[Sway Says]

I have a six month old unaltered male named Harley.

I'm really worried that he's going to end up being a yappy barking dog. Maybe I'm a little bit too paranoid though, but I want to make sure I do everything in my power now to prevent it: I'm going to have him for the next 15+ years and I like quiet...

So right now he's doing this thing where he makes low barking sounds... like he's mumbling about something. Then sometimes he'll just bark once or twice loudly. I'll tell him to be quiet sometimes he will, sometimes he won't.

I tried holding the scruff of his neck. He'll immediately be quiet. But as soon as I let go he'll back or start mumbling again. I did this four times in a row. He mumbled, touched his neck and he was quiet, then he mumbled, touched his neck and he was quiet... over and over... each time he did it it was as if he didn't have any control over it. He didn't want me to reprimand him but he also couldn't help but bark.

Am I tripping?

Can somebody just give me some advice on how you maintained your yorkie's quietness and how can I let him know when it's okay to bark and when it's not without stressing us both out.