I agree about the incessant barking and not wanting a yappy dog, but I have trained my dogs to bark on command, and, because they are service dogs, they also bark at certain sounds to alert me. I trained them to do this by saying "speak " whenever they barked as puppies and praising them or rewarding them with a treat when they did it. Now that they know what speak means, it's easy to say "No speak!" when I don't want them to bark.
Yorkies are great watch dogs and they bark when they see strangers in my yard. I allow them to bark a couple time then I reassure them that everything is okay and I ask them to go lay down. I do not want them not to bark at all because dogs can save your life in an emergency that might occur when you are sleeping or in another part of the house. It is also a safety matter for themselves. Hefner was accidentally locked out of the house once, and if he hadn't barked, I would not have known. Hefner also alerted me one night when the cat was outside and hadn't been let in before we went to bed. We have coyotes and she might not have survived the night.
Chai was shut in a bedroom recently and when I realized she was missing we called for her and she barked to tell us where she was.
Anyway, just another point of view. |