Puppy Forum and Dog Forums banner

Clicker Train to not bark, issues.

818 Views 2 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  Analogdog
I have been working with my dogs, a reactive whippet x cattle dog and a senior beagle, to not bark as much and as long. Basically I have been taught to click in the quiet spaces, and treat. I am trying to get more consistent as the summer comes in.

Several things have happened:

1. Sometimes the click goes unnoticed, or is not acted on by the reactive dog.

2. The beagle wants his share of the treats and will bay to get them, inciting the reactive dog.

3. Occasionally the reactive dog will go back to barking with only a short pause.

What can I do to get order with this?
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
You may have to train each one separately, at least at first. (I see the beagle's point, poor boy, a click and no treat!) If the click isn't eliciting a response, try loading the clicker again. (Loading is clicking, then immediately giving a treat until the dog looks to you for a treat as soon as they hear the sound.) Load it with a higher value treat this time, like cooked chicken, hot dogs, cheese, whatever really interests the whippetx.

They do sell a double clicker which makes two separate clicks, maybe that would help. You would have to train the whippetx to one and the beagle to the other.

It's not uncommon for #3 to happen. When I trained Muggsy to stop barking on command, at first I was lucky to get half a second of silence. What I did was to lengthen the time between the command and the reward. So at first I'd give the command and immediately treat as soon as he stopped, but then I would wait 2 seconds, then 5, then 10, etc. Eventually, I could reliably get 5 minutes of quiet, even in the face of continuing provocation. (People walking by are so provoking!)
See less See more
Thank you very much for your response, I will try all of the comments as this barking is getting out of hand.

My concern is splitting them up. It seems that might be a problem as the beagle is going to live in the crate as the barking is occasional, but quite vocal and extended from the Whippet X. At this time I just sit with them and try to read a book, but the beagle wants to get a treat and starts barking and baying. Maybe I could fill and freeze a Kong to satiate him in the crate.
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top