How to deal with barking?

[jennawing]

Squirting him with water is one way- though that would likely be one more thing to bark at. Spray bottle doesn't work n my dogs- they catch it in their mouth- think it is a game. Teach him to speak on command would be a better idea. Once he knows the command to speak, you can get him to understand 'no speak'- or, as our Natalie knows the command- 'mime dog' and she changes her bark to a whisper. This was the only thing that helped us. When I talked to the vet about it- he wanted to do surgery on her vocal chords. I definitely wasn't keen on going that route.

[critter crazy]

Squirting him with water is one way- though that would likely be one more thing to bark at. Spray bottle doesn't work n my dogs- they catch it in their mouth- think it is a game. Teach him to speak on command would be a better idea. Once he knows the command to speak, you can get him to understand 'no speak'- or, as our Natalie knows the command- 'mime dog' and she changes her bark to a whisper. This was the only thing that helped us. When I talked to the vet about it- he wanted to do surgery on her vocal chords. I definitely wasn't keen on going that route.

so how does one go about teaching a dog to speak??? we got rotti from a rescue who already knew the command, and we have been trying to teach duke to speak. but to no avail!!

[Kosy]

Try this:
Get a handful of yummy treats and have them in your pocket. Get a can of some sort and put 10-20 pennies inside. Get ready. When your dog barks, shake the can immediately. That should startle him enough and get his attention. Then tell him to sit, and when he does, give him a treat immediately. Be consistent. Eventually you should be able to tell him to sit--or down, if you prefer--after the first warning bark.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

so how does one go about teaching a dog to speak??? we got rotti from a rescue who already knew the command, and we have been trying to teach duke to speak. but to no avail!!

Marta knows how to speak. Find something that makes them bark, and give a treat everytime he barks after you "speak," he will probably pick it up pretty quickly!

[Rachel]

This really is a hard nut to crack, but some dogs do learn the *no bark* command. I would get a couple good dog training books from the library and look up the techniques which are recommended. If all else fails, you could get one of those collars which allows a free bark and then gives off a warning and a mild correction. One of our friends uses it for his little dog who we sometimes care for when they are on vacation. Rita doesn't mind wearing the collar and it really does work. I don't like the idea of it because it has these two prong things that seem to poke into the front of the neck, but like I said, Rita doesn't seem to mind it.