Teaching your dog to bark on command is a good skill for them to perfect. If you want to teach your dog to bark for reasons of protection and security, there are effective ways for you to teach your dog to bark without worrying about them barking non-stop for minutes on end. Keep reading on to find out everything you need to know.
Get your reward ready
A great way to train your dog is by rewarding their behaviour through one of their favourite treats or toys. Once you’re able to get your dog to bark, having your reward readily available will let you reward their behaviour straight away. This will help them learn that this type of behaviour is rewarded and will lead them to do it again. It’s a good idea to source out training treats that are small. That way you can practice this with your dog over and over again without worrying about stuffing them up with big treats!
How to get your dog to bark
If you live with other people, make sure you all agree on the command term that gets your dog to bark. This could be ‘speak’ or ‘bark’. Make sure you stick to the word you choose, otherwise you risk confusing your dog and backtracking after your training sessions. While most people struggle to get their dogs to stop barking, others find it difficult to get their dogs to bark. If this sounds like you, try recreating a situation that would cause your dog to bark. As this training is for security reasons, you could try recreating a scene that emulates danger. This could be knocking on the door or grabbing a member of your family. Once your dog starts barking, repeat the command word you’ve agreed on in an upbeat voice. Next, reward your dog with a training treat and get your dog to quiet down. Keep repeating this until your dog gets the hang of it. Try practising in different settings to make sure they fully understand.
More tips for training your dog
If you’re looking for more training tips for your dog to bark on command for security reasons, look no further than Total K9. We offer a wide variety of training sessions for security dogs and guard dogs. Find out more by browsing our website today!
