There are moments when you will want to tell your dog to bark. Having your dog bark when you want him/her to is a fun way for you to entertain your family and friends when they visit your home. Having your dog bark when you tell him/her to is also a great way for you to develop a strong bond with your furry friend. In this post, I am going to cover how to train a dog to bark when you command him/her to do so.
There are also going to be times when you want to tell your dog to be quiet. As barking can be quite irritating at times, you won’t always want your dog to bark. So, you will also learn about how to tell your dog to be quiet within this post.
How To Train A Dog To Bark Then Quiet Down With These Four Tips
1. Get Your Dog Excited
The first thing that you will want to do is to get your dog excited. That is because your dog will naturally bark when he/she is excited about something. That is because barking is one clear way for dogs to express themselves. So, get playful with your dog in order to get him/her excited.
One way for you to get playful with your dog is to gain something that you can play with. A small ball, such as this one, that you can easily hold with just one hand should do it for you and your dog.
Hold that ball in your hand in front of your dog and wave it around in a wild and excited manner. Not long after you playfully engage your dog, he/she will eventually bark to signal his/her excitement.
If you don’t have something to play with, you can use your own body to excite your dog. Just run wildly around the floor as if you are a dog. You can even replicate a dog’s bark yourself too.
2. Praise And Reward Your Dog
Once your dog has barked, it is important that you praise and reward him/her for it. I would recommend that you use what is called a training clicker which you can order here.
This is a great way for you to praise your dog after a bark. A training clicker is basically a small device that you can easily hold with one hand. It normally consists of one button. So, immediately press the button on the training clicker after your dog has barked.
That will emit a loud, crispy clicking sound which is meant to convey your praise to your dog for barking. After you have pressed the button, give your dog a yummy treat to reward him/her for barking.
As far as treats are concerned, Canine Carry Outs Dog Treats is a great option. There are different kinds of treats for you to choose from like bacon and cheese, chicken, and hot dog.
3. Use The Speak Command
Once you have already praised and rewarded your dog for barking, it is time to start a new training session with him/her.
You will want to start the new training session with your dog the way you did the first one, but only this time, you will also want to use the speak command to get your dog to bark.
Even though dogs can’t speak in the way that we human beings can, they are known to be a very smart group of animals. In fact, many breeds of dogs can understand over 150 verbal commands once they have learned them.
Start the new training session with your dog by being playful with him/her just like I mentioned earlier in this post. While you are playfully engaging your dog, you will want to say the word, “speak,” to prompt him/her to bark.
If your dog barks after you gave him the speak command, immediately praise and reward him/her by pressing the button on the training clicker and then giving him a treat.
Each time you start a new training session with your dog, you will want to slowly transition from being playful to relying more on the speak command to get your dog to bark.
The ultimate goal is for you to get your dog to bark with the speak command alone. It won’t happen overnight though. So, consistency and patience are key for getting your dog to learn to bark on your command.
So, you will want to set up time each day in order to practice this with your dog. I would suggest that you do several short training session each day that lasts for around fifteen minutes or so. Eventually, your dog will learn to bark each time you give him/her the speak command.
4. The Quiet Command
It is a given that some people prefer to train their dogs to be quiet on command first. But, it would be better for you to wait until after you have already mastered the art of getting your dog to bark with the speak command.
That is because it will make the process of training your dog to be quiet on command easier for you. The ideal time for you to start the quiet command process is after you have prompted your dog to bark using the speak command.
Once your dog has already barked, gently hold his/her face closed and say the word, “Quiet.” Once the quiet command is given, have your dog sit down and wait for a few minutes.
If after a few minutes, your dog doesn’t bark, this is your time to praise and reward your dog for staying quiet. If your dog barks within a few minutes of you giving the quiet command, just start the process again.
Just make sure that the dog knows that there is a treat waiting for him/her for complying with your quiet command.
After you successfully give your dog the quiet command, restart the process with gradually increasing waiting time before you praise and reward him/her for staying quiet. With time and continued practice, your dog will develop the habit of obeying your quiet command.
Concluding How To Train A Dog To Bark And Then To Be Quiet
So, there it is. These are my tips for you for how to train a dog to bark or to be quiet. It certainly is a balancing act. Ideally, you want to be in control of when you want your dog to bark and when you don’t want him/her to.
What are your thoughts? Are you in a position to tell your dog to bark, be quiet, or both? Feel free to leave a comment below.