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Quieting a barking dog is a quick and easy process. Really. It
also doesn’t cost any money. But it’s not an obvious process -
witness the many dogs barking all the time in parks, backyards
on street corners, with their owners tugging at their leash and
yelling at them and the dogs completely ignoring their commands.
My dog was driving me crazy until I learned how to stop his
barking.

My dog barked and whined all the time, and it was a breed
(husky), that was known for making a lot of noise. The situation
was especially bad when the doorbell rang or he saw strangers.
It was almost impossible to stop him once he started, and if
there was another dog involved, forget it - my dog would yap his
head off until the dogs were separated and out of sight.

One weekend, though, my friend came over to visit. She worked at
the Chicago Zoo and knew animals better than anyone I had ever
seen. In an hour she had my dog completely quiet, and she taught
me how to do it, too. One hour to solve a problem that was
driving me crazy for the last three years!

The secret is not intuitive. First you teach the dog to bark(!)
I thought my friend was insane when she told me this. Obviously
my dog knew how to bark because he barked and whined all the
time. But she explained that while my dog barked a lot, he
couldn’t bark on command. First she taught him to bark on
command, and then she taught him to be quiet on command. The
whole process took less than an hour. My dog is pretty smart, so
it may take your dog longer, but still, it’s an incredibly
effective technique, and now, two years later, my dog still
doesn’t give me trouble. What a great afternoon!

There are two elements at work here: positive reinforcement and
intermittent reinforcement. Positive reinforcement teaches the
behavior, and intermittent reinforcement keeps the behavior
permanent. Negative reinforcement is just not a strong inducer
of behavior. Negative reinforcement like shock collars or saying
“No” does work to a certain extent, but studies have shown it to
be about 10 times less effective than positive reinforcement.
Everything she did was very clear and precise, which was much of
the reason she got her results so quickly. Your results may
vary, but the clearer and more precise you can make everything,
the better. First, go on a long walk with your dog to get him a
lot of exercise. Your dog can’t learn when he’s all riled up.

Teaching your dog to bark: Then get a box of treats. Then look
at your dog. When he barks, immediately praise him and give him
a treat. Don’t let any time elapse between the bark and the
treat. Pretty soon he’ll be barking a lot. Right now, the
behavior is coming before the cue. Shape the behavior first, and
then add your cue.

Teaching your dog to bark on command: Then go away for a few
minutes and come back. Ignore his barking and ignore everything
else he does. Just stand there, doing nothing, not rewarding him
at all, not even looking at him. It may take a long time, but
eventually your dog will calm down, stop barking, and start
doing his own thing. Once your dog calms down and stops barking,
start working with him again. This time, only give him a treat
when you say “Speak” and point at him, and then he barks. 1.
Verbal command and point. 2. Bark. 3. Reward. Don’t give him a
treat for just barking on his own. This part will take a while,
but he will eventually understand the command. You’re rewarding
him for behavior he already is predisposed to do, you’re just
associating a command with it. Teaching your dog to be quiet: Go
away for a few minutes, and then come back. He’ll probably be
barking a lot when you come back, but again, stay totally still
and don’t reward him at all (no praising, no eye contact,
nothing). Once he stops barking, count to five slowly to
yourself. You may have to wait a long time before he’ll stop
barking enough so a full count of five, but it will happen
eventually. Once you can count to five without any barking, then
reward him with praise and a treat. Notice that at this point,
the behavior comes before the cue. Shape the behavior first, and
then add your cue.

Teaching your dog to be quiet on demand: Keep that up for a
while until the behavior sinks in, and then add the command.
When he’s not barking, hold up your hand as if you’re signaling
someone to stop, and say the command “Quiet”. If he’s quiet,
then give him a treat and praise. So the order is 1. Verbal
command and hand signal. 2. Dog is quiet. 3. Reward. Soon your
dog will know how to be quiet on demand.

After a while, the treats won’t be necessary, and even verbal
praise won’t be necessary every time. The praise at irregular
intervals is the intermittent reinforcement part of the picture,
and is very powerful. Intermittent reinforcement works better
than if you reward behavior every single time.

Soon you’ll have a dog that will go totally quiet when you tell
him to!

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