No one can deny that being a dog owner makes you learn so much about them to the point of almost becoming a dog trainer yourself. You will have to teach your dog all the important skills he needs, and barking is one of those skills. Of course, he has to first be familiar with the basics such as ''sit'', ''down'', ''stay'', ''leave it'' commands and master them before starting.
Teaching your dog to bark properly is important so you can control his vocalizations when you have to.
Here are some tips to help you succeed:
Get your dog excited
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To do so, you will need a trigger to get your dog to bark; choose a game that will make your dog excited such as hide and seek, fetching...
You might even just ask someone to help you and knock at the house door or ring the doorbell.
Trick or treat
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Before you get started, get some delicious dog treats or something your dog loves. You should reward your dog immediately after being cooperative, so he knows that every action counts.
Waouh Waouh
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Just after capturing a single bark, reward your dog by using the clicker training and giving him a treat, if you don't have a clicker training you might just use the word ''YES''. Make sure you reward your dog for being good.
It might sound stupid, but if your dog does not bark, try barking yourself to encourage him.
Association
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Now that your dog knows that barking gets him treats, start naming the behavior. Say ''SPEAK'' or ''TALK'' just before he barks; also, add a hand signal to your command since dogs recognize hand commands better than vocal ones.
Repetition
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Your dog now starts recognizing and associating the command/hand signal to barking. Say "SPEAK" or "TALK" and wait for him to bark, when he does, offer him a reward. Repeat the practice a few times a day until your dog masters it, and once he starts barking on cue, reduce the frequency of treats and use the command in normal day situations until he barks without waiting for treats.
Teaching your dog new skills and increasing his vocabulary is a nice way to keep his brain sharp, also it helps strengthen the bond with your dog while providing a pleasant fresh way of learning.
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