Teaching your doggo to speak on command can be both a fun trick and well as a useful dog training skill. Many may think it’s much easier and just makes more sense to teach their dogs to “be quiet” after incessant barking, but little do they know that teaching them to “speak” or bark on command can have many assets as well.
One of them definitely being a source of entertainment for friends and family, making your doggo even more lovable than he already is! But it can also be used as a way to stop your dog from barking excessively! If you know how to teach your dog to speak or bark on command, you sure do know your stuff! If you don’t have the slightest idea about even the most basic dog commands on teaching your dog to “speak”, you’re about to learn a lot!
If you like this article on basic obedience training commands and want your dog to be obedient and listen to your commands, the Online Dog Trainer is a great place to start!
Here are some helpful, fun tips and tricks on how to teach your dog to “speak” on command!
- Have a reward ready to distribute: Have some dog treats or dog toys next to you, so that once your dog “speaks” or barks, you’re prepared to mark it with a command and a reward, which brings us to..
- Mark the bark! The moment your dog barks, mark it with dog commands such as “Speak!” and reward them with a treat or toy you’ve got prepared, or you can praise them. If you’re using a clicker for dog training, make sure to click the moment your dog barks! Keep marking and rewarding barks until your dog gets the gist how to “speak” on command.
- Use some dog training hand signals: Once your dog understands your verbal command for “speak”, you can start adding in hand signals. A common hand signal for “speak” entails starting with an open hand and palm facing your doggo, and then repetitively closing your 4 fingers against your thumb. Once your dog has grasped that cue, you can use a combination of both verbal cues and hand signals to reinforce speaking on command.
- Simply get your dog to speak: This tip varies for each individual dog. If you’ve got a naturally vocal dog, they may bark whenever you grab their leash or their favorite toy. The key is to get your dog excited enough to bark. However, if you have a more reserved dog, and their leash or favorite toy, or anything else doesn’t incite a bark, you can try running or jumping around with your dog to excite them enough to start “speaking”.
Now you have it! You now know about various tips and basic dog commands to get your dog to “speak” on command! However, here are a few things to keep in mind:
You want your dog to bark on command and the last thing you want to do is to encourage incessant nuisance barking. Therefore, when training, you should only reward solicited barking. You don’t want your dog to think “speak” means “start barking like crazy.” You should also be cognizant of your neighbors. If you live in an apartment or in close proximity to neighbors, you should keep in mind that others might not find your dog’s barking as cute as you do, so be sure to practice the dog commands and hand signals in short sessions instead of over an extensive time frame.
If you like this article on basic obedience training commands and want your dog to be obedient and listen to your commands, the Online Dog Trainer is a great place to start!