Training to bark

[Wrath]

I'm attempting to ellicit barking from our 2 dogs, so that I can establish the behavior and eventually cue it up as 'speak'. Of course, I can't figure out how to make them bark, I've been mostly patiently waiting with the clicker for the very rare instances where they bark at something or someone outside. I've been clicking and rewarding when they do, but it's not happening frequently enough to train.

I've tried making barking noises myself, taunting them with toys or food, getting them worked up in play...so far nothing's really working.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[legalbeagle]

Well, I'd ditch that clicker. I'm into old-fashioned clicker-less training. Waiting around for the desired behavior is like watching grass grow. Better to be proactive.

First, consider why dogs [Rotties] bark. They bark to communicate. THey communicate when they alert, to ward off intruders to their turf, to signal a need and to communicate intraspecies.

You need to establish a need to bark in response to one of those.

I had to teach my girl to bark. She was barkless for ages. I did however note that she had grown to feel some territoriality. Because I'd tried all the methods you mentioned without success, I decided to take that growing desire to "guard" the territory as a sign that she'd bark on command if she had sufficient "reason" in her own head.

I'd note that she seemed to find anyone walking by the windows as worthy of barking at, but not those who knocked on the door or rang the bell. [Yes, go figure]. Therefore, I teamed up with her during the days at times and we'd "Watch it!" out the windows for anyone passing by. This can turn into a bad habit if you let it, so make sure you teach the "Quiet" command too. Anyway, as we'd peek out the various windows of the house, I whisper to her "Watch it Zoe, watch it!" and when we saw someone, I'd Woof a bit myself. Sure enough, it worked. As soon as she'd Woof, I'd give her a tasty treat. Soon, I began to say "Zoe, Listen!" and act as if I'd heard something. Then I'd Woof. She'd become intensely still to listen for territory intrusions, and would maybe whine a tad, at which point I'd say "Good Speak! Good Watch it!" and give her a goodie.

Over time and making it fun for her, it worked. She'll now bark on command. When I tell her to 'Quiet', she'll become very quiet and go off "duty". At this point, she'll monitor the windows for passerby, will note neighbors and not bark, but will bark at various levels if she notes strangers. Sometimes, just to keep her on her toes, I'll say, "Zoe, Listen! Zoe, Speak!' and she'll Woof.

I've basically tried to tap into an instinct to bark, and then made it a game she enjoys and plays with me. She's learned to distinguish who to bark at and who not to bark at, though I monitor her to make sure she's not becoming a nuisance. Neighbors report not hearing either of my dogs barking while we're not home.

Hope that helps a bit.

Cathi M.

Oh, one more thing. It's very difficult to get Rotties to bark if they're not barky types. It's like dealing with a stone at times. :( Our newest male wouldn't bark at all, though he's beginning to bark a bit if he hears Zoe go at it. I've worked with him to bark at the doorbell, but he seems to key into noises in the driveway instead, signaling to me he's territory guarding too.

[Luvs]

My 5 month old puppy Akasha was very easy to train to bark. She has been speaking on command since she was 10 weeks old. Her brother Keil is still learning to bark when we want him too. With Akasha I just showed her some food or a toy and got her very excited about the item I was showing her and it didn't take long until she was barking when I asked her to. I have to admit getting her to stop was a little harder lol. Akasha is a very verbal puppy. I think that Akasha was so easy because I started so young with her and I was able to encourage what she was doing naturally. Keil we got a month ago and he has been a little more challenging. With him we use his sister and get her barking and excited and then he will sometimes bark and as soon as he does we praise and treat. He also likes to try and get our little dogs to play with him (they refuse since he is so big lol) and he will bark at them, we try to give him the command just before he looks like he is going to bark and then praise him when he does. He is starting to get it;)

[Wrath]

The problem isn't that he won't bark, it's just so sporadic and short-lived that he's often finished before I can get in to reward the behavior. Like I said, there are certian circumstances where he's more likely to bark, such as standing by our patio door watching people pass by outside. I've been setting him up and waiting for the behavior, but training would go a lot faster if I could find a way of consistently coaxing a bark out of him.

Don't care for the clickers eh? I've been having a great deal of success with it. It's much quicker and more consistent than verbal praise as a marker and it allows me to not have to have food in hand for training. I can leave the treats off to the side or in a pocket and the dogs focus completely on me.

[Rott-Wiley]

Here's what I did (and have done with all my dogs). With some real good scrap of food in my right hand, I make a "U" shape with my left hand. While saying, "Go WOOF!" I open and close my left hand. Unless they make some noise, they don't get anything. Just keep that up and eventually they'll bark at the open and closing of your hand. Never seen it to fail yet.

[Gretta]

We just taught Gretta to bark on command this weekend...

On Saturday my husband picked up his guitar for the first time in months. Gretta, having never seen or heard it before, started barking at it.
I ran over with the bag of treats, telling her to say woof while he played. Every time she barked, she got a treat. It worked great- within 15 minutes she made the connection, and we just kept working on for the rest of the weekend.

(we also had to start working on Enough! too... :p )


Good luck!

Cori