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| ADVICE 295 |
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The dog that barks offers protection and works as an excellent alarm. If your dog has learnt to "speak" when you order so, you will be not only able to say when the animal can bark, but also when it must remain silent.
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| Once your dog learns that it can only bark under specific circumstances, you will be able to teach it to bark when receiving the order or when hearing certain noises such as the fire alarm or noises outside the window. At first, you will reward it with food or toys; after that, congratulating it with words. |
| 1. Tie the leash to a fence or a post and stay at a distance of one meter. Show the dog a toy but without giving it to the animal and give it a prize when it barks of frustration. |
| 2. Put the toy aside and change the prize that, instead of food, will be a "good" when the dog barks, but give the animal a food prize every now and then. |
| 3. Give it the order "bark" as soon as the dog barks and then give the toy as reward. |
| ADVICE 296 |
| Here it is essential to give the orders in the right moment. If you observe the dog's body language, you will be able to determine when it is going to bark. |
| 4. When the dog understands the order "bark" give the order "shut up" when it is barking. Give the toy to the dog when it stops barking, but take it back if it continues barking. |
| 5. After teaching the dog to bark or to remain silent when you are near, get a little away from the animal.
Repeat the exercise patiently from the beginning, until the dog gets to obey.
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| 6. Go back to the dog and reward it offering the animal its favorite toy. Repeat the exercise until the dog responds, always rewarding it every now and then while it is still tied. The let the dog free and continue training it, this time untied. |
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| USEFUL VARIATIONS to Stop Dog Barking |
| ALTERNATIVE TO THE "SHUT UP" |
| If the dog reacts in front of food, put a delicious portion of food in front of its snout to make it stop from barking and, as soon as the animal shuts up, say "shut up" and then give it the food prize. Don't give it to the dog until it is silent. |
| PROTECTION |
| There are a lot of people who only want their dogs to bark for their defense, for which the order "watch" is more useful than "bark". A barking dog is very good to dissuade intruders, at home, or potential attackers, on the street. |
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