We have had Pepper for a little over a month and she is very smart and catches on quick, but she may have been punished for barking by a previous owner. She is a rescue and she has only let out a couple of tiny little barks the entire time she has been here. When she did bark, she quickly looked at us and hung her head as if she were afraid of getting into trouble.
I am wondering if maybe I should just not worry about teaching her the speak command, but on the other hand, wouldn't it be beneficial for her to learn that it's okay to bark sometimes?
Any ideas on how can I encourage her to bark so I can train her to "speak?"
Or would you just skip that trick?
How to train a dog to "speak?"
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cheesehawk
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:25 am
- Location: Monterey Park, CA USA
From what I understand, some breeds bark less than others (my English Bulldog, or a previous Shih Tzu I had). I actually prefer this, as I live in an apartment, and don't want my dog's barking to annoy the neighbors. Knowing what breed Pepper is might help us give better advice.
However, if you want to encourage your dog to bark, my dad trained our German Shepherd via clicker training. He noticed when we took him outside and played fetch with him, getting him good and riled up, he would bark if we held onto the toy for a while. He wanted us to throw it. We would get him to bark, and reward with a click and a treat right away. After a bit, maybe 15-20 times of him barking, then we would introduce the speak command and continue to click and treat. It only took about 10 minutes to teach him speak.
However, the downside is the dog then knew it was ok to bark, and would do so at night alot, whenever he wanted our attention.
However, if you want to encourage your dog to bark, my dad trained our German Shepherd via clicker training. He noticed when we took him outside and played fetch with him, getting him good and riled up, he would bark if we held onto the toy for a while. He wanted us to throw it. We would get him to bark, and reward with a click and a treat right away. After a bit, maybe 15-20 times of him barking, then we would introduce the speak command and continue to click and treat. It only took about 10 minutes to teach him speak.
However, the downside is the dog then knew it was ok to bark, and would do so at night alot, whenever he wanted our attention.
teaching to speak
cheesehawk, we do play with her like that, but she doesn't even growl. She growled once when it started raining really hard and she could hear it and couldn't figure ot what it was until we showed her.
Nettle, I had to laugh at your comment. My hubby agrees with you!
Nettle, I had to laugh at your comment. My hubby agrees with you!
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cheesehawk
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:25 am
- Location: Monterey Park, CA USA
What breed is she? Have you ever had a situation where she barked? I believe the key will be to reproduce that moment, and rewarding the bark. If you can remember something that might have solicited a bark, maybe you can get her to do it again, and this time, be ready with treats and praise.
My bulldog is just beginning to bark at noises heard outside the door. If I wanted to teach him to speak (I don't haha, I don't want to open that can of worms either!), I would get a freind to make noises outside the door and use a clicker to reward the bark and go from there.
My bulldog is just beginning to bark at noises heard outside the door. If I wanted to teach him to speak (I don't haha, I don't want to open that can of worms either!), I would get a freind to make noises outside the door and use a clicker to reward the bark and go from there.
It took weeks before we heard what our dog's bark sounded like! He is not a barker generally - like on walks when he sees other dogs he'll just look at them when they're far away or he'll play if we actually meet them. There are a few dogs he doesn't like and has snarled at them so we avoid those dogs these days. Inside the house he's not a barker unless he sees a cat out the window or hears what may sound like intruders outside our door. I would say you may eventually hear your dog bark, but for now thank your lucky stars! 
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Disney Paws
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:37 pm
Yes, I agree, my dog rarely barks and I'm thankful. =PNettle wrote:If I were in your position I'd be grateful the dog didn't bark much and no way would I want to risk her becoming noisy.
Keep the genie in the bottle
But the only real way it would be beneficial is because it's helping her training, but if she's not a barker, then it's not a bad thing at all.
Training is something that should be done with natural things a dog can do, for example, teaching a social dog to lick on command because he's allready used to it, but if she doesn't allready bark, I wouldn't try to make her bark. If you want, whenever she does bark, then give her a treat and say, "Good speak." 