POLICE had to improvise during a standoff to coax two suspects out of a house by literally barking like dogs.

New Haven Police Department said the two men had led officers on a car chase through the city before they were tracked down to a suburban house.

There, a standoff ensued with the masked men inside the building refusing to come out, New Haven's EyeWitness News reports.

As a dozen officers surrounded the house, police hostage negotiators threatened to unleash the canine units, but the dogs weren't available.

So they had officers pretend to bark like dogs and it worked.

The two men - who had stolen a car - walked outside and were arrested on the spot.

"They were trained. These cops were trained to do stuff like that," one witness said. "I guess that was the best technique to do what they needed to do to get people out."

Read the full story and see video here.