Bark Training?

[MarilynMonroe]

i joined the site yo find out as much as i could about the breed. as i am hoping to get a yorkie in june and call her Mabel! me and my partner live in a flat, i want to crate and clicker train her. i was just wondering how to bark train her. the people downstairs come from their other house to here at the weekends, but we have people upstairs, it would be nice to be able to control the barking if it becomes too much!

is it possible to clicker train the barking?

[Repunzel]

I'm an avid fan of the Dog Whisperer and have used his dog psychology techniques on both my dogs. There was an episode of a woman and daughter who faced eviction from their apartment because of their small dog. He was able to help them remain in their apartment AND have a happy, quiet dog. The neighbors thought the woman got rid of their dog and were shocked to see him running around. They also took their dog for a jog while riding their bikes 30-min/day, which tired him out. I try to take my dogs for a 45-minute walk 4 times/week that way when we leave, it makes sense for them to stay behind because their tuckered out.

[Itspuppyluv]

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

is it possible to clicker train the barking?

Yes, it is the same as any other "trick".
When they bark use whatever the command will be such as "no bark", when they stop, click and reward.
Start training as soon as they start barking and stay on top of it until they are well trained. Training to stop barking is not the same as training to do something like sit where you can begin to train and then skip a couple of weeks and come back to it. It's like their version of smoking. Hard to quit.

Welcome to YT.

[FirstYorkie]

Originally Posted by Itspuppyluv

Yes, it is the same as any other "trick".
When they bark use whatever the command will be such as "no bark", when they stop, click and reward.
Start training as soon as they start barking and stay on top of it until they are well trained. Training to stop barking is not the same as training to do something like sit where you can begin to train and then skip a couple of weeks and come back to it. It's like their version of smoking. Hard to quit.

Welcome to YT.

Good post from Itspuppyluv! She's right. You can teach "quiet" like any other command. Start with very low expectations and gradually increase the duration. In other words: quiet for 1 second after you said quiet? Good puppy! Click and Treat (CT). Repeat mulitple times then expect 2 seconds quiet before the CT, then 3, etc.

Also as she said, do NOT let your pup practice barking - it is self-reinforcing. Immediately interrupt everytime. Use distraction when needed - something to chew on when something is happening that you know sets him off, keeping curtains closed if need be, etc. You get the idea.

As repunzel said, exercise is a good thing, too. Tiring them out physically (with walks) and mentally (with obedience commands or tricks) will also help decrease barking.

Good luck!