It goes without saying that being the owner of a dog is tantamount to you will be a dog trainer in a certain time. Your task is to show off all of the essential skills your dog needs to learn. Barking properly is one of them.
Before anything else, it’s better, if your dog understands and obeys your common commands such as sit, stay, and down. Remember that just teach your dog how to speak when it has already behaved well.
If this task is in success, you can not only control its vocalizations but also limit its barking (just do with your permission or in some special cases without your presence).
Teaching your dog to bark on command allows you to control her vocalizations and begin the process of limiting her barking to only when you ask for it. Here are some tips:
5. Get Super Excited
To train your dog to bark, you need to get her excited. When you act a bit hyper and excited, your dog will match your enthusiasm level. Games that encourage excitement, such as fetch or tug, are good ways of increasing your dog’s energy level.
4. Show Her You Have the Goods
Once your dog is energized, stop playing and grab an awesome dog treat. Reveal the reward and quickly and playfully hide it behind your back.
If your dog whimpers, show her the treat again or wave it in front of her face before quickly hiding it again.
3. Reward the Barking
Your dog’s energy level, paired with your playfulness and reluctance to offer a desirable treat, will result in a bark.
Typically a single bark will follow this sequence; as soon as she barks, offer the treat. If you have been using a conditioned reward marker like a click (clicker training is awesome) or a “Yes,” make sure you reward the correct behavior with your marker.
Although it may sound silly, you can try to mimic the sound of your dog’s bark with your own. If your dog hears you “barking,” she may mimic your behavior.
2. Association
When your dog learns that barking is the desired behavior, you can start naming the behavior by saying, “Speak” right before she barks. Because dogs recognize hand signals better than words, you can add an unfamiliar hand signal to your command.
I typically make my hand look like a mouth and open and close it rapidly while saying the command. If your dog knows that barking is what he should do, only a few associations will be needed before your dog learns the command.
1. Repetition
Repeating the above sequence and pairing the command/hand signal with the moment right before your dog barks will help him learn the command. Repeat the sequence a few times before trying the command without the prompting.
Even if it appears to be a command you will not use a lot, training your dog new things is a good way to keep her brain sharp. Increasing your dog’s vocabulary assists in strengthening your bond while offering a fun new way to learn.
