Why Dogs Bark At Other Dogs – And How To Stop It 

Whether it’s barking, yapping, or whining, it is perfectly normal for dogs to use all sorts of noises to communicate. Some dogs can be more vocal than others. 

The best way to teach a dog to be quiet is to teach them to bark! 

If we teach them to bark on command, then they can understand the opposite behaviour. This will take a week or two to train. 

Where To Start… 

Find something your dog really likes. To initiate barking, a toy is a great place to start, although food should be substituted in after a while to make repetitions easier. 

You need to frustrate your dog with the toy. Offer it, and then take it away. Repeating this process should cause a vocal dog to get frustrated and bark. 

If this process doesn’t work, ask someone to hold the dog on a leash and try again. This higher level of restraint will cause more frustration and, therefore, barking. When your dog barks, you should praise them and give them the toy as a reward. 

Repeat this exercise, but now when they bark, praise with the command ‘speak’ and then reward them. Begin to cue the barking with the command ‘speak’ and when you do, be quick to reward your dog when they respond to this cue. When you feel your dog has a good grasp of this game, this is when you should change over to using food, as mentioned earlier. 

Your dog should bark at you when you cue them with the word ‘speak’ and you are rewarding them with food. 

Teaching ‘Quiet’ 

Tell your dog to bark and reward them. Next time you give them the cue, wait for a break in their barking and mark this behaviour with the command ‘quiet’ at the same time as rewarding with food. 

Repeat this behaviour until the dog recognises the difference between bark and quiet. Build on this game daily by moving the training from home to random times on walks. 

Deliberately ask your dog to bark on a walk, but never around dogs. Around dogs, cue your dog to bark but immediately add the ‘quiet’ command and reward. 

Stop Nuisance Barking

A slightly quicker method is to let your dog learn through experience. Bring your dog to a situation where they will bark for attention, and let them. This will tire them out and make them more responsive to the next step. 

Make a sound or use a word like ‘quiet’ in a manner that will startle or distract your dog momentarily from barking. 

Don’t make the mistake of bribing your dog to stop barking. This will only encourage it. 

It is important to be ready when they do, mark the behaviour with a click if your are clicker training or with a calm repetitive ‘gooood quiet’ in a soothing tone. This response needs to be immediate and paired with food or praise. 

Eating is a calming behaviour for dogs, so food reward reinforces and promotes the desired behaviour; being quiet.