How to Teach Your Dog to Speak
Choose your reward., Consider clicker training., Get your dog excited., Grab your reward., Reward barking., Name the behavior., Try the command by itself., Phase out the reward., Practice in different places.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Choose your reward.
Pick something your dog really loves; the better the reward, the easier it will be to teach your dog.If your dog loves to play, you can try using her favorite toy and playing with her when she barks.
Most people, however, will find that treats are the most effective way to teach a dog.
The best treats will be ones your dog loves, and which are also easy to carry, easy to break into pieces, and healthy.Use a variety of treats so your dog doesn’t get bored.Try:
String cheese sticks.
Cooked chicken.
Meat rolls (available at pet stores).
Broken-up dog biscuits or store-bought training treats.
Baby carrots or frozen green beans (for dogs on a diet). -
Step 2: Consider clicker training.
In clicker training, you use a sound (the clicker) to let your dog know when she has done something right.
The clicker is very effective because it is a consistent, unique sound, different from your voice.
However, you can also say “good” or “yes” as a signal if you don’t have a clicker.Load your clicker first.
Get a treat in your hand.
If your dog tries to get it, just close your hand.
Click and offer it to your dog.
Repeat a few minutes later.
Then again.
Continue until your dog comes immediately at the sound of the clicker and expects a treat., This will make her more likely to bark.
Play a game that gets her excited like fetch or tug., Now that your dog is primed for barking, grab the reward.
Let your dog see it, then hide it behind your back., Hopefully your energy, your dog’s excitement, and the treat behind your back will result in a bark.
If not, you may need to show the treat again, or even hold it out but not let them have it.
Your dog will be confused, which often leads to barking, but be prepared to wait.
It may take 5 minutes or more.
Be patient.
When your dog does bark, click or say “yes” and reward her with the toy or treat.If your dog does not bark, you might try your own barking to encourage her., Now that your dog knows barking will get her treats, name the behavior.
Try to say “speak” or “talk” just before she barks.
You might also consider adding a hand signal, since dogs learn visual cues more quickly than spoken ones.
Practice several times saying “speak” or “talk” just before your dog barks.Be sure to keep your voice at the same tone and volume each time you say “speak.” They will associate that tone with the command, making it easier to learn., Now that your dog is starting to associate a word with barking, say “speak” or “talk” and wait for her to bark.
Be sure to say the command only once.When your dog barks, offer a reward.
Continue doing this practice for about ten minutes a day until they have mastered the command.Be sure not to practice too long.
You dog will learn better if training is fun.
If she starts to lose interest, stop., Treats are a great way to teach a behavior, but once the behavior is learned, continuing to give treats actually distracts your dog and slows response time.
Start phasing out treats as soon as your dog responds correctly.Gradually increase the number of correct responses before you give a treat.
Begin by offering a treat only every other time.
Then every third time.
When you feel your dog has mastered barking on command, see how many responses you can get without a treat.
Work your way up to 10 or
20.Also increase the amount of time you wait before you reward.
The idea is to break gradually break the link between completing the command and food.Substitute other rewards for food.
Once your dog can bark on command 10 or more times without a treat, start working in short training sessions with no food.
After several successful responses, praise your dog, pet her, and play with her.
The goal is to start replacing treats with other rewards.It is okay to keep giving occasional, unpredictable treats to sharpen behavior., Once your dog has mastered barking on command in the calm of your home, try at the park or on walks. -
Step 3: Get your dog excited.
-
Step 4: Grab your reward.
-
Step 5: Reward barking.
-
Step 6: Name the behavior.
-
Step 7: Try the command by itself.
-
Step 8: Phase out the reward.
-
Step 9: Practice in different places.
Detailed Guide
Pick something your dog really loves; the better the reward, the easier it will be to teach your dog.If your dog loves to play, you can try using her favorite toy and playing with her when she barks.
Most people, however, will find that treats are the most effective way to teach a dog.
The best treats will be ones your dog loves, and which are also easy to carry, easy to break into pieces, and healthy.Use a variety of treats so your dog doesn’t get bored.Try:
String cheese sticks.
Cooked chicken.
Meat rolls (available at pet stores).
Broken-up dog biscuits or store-bought training treats.
Baby carrots or frozen green beans (for dogs on a diet).
In clicker training, you use a sound (the clicker) to let your dog know when she has done something right.
The clicker is very effective because it is a consistent, unique sound, different from your voice.
However, you can also say “good” or “yes” as a signal if you don’t have a clicker.Load your clicker first.
Get a treat in your hand.
If your dog tries to get it, just close your hand.
Click and offer it to your dog.
Repeat a few minutes later.
Then again.
Continue until your dog comes immediately at the sound of the clicker and expects a treat., This will make her more likely to bark.
Play a game that gets her excited like fetch or tug., Now that your dog is primed for barking, grab the reward.
Let your dog see it, then hide it behind your back., Hopefully your energy, your dog’s excitement, and the treat behind your back will result in a bark.
If not, you may need to show the treat again, or even hold it out but not let them have it.
Your dog will be confused, which often leads to barking, but be prepared to wait.
It may take 5 minutes or more.
Be patient.
When your dog does bark, click or say “yes” and reward her with the toy or treat.If your dog does not bark, you might try your own barking to encourage her., Now that your dog knows barking will get her treats, name the behavior.
Try to say “speak” or “talk” just before she barks.
You might also consider adding a hand signal, since dogs learn visual cues more quickly than spoken ones.
Practice several times saying “speak” or “talk” just before your dog barks.Be sure to keep your voice at the same tone and volume each time you say “speak.” They will associate that tone with the command, making it easier to learn., Now that your dog is starting to associate a word with barking, say “speak” or “talk” and wait for her to bark.
Be sure to say the command only once.When your dog barks, offer a reward.
Continue doing this practice for about ten minutes a day until they have mastered the command.Be sure not to practice too long.
You dog will learn better if training is fun.
If she starts to lose interest, stop., Treats are a great way to teach a behavior, but once the behavior is learned, continuing to give treats actually distracts your dog and slows response time.
Start phasing out treats as soon as your dog responds correctly.Gradually increase the number of correct responses before you give a treat.
Begin by offering a treat only every other time.
Then every third time.
When you feel your dog has mastered barking on command, see how many responses you can get without a treat.
Work your way up to 10 or
20.Also increase the amount of time you wait before you reward.
The idea is to break gradually break the link between completing the command and food.Substitute other rewards for food.
Once your dog can bark on command 10 or more times without a treat, start working in short training sessions with no food.
After several successful responses, praise your dog, pet her, and play with her.
The goal is to start replacing treats with other rewards.It is okay to keep giving occasional, unpredictable treats to sharpen behavior., Once your dog has mastered barking on command in the calm of your home, try at the park or on walks.
About the Author
Brittany Kennedy
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow creative arts tutorials.
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