Can anyone advise me how to teach a dog to bark on command?  My oldest dog is getting quite barky at the moment and I can see it escalating and the little one is starting to join in, so this would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance.
Susie

I did it with one of my dogs who has sadly sinced passed away. It never worked on our others though. When he barked i said 'Please' and then gave him a treat. Being a Lab he took to this and it was very easy to get him to speak on command, though i also found it to have the opposite effect of being quiet. It would mean he would bark more often, probably in the hope he was pleasing me and wanting a treat. So we ended up with a more vocal dog.

The trick is to also make them wait once they've got the idea ;) they only get a treat when you say 'bark' (or whatever) ;)  that way you have the barking under control ;) 

In this way you can also teach them to whisper too so they don't shout all the time :-D   a clicker is really useful for bark training ;)

Yep, a clicker really works with teaching a dog to bark on cue.  Obviously, the dog needs to understand about the clicker first - there's loads on here and on the web generally about 'priming the clicker'.  Once you've got the dog to understand that the correct behaviour results in a click and a treat, you can start applying this to the bark.  You can then add a verbal cue and over time the dog should reaslise that this is his cue to bark.  With clicker training you never click or reward an uncued behaviour - unless freeshaping, but that's another subject all together!  Therefore he should learn that barking of his own volition results in nothing.  Whereas barking when asked, results in a treat.

You can then move this on and teach the 'hush' or quiet cue.  Basically, you apply the same principles for when the dog is quiet and reward the quiet.  You have to build duration in this behaviour, but ultimately - if you never ask for the bark - you should end up with a quiet dog!  Again, over time you would have to fade the click/treat until this became the accepted de facto behaviour.

It is NOT a quick fix - well, it wasn't with my gobby male, but it did work.

HOWEVER.....just one thought.......there may be a reason as to why your older dog is getting barky - not sure how old he/she is?  Sometimes, behaviours regress with an older dog and/or there may be a physical problem, so if it is something sudden that has started it could be worth a trip to the vet.  I am assuming there is no new external stimulus that could be the cause of the barking?

Thanks for the replies.  We've done some clicker training in the past and he has taken to it really well so I'll give it a go for his barking.

He's only 18 months, so not old but the oldest of the two!  He's always barked a little to external influences but recently this has been getting more and more as if he's spooked by something.

We have quite a small house and our front door is right on the lounge (our only living room).  He's become a bit fixated with the front door and watches to see a shadow or light coming through the window on the door, at which point he starts barking.  When he does this we tell him 'quiet' and shoo him to the other end of the lounge or into the kitchen to quite him.  He sort of stops but 'huffs' for a while afterwards.  Once he's settled down we invite him back to join us at which point he goes through the same routine.  Not sure if he's scared a bogeyman is coming through the door or if it's just a habit he's got into that needs breaking.

Any ideas?

He's become a bit fixated with the front door and watches to see a shadow or light coming through the window on the door, at which point he starts barking.

I'm basically lazy.....so what I would do in this situation is to remove the stimulus!  Can you drape a curtain or in some other way black out the window?  That SHOULD eradicate the stimulus and stop the behaviour becoming habitual and stop him getting self-fulfillment from practicing it!  Then, once I'd done that I would start on teaching the bark on cue and then the hush on cue without any distractions.  Once you have established both behaviours you could then up the criteria and start introducing exciting triggers......such as the shadows/lights through the window, or the presence of the other dog or whatever else sets him off.

My male dog as I said was a gobby so-and-so......he will bark now only to alert me that someone is coming down the path to the house.  I keep a pot of treats on my desk (I work from home) and just say 'thanks' and lob him a biscuit.  He then knows that his job is done.  He used to bark at everyone/everything going past the house PLUS any strange noises emanating from my neighbours noisy kids next door.  Now he will go to the front window if someone walks past the house, but doesn't bark.  :-)  If I am there, I acknowledge this behaviour again with a 'thanks' and a 'good hush' and a treat.  He is now just 5 years old, so it has taken a while!  :-(  But we got there!  :-)

BTW....what breeds are your two dogs?

The best way to teach a dog to bark on command is to pair it with a "shut up" one!

Frustration causes a dog to bark, I teach mine to bark for their meals from 7 weeks old.

For a gobby dog the higher reward is given when it is quiet and vice versa for a reticent one.

If door bells start the dog off, then get someone to press the door bell!

Thanks for your help Jan.  We'll try what you suggested and see how we go.  It's so reassuring to know that although it took a good while you managed to sort out your dogs behaviour which sounds very similar to Chester's.  I just need to be patient and work at it!

BTW they are just crossbreeds, nothing exciting but adorable all the same.

x

BTW they are just crossbreeds, nothing exciting but adorable all the same.

Was only asking as some breeds as a whole tend to be more vocal than others.....although there will always be the exception!

Teaching ours to bark on command involved making a 'mouth' shape with my hand and using the command 'speak'. At first I also made a small barking noise (no wonder the neighbours think we're the crazy dog ladies). Give big praises when followed through.

Most barking that is not done through boredom is done to alert you to something - show the dog you are aware of the situation, be it the door-bell ringing or someone approaching the house and show them that you will now deal with the situation by praising and moving them away. Telling the dog to shut up may stop it barking alltogether.

Good Luck