rockermom wrote:I read to teach quiet you first need to teach speak. This one was Rocky's most difficult trick to teach since he rarely barks. Well once I got him to bark and put the speak to it with a hand signal he has got it. So now I want to teach him Quiet. Although he rarely barks when he does bark he will not quiet. I read to put a leash on and get him barking. Tell him quiet if he does not to give a leash correction and say no. If he quiets then give him 3 treats making quiet more rewarding than speak. Does anyone have any other methods?
Yes, there are methods of teaching them to relax.
I needed George to quit going off both in the house and while I teach. In both instances, there are plenty of things to bark at. We live on a major street just six blocks from the freeway, next door to a Panaderia, on the way to the convenience store. I teach in an office parking lot, they are nice enough to let me train there and frequently we meet with people leaving work late or coming and going afterhours, plus there are security guards, and it's really hard to teach if I have to yell over my dog, much less he might scare anybody.
It took me about 7-8 months to teach him to chill out in his crate with a combination of relaxation techniques and identifying what or who he was barking at. He is so good now that people can come and stare at him in his crate and he will lay down when introduced. He will even let strange dogs approach him in his crate now, if they are introduced and I am there to make sure he is not being threatened or challenged.
Julie K