Teaching your dog to be quiet.

by Julie Brewer Msc CAB (c/o Ian Dunbar)

The cue is ‘WOOF’ or ‘SPEAK and ‘SHOOSH’ (choose ones that suit you and stick to them!)

Using the clicker method:-

Stage One – Capture the Behaviour – Woofing

• Find something which normally makes your dog woof.  E.g. tie your dog to a fence or one person holds their lead or make your dog really excited by showing them food, or teasing them with a toy.
• When your dog woofs, click (or say “yes”), praise them, treat them and tell them ‘good woof’

Continue to do this until you see that you dog expects a reward for woofing.  (this is how I taught Dez to bark when he found his person when Search and Rescue Training).

Stage Two – Introduce the Woof Cue (command)

• Now ask for a woof, i.e. introducing your cue whilst getting your dog excited.
• When the dog woofs praise and treat the woof.

Follow this method until your dog will woof on command every time that you ask (minimum 80%).  Try to click on the first woof, so that you do not reward extended periods of barking (unless extended periods of barking are your training goal).  If your dog continues to bark after you click either ignore them or distract them.

Stage Three –

• NEVER PAY FOR (or give attention to) A WOOF WITHOUT A CUE!  (remember the Simple Simon Game – if you didn’t ask for it then don’t pay for it).
• Do not respond at all, walk away or give your dog a short time out.
• Continue to practice Stage 2.

Stage Four – Introduce the Shoosh cue.

• Request a ‘WOOF’
• Your dog woofs, but you do not click.
• Immediately ‘SHOOSH’ AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE! and place a finger to your lips -and IMMEDIATELY CLICK !!! – the dog will be shocked and there will be a tiny silence for you to capture.
• Give your dog several treats in a row for having been silent this first time.
• Remember to praise your dog; after all you probably just really shocked/surprised them!

Stage 5 – maintain the “Woof” cue, but make the “Shoosh” more rewarding.

You should intermittently pay for a “woof” cue (we want to keep it so that we can practice quiet on cue), but make sure you pay more often and with more valuable treats for a “shoosh” cue than a “woof” cue.

• Continue to repeat the Woof/Shoosh training as above.
• As your dog gets better at this you will notice that they become reluctant to woof, because the dog gets paid more often for the shoosh part, and your dog anticipates the SHOOSH command. 
• Wait for longer each time after the cue ‘SHOOSH’ before you click, this will increase the length of time that the dog is quiet before you give the dog the treat.  This way the dog will learn that SHOOSH means to be quiet for a longer period.

Stage 6 – Take it on the road

• When you are sure that your dog REALLY knows what SHOOSH means then start to use it for times when your dog starts to bark at something else e.g. the door or in the car (do not use it in uncontrollable situations until the command is a minimum 80% proof or you will undo this command!!).  Do not continue to give a command if your dog doesn’t respond, in other words don’t become a nag – THE CUE BECOMES WORTHLESS!
• Remember always to praise and PAY for a good SHOOSH – it is really difficult for your dog to be quiet when they are excited about a noise outside or can see but not get to something exciting – remember that if it does not work FIRST TIME you give the cue then distract or remove the dog (in as calm a manner as possible) from the source of excitement/the environment.  You will need to practice more to make the behaviour more reliable.