How do you teach your dog the quiet command?
Have you ever wished that you could make stop barking on command?
That would be almost as good as training your pooch to jump hurdles, right?
Then I’ve got some great news for you!
It’s so easy to teach your dog to be quite that you can accomplish this trick in five steps.
Just keep on reading to find out how.
How do you teach your dog the quiet command?
Barking was probably one of the main reasons why humans domesticated dogs.
They needed somebody with a sharp hearing to alert them when trouble was near. And dogs turned out to be the perfect candidate for the job.
While you might still rely on your dog’s barking to alert you when somebody is at the door, a dog that makes too much noise can get you into trouble with the neighbors.
In addition to this, it’s not pleasant to wake up in the middle of the night due to persistent barking.
Fortunately, you can teach your dog to be quiet on command.
It requires a lot of patience on your part, time, and practice. But it worth the efforts when you get to enjoy the silence.
#1 Make preparations
To teach your dog the quiet command, you need to gather a few things before you start your lessons.
First, you need a way to make your dog start barking. You can use the sound of the doorbell or a meowing cat. Just think about what would prompt your pooch to bark and how you can replicate it at home.
Then you need some high-value treats, like those in the video below. Ordinary dog food will not do the trick. It must be something so special that your dog goes crazy for it.
However, break it off in small pieces to avoid overfeeding your pooch.
In addition to this, you need a quiet room with no distractions so that you and your dog can focus on the lesson.
Finally, you need to choose your command words. I recommend “speak” and “quiet,” but you can use whatever words you want as long as you’re consistent.
#2 Teach your dog to speak on command
While it might seem strange to you, the first step to teaching your dog to be quiet is to make Rover bark on command.
That’s quite easy to accomplish with positive reinforcement:
- Get your dog to bark. You might ring the doorbell or play a sound on your phone.
- When Rover starts to bark, say “speak” and reward him with a treat.
- Continue to practice the above two steps for a few days in a row.
- Eventually, when Rover hears the word “speak,” he should start barking. Praise and reward him immediately if he does bark without being triggered.
- If Rover doesn’t do as you expect, practice for a few more days and try again.
# 3 Teach your dog to be quiet on command
Once your dog has mastered “speaking,” you can move on to the next step. And that’s teaching him to be quiet. Here’s how to do it:
- Say “speak” and wait for your dog to bark.
- When Rover starts “speaking,” you must say “quiet” and place a treat in front of his nose.
- Most dogs will stop barking sooner or later to check out what you have in your hand.
- When Rover stops barking, you must praise and reward him.
- Keep practicing until your dog understands that being quiet earns him tasty rewards.
Once your dog has mastered these steps, you must work on shortening the time between the command and your dog’s reaction. For example, reward your dog only if Rover stops barking in 15 seconds or less.
Then continue to work until your dog stops immediately when he hears “quiet.” That might take you a few weeks to accomplish, but don’t give up.
#4 Add distractions
After you have been practicing the above steps for a few weeks and your dog is obeying you every time, it’s time for the next level.
And that is to add distractions and see how well your dog answers the command.
For example, have a friend come over and ring the doorbell. Or take your dog outside for a walk and go where you know something will trigger Rover’s barking.
Continue to practice the “quiet” command in these distracting situations until your dog obeys you without hesitation.
#5 Phase out the treats
Treats are excellent motivation for a dog to follow your orders, but it’s easy to overfeed a dog with too many treats.
So, you will want your dog to obey you even without getting treats every time he stays quiet.
So, once your dog stops barking immediately when you say “quiet, it’s time to work on phasing out the treats.
Do that by rewarding your dog every other time and work slowly on completely stopping the food.
Don’t forget to praise him and show Rover that he has done an excellent job. That works almost as well as treats for dogs (not for cats).
How do you get your dog to stop barking?
Besides teaching your dog to be quiet on command, you can use other techniques to keep Rover’s barking at check:
- Ask for incompatible behavior. For example, when your dog is barking, ask him to roll over. He will have to stop barking to do it.
- Desensitize your dog to his barking trigger. That means making your pooch connect his trigger with something positive so that he doesn’t react to it anymore.
- Place a barrier between the dog and whatever is making him bark. For example, close the curtains and block the view from the window.
- Ignore the barking until the dog calms down and then reward him.
- Keep your dog mentally and physically stimulated so that Rover doesn’t bark from boredom.
In conclusion, I would like to say that you mustn’t yell at your dog when he is barking. While it might relieve some of your frustration, it’s not going to solve the problem.
Instead, Rover will learn that he can attract your attention by barking and it will twice as hard to fix the problem.
Remain calm, use positive reinforcement, and follow the 5 steps I outlined.
It might take you a while to teach your dog to be quiet, but it’s possible as long as you’re consistent and keep your temper at check.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks