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So you’ve got the family and friends over, the drinks are flowing and unfortunately for you, the conversation has turned to party tricks. John can do a perfect impression of Donald Trump and Susan can whistle the Game of Thrones theme tune perfectly. You, on the other hand, aren’t so musical, but there is one thing you do have, your dog!
Teaching your dog to bark on cue is a neat little party trick that is guaranteed to get a giggle. Everyone can get their dog to lie down and roll over, but getting them to speak is far more entertaining. There are also times when it could come in useful, if you’re walking late at night and you want to feel safe and secure, a barking dog is guaranteed to keep potential threats at bay.
Training your dog to speak is actually surprisingly straightforward. It will consist mainly of teaching him obedience commands with a rigorous reward program. The most challenging part is setting aside the time each day to train. If your dog is just a puppy though, he will be eager to learn and may be barking on cue in just a week or two. If your dog is older and thinks his schooling days are over, then you may need more like three weeks before you find success.
Getting this training right will be a fun little trick to show friends and may even come in useful from time to time. The other advantage it brings, is that the more obedience training you do with your dog, the easier it will be to train him other commands too.
Before your house becomes noisy, you will need to get together a few bits. The most important component will be food or treats. You will use these to incentivise and reward him. You will also need a relatively quiet space, free from distractions and in a spot where you won’t send the neighbors crazy over the next few weeks.
The only other thing you need is 15 minutes a day, a good degree of patience, and a positive attitude. Once you’ve got all of the above you’re ready to bring your dog’s voice box to life.
The Bring Out the Bark Method
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Pay attention
Look for a situation that usually encourages your dog to bark. Before you can train him to bark on command you need to find a way to get him to bark of his own accord. For some dogs, going out for a walk will encourage barking behavior, for others playing with their favorite toy out of their reach will do the trick.
Identify trigger
Once you’ve identified a trigger, be ready with a pocket full of treats. If playing with a ball out of his reach does the trick, then get the ball and begin to play.
Introduce command
Just before you think he is about to bark, say ‘speak’ in a clear and firm voice. Then continue with the behavior and wait to hear that deafening sound.
Reward!
Reward him with a treat and verbal praise as soon as he barks. It’s important he gets the treat within a few seconds of barking otherwise he won’t associate the reward with the behavior. Continue practicing this for 15 minutes for the next few days.
Reduce treats
As he begins to bark on cue, cut down the frequency of treats and use the command in normal day to day situations. You want to now check he can bark even when you aren’t encouraging him to in a trigger situation. If you have been practicing everyday he will probably already have picked up the behavior and be eager to shout for the promise of a treat. As he becomes more responsive, slowly reduce how often you give him treats until he barks even without the promise of food.
The Quiet then Speak Method
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Trigger barking
Create a situation that will make him bark naturally. You could get his food out, many dogs go crazy when they know a meal is coming. By training him to be quiet first, it will be easier to train him to bark on command too.
Introduce 'quiet' command
When he does start barking, say ‘quiet’ and hold up the treat to get his attention. It is important you get his attention with the treat before you give the ‘quiet’ command.
Reward
When he stops barking, quickly give him the treat and shower him with praise. Repeat this training for 15 minutes each day until your dog responds to the ‘quiet’ command whatever the excitable situation. As he responds to the training, slowly reduce the frequency of treats until the verbal command alone does the job.
Teach the 'bark'
Get your dog into an excitable situation, such as taking him out for a walk and then say ‘bark’ just before you think he is about to bark. It is important to try and get the timing right, you want there to be a short a gap as possible between the command and the bark. The shorter the gap the quicker he will make the connection.
Reward
Quickly give him a treat and show him he’s done a good job with verbal praise. Practice this training for 15 minutes each day and as he gets the hang of it, cut down the frequency of treats and practice the verbal command when he isn’t in an already excitable state. Once he has mastered both commands separately, you will be also to silence him and have him speak depending on the occasion.
