barks at her friends and family that come to visit but she knows and loves these people and animals. how can i control the barking??It drives me crazy and it is made worse by the fact that she is such a good girl in general and i hate the thought of anyone being scared of her as she is just not like that. i wonder if it is a dominance problem, a territory problem or other?? just to note, we have just moved from a farm where she got to greet everyone before they made it to the door and we didnt have such a big problem, she has lived in town before going to the farm so she is not new to this form of living..