I taught Teddy to speak by putting my fingers and thumb together on one hand and barking like a dog myself..haha. Then, I'd say SPEAK! When he imitated me, I gave him a treat. Then, after he'd learned speak, I'd command him to speak and then immediately follow that command with QUIET. He didn't know what QUIET meant so he would be quiet and I'd treat him. He caught on to QUIET after that and I use both commands with him regularly so he's got plenty of opportunity to practice! He's known SPEAK since he was about 4 months old and QUIET since about 6 months. He's a year and a half now. Good luck! |