11/28/2025
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DQJPprtKH/
TRAINING TIP THURSDAY
Barking dogs is one of the things that frustrates me most at dog shows. It isn't the barking dogs, it's the ineffective and annoying things people do to get their dogs to stop.
Here is a common scenario at dog shows. Dog is quietly standing on the grooming table or in a crate for a period of time. The dog barks. The owner yells at the dog to shut up. The dog stops barking for 5 seconds and then the whole process is repeated. Sometimes, ALL weekend long.
The poor dog gets completely ignored the entire time he or she is quiet and then barks and gets yelled at. The owner wants the barking to stop and if the yelling causes the dog to stop barking, but only for a short period. They haven't effectively punished the behavior of barking, they have suppressed it. The dog learned nothing because the training is faulty.
Consider this. Instead of waiting for the dog to bark to yell, reward him while he is being quiet. Saying, "good quiet" and giving a treat when the dog is quiet is just as easy as waiting for the dog to bark, is less frustrating than screaming at the dog all day and most importantly, it actually works to reinforce the behavior of being quiet.
I see this over and over and over and it's frustrating because when you just train quiet, the dog does it, understands what you want and everyone is happy.
See how that works?