The Body Language Method
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Prepare with treats
Get his favorite food or treat and take him to a quiet room, free from distractions. It is important you use a treat/food he doesn’t just like, but genuinely loves. This will bring out a bark in much less time.
Tempt
Hold the treat in front of his face and play with it but make sure he doesn’t actually get it. While you are doing this, pay close attention to his behavior and body language.
Encourage barking
As soon as you see his ears drop back and his eyes focus on you, give him a treat and some verbal praise. This is a good sign that he is about to bark, so a treat at this point will encourage him on the path to barking again. The first couple of times it may take 5 minutes before you get the reaction you want as some dogs aren’t natural barkers, so be patient!
Reward barking
This time wait for him to actually bark, then say ‘speak’ and swiftly give him a treat and praise. Keep practicing this and try to give the ‘speak’ command at the same time or even before he barks. Soon he will associate the command as a cue to bark.
Practice
Practice for 15 minutes a day until he has the hang of it, then slowly reduce the frequency of treats. Then try commanding your dog to bark in a variety of different situations to ensure he fully understands. Continue with the training until he barks without the promise of food.
Written by Amy Caldwell
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 10/08/2017, edited: 01/08/2021
More articles by Amy Caldwell
Training Questions and Answers
Teach my dog to bark
Feb. 10, 2022
Kari's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, Check out the article I have linked below. I would try the doorbell method first if your dog tends to bark at the door when guests come over. If pup doesn't bark then, I would try things like sirens and howling dogs on recording next. A video of a siren may do the trick, but if not, you can find a park near a fire station or hospital and practice there with the real sirens that go off. Once pup has learned the Speak command, you can cue pup to bark and encourage it at the times you want pup too. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Feb. 10, 2022
She is not barking at strangers.. She only barks when she is hungry.. How do u teach him to bark at strangers??
July 12, 2020
Browny's Owner
Hi there, My name is Caellan. I am writing to you today in order to ask advice on how I can teach Niño to speak, he only barks at then neighbours dogs, but was recently castrated, and I believe that it may change his behaviour, how can I create a scenario to cause him bark. Thanks!
May 14, 2020
Niño's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Caellan, Check out the article linked below. If pup will bark at the door bell or door knock, the Door Knock method. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak If pup doesn't bark at the door, you can follow the same door bark method, but have pup watch the neighbors dogs from your yard or window while they are outside to trigger the barking - then command speak and reward, then command quiet and reward when pup becomes quiet. You can also follow the Capture method, which should work as well when pup barks at the neighbor's dogs, that method will just take a bit longer to teach since you will be waiting until the behavior happens on it's own. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
May 14, 2020
Hello I am trying to get my German Shepherd to bark at intruders. Most of the time if someone knocks on the door or tries to open it, he’ll go up to the door but never bark. He also doesn’t bark at other dogs at all. What’s funny is one time people came to try to open the door one night (mistakenly cuz it wasn’t their townhouse) and he big boy barked like crazy. So how can I get him to do it on command or more often.
Dec. 30, 2019
Atlas's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Blaire, First, you will have to find what does trigger his bark. Check out the article linked below and the "video method". If you can get pup to bark using that method, use that to teach speak, then have someone knock on the door and command speak each time, then reward. Practice this until pup will do it when someone knocks and you don't say speak - then reward with several treats when he does it on his own. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak If pup won't speak using that method, use the Capture method found in the same article. That method can also be used to teach the initial Speak command, then the door training is the same after that. This method will take longer because it requires to catching pup speaking. Also, some dogs will bark at small animals, horns, fire sirens, or people acting weird outside your window (waving arms, dressed odd with a hat, trench coat and glasses type outfit, and banging on things). Try a few different triggers to see if you can find one he regularly barks at, then teach the Speak command similar to the "Door Knocking method" from the article I linked above, that also contains the capture or video methods - saying speak, triggering the barking, then rewarding, practicing until pup will bark without the trigger when you just say Speak in order to receive a reward. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Jan. 15, 2020