training a yappy dog is not all that difficult, like anything else it requires time, time and more time. I train mine not to bark by picking them up and sitting them on my lap, I then tell them NO Barking, HUSH. I do not raise my voice. I force them to be still by holding them tightly in my hands. If they continue to bark I will hold their mouth closed while repeating No Barking, Hush. It has never taken me more than a couple of sessions to train a dog not to bark except when someone is at the door. We have squirrels, racoons, deer, cats etc that wander past the patio and the dogs know they are not allowed to bark at them. They also know that they are allowed to bark at the train when it goes by (that's because the engineer always blows the whistle when he sees them).
I have heart to heart discussions with my dogs about behaviour, sounds nuts I know but it has always worked for me. I think it is just that they get that I am serious about whatever it is that's happening so they tend to listen.
Squirting a dog with water, rattling cans, blowing whistles etc has as much chance of making the problem worse. Your dog should not fear you but respect you and know that you are boss which is why yelling NEVER works as a training method. |