Friday, September 14, 2012

How to train a dog to speak

By Jerry Welsh


Dogs don't have the ability to speak but they can very well communicate with humans and with other animals by barking. A dog owner will certainly be very proud for the achievement of teaching the pet to speak. Dogs that were trained to speak cannot converse the we humans do, still, not many dogs can speak or bark two or three times and then stop altogether when the command is given.

A dog that can speak will be the pride of the owner however, the training can have a very beneficial effect as it can address a dog's excessive barking concern. Teaching the dog to speak is not unlike training the dog to bark only when a command is given. Training the dog to speak will not be too difficult as barking is already an inherent canine behavior. Dogs can easily adapt to the speak command. Training will be easier as well because every time the dog barks the owner can issue the command until the pet understands what must be done.

The goal of the training is to make the dog "speak" or bark on command thus you have to know what triggers the dog to bark. Dogs generally bark when food is seen as these animals are food motivated. The sight of a toy will make a dog bark.

Food and toys can be used by an owner to entice the dog to responds well to training. Due to the dogs curious nature, it would be best to choose a training location that has few distractions. The attention of the dog will not be gained if there are interesting sounds, sights and scents. An owner will certainly be exasperated with a dog whose attention is focused on the cat up a tree.

The sight of a toy or a treat will make the dog bark. Wait until the dog has stopped barking before you give the Speak command. The dog is expected not to understand the command at the onset of training but by repeating the command over and over again, the dog will finally understand what the owner wants him to do. Reward the dog with a treat as soon as it barks after the speak command was given. Dogs learn by association thus the reward must be associated by the dog to obeying the master's speak command. Speak is one of the easy tricks that can be learned by the pet. With constant practice, a persistent owner can make the pet respond to the speak command.




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