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How to Train Your American Eskimo Dog to Stop Barking

How to Train Your American Eskimo Dog to Stop Barking
Hard difficulty iconHard
Time icon2-8 Weeks
Behavior training category iconBehavior

Introduction

One of the greatest traits of the American Eskimo breed is that they are extremely protective of their families and are quick to bark at strangers. One of the worst traits of the American Eskimo breed is that they love to bark. Sadly, this love of hearing their own voice on what can seem to be an almost non-stop basis is why many of these amazing and beautiful dogs end up at the pound.

Barking is what this breed seems to do best; it is in their genes and not something you are going to completely cure your Eskie of in any hurry. In fact, you may never completely break your pup of his natural desire to be vocal, but with hard work, patience, and time, you should be able to keep it down to a dull roar. More importantly, you should be able to teach your pup to stop barking on command. 

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Defining Tasks

American Eskimos are fun-loving, active dogs who love to play, learn new tricks, and even solve puzzles. But at the same time, that are very protective and have a hard time getting used to strangers, have exceptional hearing, and take their role as the family protector very seriously. In fact, they are only too happy to vocalize the fact someone is in your yard. The good news is that Eskies are highly intelligent and can learn most commands easily.

The intent behind this command is to teach your dog to be quiet when you want him to be. If everyone in your home is gone during the day, an Eskie is not your best choice. At the same time, you should not leave one outside all the time as he will probably bark non-stop. Someone needs to be there to tell him to 'be quiet' or he will continue his high-pitched barking. 

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Getting Started

The hardest part of training your Eskie to stop barking is finding the time needed to do so and, of course, the patience to keep trying. Since barking comes naturally to your pup, you are trying to teach him to do something that goes against his nature. It can be hard to find the perfect time to work on this training, but in reality, any time your pup starts barking is a good time to start the training. In fact, the earlier you start working to discourage this type of behavior the better off everyone will be. On top of this, your neighbors are sure to appreciate the long moments of silence your training will help to achieve. 

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The Pennies in the Can Method

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1

It takes a few pennies

Add a few pennies to an empty soda can and tape the hole over to make a rattle.

2

Check it out

When your Eskie barks, start by checking out why he is barking in the first place, it might be justified.

3

Tell him he did a good job

Now that you know why he is barking, tell him what a good job he did and then tell him to be quiet.

4

Bring in the training device

If your pup does not respond to the simple 'quiet' command, grab the training device.

5

Make noise

When he doesn't stop barking, shake the can and make lots of noise. Eskies hate the noise this type of rattle makes, so use it to your advantage. Each time you rattle the can, use the command 'quiet', this should stop him dead in his tracks and stop barking.

6

Keep trying

Keep rattling the can and saying "quiet" until your pup learns that the word "quiet" means it's time to stop barking or face the noise of the rattle again. Be sure to keep the can close at hand during the first few weeks of training.

The Help from a Friend Method

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1

Grab a friend

Ask one of your friends to help with this training by walking up to the house several times each training session.

2

Woof

When he walks up and your pup starts to bark, move him to another room, saying "quiet" while doing so. If he stops barking, give him a treat and praise him.

3

Repeat

Have your friend do this again and again. Each time your dog starts to bark, move him to another room and use the "quiet" command. Reward him if he stays quiet for a few minutes.

4

Cars in the driveway

Now try this by having your friend pull up in the driveway and distracting your dog by moving him around the house.

5

Practice frequently

Since your Eskie is a natural at barking to protect his home, it can take a long time and lots of hard work to curb his barking.

The Someone at the Door Method

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Borrow a friend

Have one of your friends stand at the front door and either knock or ring the doorbell.

2

Treat toss

When your dog barks, toss a treat on his bed and tell him to go to it. Repeat until he is able to do this every time without barking.

3

Up the ante

Now that he is quieting down and going to his bed reliably, up the ante by opening the door. If he gets up and starts barking, close the door.

4

Repeat the process

Repeat this process until you can open the door and he stays in place and stays quiet. In time, your Eskie should remain on his bed and do no more than quietly grumble under his breath instead of barking.

5

Enjoy the silence

Keep working at this until your friend can knock on the door or ring the bell and come into your home without your dog making a sound. You may want to try doing this with several different friends to get him to the point where he doesn't do this when anyone knocks on the door.

Written by PB Getz

Veterinary reviewed by:

Published: 10/20/2017, edited: 01/08/2021

Training Questions

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Training Questions and Answers

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Cody

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American Eskimo

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8 Months

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Question

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1 found this helpful

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1 found this helpful

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How can he stop barking other dogs?

April 30, 2019

Cody's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1133 Dog owners recommended

Hello Nicole, First, that depends on why he is barking. If it's due to a lack of socialization and feeling uncertain or suspicious about other dogs, then work on calm interactions with other dogs that involve things like going on walks together where both dogs heel, joining an obedience class where he works on obedience with other dogs around (you may need to start with a private session with just one other dog if the barking is disruptive in class), and doing three-second greetings with other calm, well behaved dogs. Whether the barking is from a lack of socialization or excitement, work on teaching the "Quiet" command from the Quiet method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Also, work on desensitizing him to other dogs - where you work on making the presence of other dogs boring and increase focus on you. Check the article linked above and follow the "Desensitization" method also found in that article, to work on that part. Also, check out the video linked below. Desensitization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY7JrteQBOQ Finally, work on teaching a focused, structured heel, where Cody walks behind or beside you, with his head behind your leg. Starting a walk that way and working on focus can help set the tone before you encounter another dog, so that your dog is calmer and more focused to begin with when you encounter another dog. Heel article - The turns method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel Heel Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTiKVc4ZZWo Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

May 1, 2019

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Nieve

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American Eskimo

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1 Year

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Question

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0 found this helpful

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0 found this helpful

I have a hard time keeping my dog to walk at a pace, she always wants to do the pulling

April 9, 2018

Nieve's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1133 Dog owners recommended

Hello Mary, Because forward movement is it's own reward for a dog, you have to teach a dog where to walk, which is beside you and you have to only reward her with movement forward when she is in the right position. To teach this check out this Wag! artilce: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel From the article that I have linked above, I recommend using both "The Turns Method" and "The Stop and Go Method" together, or if it is less confusing for you, use just "The Turns Method". Expect walks to take place close to home while you are training this. I often tell people to walk in an X pattern. Go east for a while and then return home, then go west for a while and then return home, then go north for a while and then return home, then go south for a while and then return home. Walking this way while training will keep the walk more boring for her, which will decrease the pulling, keep her attention on you better, and help her to follow you more. It will also give you more opportunities to practice heeling and reward her for being in the correct position, opposed to walking in a straight line for a long period of time, where she is more tempted to pull. Depending on how bad the pulling is she might need for you to walk her in a series of turns in a large open area, like your yard, or a field, or a park, until she learns how to follow you instead of pull. By walking in an open area you can practice making lots of turns which will teach her to pay attention to you, and then you can work up to longer straight stretches as she improves. Teaching a dog how to heel or walk without pulling, like other commands, requires training with less distractions at first and working up to harder distractions as your dog improves. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

April 9, 2018


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