Hints for stopping barking on command?
- Thread starter israel
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emmasmamma
Guest
stop barking on command
In Tamar Gellar's book "The Loved Dog", she has a chapter on barking. Tamar advocates a "playful and non-agressive way to teach your dog good behavior". The method she gave was to get a spray bottle that can adjust the flow to a stream. When the dog barks you spray him/her with the water, thus giving them a negative asssociation with barking. When they stop barking because of the surprise, you then tell them a cue word such as shush or quiet while putting your finger to your lips (typical signal for quiet) and give them a treat, thus giving them a positive association with being quiet. We live along a busy highway and have a lot of traffic slow outside our house due to people turning off, and this has been effective with my toy poodle even after just a couple of squirts, she was barking less and softer.
In Tamar Gellar's book "The Loved Dog", she has a chapter on barking. Tamar advocates a "playful and non-agressive way to teach your dog good behavior". The method she gave was to get a spray bottle that can adjust the flow to a stream. When the dog barks you spray him/her with the water, thus giving them a negative asssociation with barking. When they stop barking because of the surprise, you then tell them a cue word such as shush or quiet while putting your finger to your lips (typical signal for quiet) and give them a treat, thus giving them a positive association with being quiet. We live along a busy highway and have a lot of traffic slow outside our house due to people turning off, and this has been effective with my toy poodle even after just a couple of squirts, she was barking less and softer.
topbarks
New Member
Sorry I do not see the need for squirting your dog Period.:msnsad:emmasmamma;3288 said:
You are interupting the behaviour with an aversive stimulus and we all know dogs form very wiered associations between various things. For example: Dog sees you squirt it, dog becomes fearful of you! or dog gets squirted for barking at the mailman and the dog begins to show aggression to people coming to deliver the post.
In my experience sprays, citronella etc can serve to unnerve some dogs and although this may not have been the case with yours it is not something I as a trainer would reccomend.
I prefer to capture the good behaviour without need for aversives and reward it.:msnwink:
Mark
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emmasmamma
Guest
I understand your concern, however, there are times when a dog needs to have a negative association with an activity in order to break it and before you can reinforce the positive, you have to have it occur. Before I used the spray bottle, Emma would bark continuosly for a half hour straight just over seeing the neighbors garage light turn on. She has been to obediance training (positve reinforcement based) and even the head trainer called her a "Diva". I have trained her in everything else on only positive reinforcement. The water bottle is a minimally negative stimulus and when she stops barking she is given positive reinforcement for being quiet. You might try reading Tamar's book. You'll find that it is all about positive treatment, but even in the wild, the Alpha male will have to give a gentle negative stimulus to a pack member who doesn't pay attention. Actually, with Emma, it's not all that negative. She loves water and tries to drink it the few times she has been sprayed.
bipa
New Member
Actually, I have a copy of Tamar's book and have read it. I was extremely disappointed with it and would NOT recommend it to someone who is serious about learning to train their dog.
It is fine for fans who want to learn more about her, since part of it is practically a biography. As for training, it gives only the most basic stuff with little in-depth detail. I'd say even "Dog Training For Dummies" is a better training book.
And frankly, there's nothing "playful or non-aggressive" about spraying your dog with water. You've called it "negative" yourself, which doesn't fit the definition. I can understand that some folks do use the water spray bottle effectively, but her title is misleading in that case.
As for the alpha stuff, you do realise that there are alpha males AND alpha females, and they are usually the breeding pair? If you are interested in learning more about wolves from somebody who has studied them intensively for 40 years, as opposed to Tamar's few months, try "Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs" by L. David Mech. He's been studying wolves since 1968.
It is fine for fans who want to learn more about her, since part of it is practically a biography. As for training, it gives only the most basic stuff with little in-depth detail. I'd say even "Dog Training For Dummies" is a better training book.
And frankly, there's nothing "playful or non-aggressive" about spraying your dog with water. You've called it "negative" yourself, which doesn't fit the definition. I can understand that some folks do use the water spray bottle effectively, but her title is misleading in that case.
As for the alpha stuff, you do realise that there are alpha males AND alpha females, and they are usually the breeding pair? If you are interested in learning more about wolves from somebody who has studied them intensively for 40 years, as opposed to Tamar's few months, try "Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs" by L. David Mech. He's been studying wolves since 1968.