can't get dog to bark on command

[chuss]

ok, I need help people.

My dog is not much of a barker.
What I'm trying to do is teach her to bark on command, so far i've had no luck.
I am never directly with her when she barks, when i'm with her, she's won't bark. She is 11 months old, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Last night as I was walking with her, we went past a house that had a kelpie which was quite crazy and decided to bark it's head off at her. She just went up and sniffed this dog, she wouldn't bark, whine, etc.. I do like this temperament however. But it would've been nice in other situations to get her to bark on command.

What is the best way to get her to bark on command?

[Rott-Wiley]

Here's what I do. Get a bunch of really high value treats and say to your dog, "Go Woof!" At the same time put your hand together and move your thumb and fingers apart (that's my signal to bark). Get all charged up and keep doing that until she makes an effort at some sound. When she does give her a treat and make a big fuss about what a wonderful thing she just did. After awhile she'll get the hang of it and you should be able to just give her the signal and she'll bark.

I wouldn't encourage her to bark at dogs on a walk BTW.

[Carina43]

I taught my last Rottie to bark, using Rott-Wiley's method. I just stared at him & got him all fired up, using a hand signal (one finger held up.) Even the slightest "chuff" would get enthusiastic praise. Eventually, he got really good at it.

I would tell people my dog could not only count, he could calculate square roots, divide, multilpy, etc. I would say, "Bosco, what's the square root of one?" and hold up my finger. Voila, he would bark! It was pretty cute.

I did it more as a silly trick...yours is still young, she may become a bit more vocal. But many Rottweilers aren't particularly talkative...you need a Sheltie or something for that!

[Luvs]

I too used the method that Rott-Weily described to teach Akasha to bark on command. Akasha is very vocal and was easy to teach to bark. Something we do that really seems to amuse my friends and family is I ask Akasha, "do you love me?" and she barks. Then I ask her "How much do you love me?" and she barks even louder.:D

We are still working on Keil barking on command. He will do it every now and then but he is not quite as vocal as his sister. He doesn't get worked up about a whole lot so it is hard to get him going.

Make sure that when you teach her to bark you also teach her to stop. That was a hard one for Akasha to learn.;)

[chuss]

I have tried this so many times. Still can't get her to bark. She just sits there like a good girl waiting for her treat.

Any other ideas people?

[Wrath]

Someone in another similar thread I started reccomeded you enlist the help of a friend to come to your home and knock on your door. I don't know about your girl, but this is pretty much the only thing that drives Jaxom into a barking frenzy. Taunting with favorite toy when the dog is tied out and unable to reach it can get them worked up enough that they'll start barking to complain (though this didn't work for us)

I've also read that if you're training a bark on command for protective reasons, to use a cue word that sounds dangerous, like "PROTECT!" which would sound much more threatening in a dangerous situation than "SPEAK!" It's all the same to the dog, they're just barking when you say the secret word...but bad guys don't have to know that ;)

[JBK]

Originally posted by chuss
Last night as I was walking with her, we went past a house that had a kelpie which was quite crazy and decided to bark it's head off at her. She just went up and sniffed this dog, she wouldn't bark, whine, etc.. I do like this temperament however. But it would've been nice in other situations to get her to bark on command.

What is the best way to get her to bark on command?

Chuss
you should be very proud of your girl for ignoring this dog!
I would be handing out the treats not wanting her to "fire up"
You say you like this behaviour and then add a BUT which to me counteracts everything you just said

:D

[Luvs]

Chuss, my first rottie Delilah would not bark on command no matter what I did. I tried everything! Some dogs just don't like to bark. I think that is one of the reasons I started Akasha barking on command so young. The only dog that I started teaching this at a young age (Akasha) is the only one of my rotties who would bark on command.

Don't give up. Keep trying to find something that gets her really excited and you may get her to "speak" for you. I think that Wrath had a good idea about having a friend come over and knock on the door. Maybe that will work for you:D

[chuss]

I have tried the friend thing, she started whining..

I do like my dog's temperament and the fact that she doesn't bark much. But it would be nice to get her to "speak".

[chuss]

This is driving me crazy!!!!

I still can't make her bark. And when I do catch her barking it's when she's outside and i'm not near her. Now that she's sleeping in the laundry she won't even make a sound. All I can hear is her snoring.

[Joe Walsh]

Hey Chuss, dont get so upset about it.
Its much better to have a rottie that wont get fired up and bark at everything that moves then one that does. I'd much prefer a more relaxed easy giong dog than one whos gonna get all fired up whenever he/she see's another dog, makes your life much easier too.. Most rotties are not very vocal anyway so dont be too upset.

[Luvs]

Keil finally barks on command! :D

My husband finally got him to bark using the same method we used with Akasha. He wouldn't do it for my daughter or I in the beginning but he does now. For the past month or so my husband would ask Keil to speak and sometimes he would but most of the time he wouldn't. When he even made the slightest peep we would praise him like crazy. We praised him if he even looked like he was going to bark. Well it finally clicked 2 days ago. He now speaks almost every time we ask him.

Don't give up Chuss! ;)

[sherri]

My daughters dog Cameo didn't like to bark either. For a Schutzhund dog that is not a good thing. She loves to bite the sleeve though. Our helper would have Alyssa hold her so that she could not get to him, then he would frustrate her with the sleeve. Finally she barked and she got the bite. After a few times of this she caught on. Then he would step back, and when she barked he would take one step closer, for every bark he took a step. It worked like a charm.

[POPPYHONEY]

When I just had 1 dog, my female rottie mix was 7 mo and she was not barking. I thought her epylepsi gave the damage effect to her barking nerves
I taught her to bark by barking. LOL.. Everytime somebody is coming to our door I would bark, until she followed me to bark, I gave her praise. The command to ask her speak is a short "wouf". The next step was training her to stop barking.

[poohbearsmom]

None of mine have barked on command till they were a bit older - Attila still doesn't, and he'll be two in Sept....

None of mine barked at all till they were at least a year old (unless you count barking at the food bowl).

Perservere, and she'll get it. Get silly, work her up, and, as Rottwiley said, if she even attempts a sound, roll out a ticker tape parade.