I think the one thing that made it work was that he already knew what "quiet" meant. If he was barking I used it to make him be quiet. SO instead of using it when he was being "bad" by barking I used it while he was being a complete angel. Someone, on my otehr thread, called it positive reinforcement training (or something along those lines) so instead of punishing for bad behavior I was rewarding constant good behavior. I ignored the small amout of barking he did do or I left the room he was in and when I saw him again I began "quiet, goodboy" the minute I saw him so he knew the attitude I would tolerate while I was in the room.
He is only 10 months old, but he caught on so quickly.
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE with a load dog. I know how frustrating it is. There were times I was going to cry because he just was not listening. It was so hard. I hope everything is going well with everyone!! |