Teach A Dog To Speak

How to Teach a Dog to Speak

teach a dog to speakIt is fun to teach a dog to speak! Most people avoid attempting to teach their dog this trick because they are worried it will confuse them about when it is ok to bark and when it isn't.

Don't worry, because that's not what teaching a dog how to speak on command is all about.

The goal of teaching your dog to speak is to get them to bark one time when you say a command. If you do that properly, your dog will not automatically assume it is ok to bark all the time, so you don't have to worry about confusing them. In fact, if anything, teaching your dog to speak at a command you give them will help to stop a barking problem.

Your dog will learn to only bark when you tell them to!

How to Teach a Dog to Speak

The first thing that you need to do when you want to teach a dog to speak is think about something that makes them really excited. For some dogs, this could be getting their leash, getting a treat out, or even getting a ball for them to play fetch with. Get whatever your dog really loves, and hold it in your hand.

When your dog fixates on the object and starts to get excited, you are going to wave it around in front of them to build their excitement even more. Watch as your dog gets so excited that they can barely contain themselves.

Eventually, your dog will get a little frustrated and decide to bark. As soon as they do, make sure to give them the object they were excited about, as well as a lot of praise. Don't reward them if they just start whining, though. They have to bark to get the object.

You are going to repeat this a couple more times each day until your dog starts barking quicker. Your next step is to attach your command to the bark. Most people say, "Speak!" but feel free to say whatever you want. What you are doing is helping to build the connection in your dog's mind between getting what they want, hearing the command "Speak!" and barking.

Like other tricks, your dog will slowly start to respond faster to your new speak command. And just like with other tricks and commands, you want to make sure to slowly stop using the object to get them to bark. The goal of the trick is to just say the command and have them do it.

It's easy to teach a dog to speak!

A lot of people are surprised when they find out that this is all you need to do if you want to teach a dog to speak. Most people think that it will be a lot more difficult and that is understandable since so few dogs are able to do it.

You'll see that with a little coaxing, your dog will get excited enough to bark on command.

Teach a Dog to Speak Problems

Are you having a hard time teaching your dog to speak? Are you finding that no matter what you do, you can't really get them to bark on command? If it gets to this point, you need to simply switch objects. Even dogs that hardly ever bark will do it eventually if you get the right object in front of them.

Here are some of the things you should try to use to get your dog excited enough to bark for you:
If none of those things work, you can try to tie your dog up, whether to a door handle or to a tree or a pole outside. What you are going to try to do is get your dog to get excited about coming to you. If your dog doesn't like this and whines instead, untie them and try something else. You don't want them to associate being punished with the "Speak!" command.

It is really not that hard to teach a dog to speak, and it is worth the trouble too. This is one of the best dog tricks to show off to your friends, because most people are familiar with it and yet most people don't know how to do it.

 

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