Can You Train A Papillon Not To Bark?
September 5, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
My brother and sister-in-law have 2 Papillons who constantly bark. It’s maddening. Can these dogs be taught not to bark all the time?
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If it’s a real problem and they want to do something about it then get a professional trainer in. “Bark Busters” ( http://www.barkbusters.com.au ) is an Australian company that does a great job with them, and I’m sure if they ask their vet that he will recommend a company or person.
Unfortunately for you, unless your brother and sister-in-law want do something about it you are stuck with putting up with it or not visiting, because this sort of behaviour training must be stuck with, and you must not let the dogs slip back into bad habits.
Paps are one of the most trainable small dogs there are. It is a trademark of the breed. They are very obedient and food oriented.
It may not bother your brother and his wife. Paps do love to bark but usually not to excess.
You can teach them the ‘Quiet’ command or they can be taught to bark on command. Some times teaching them to bark when told, they don’t bark as much otherwise.
I doubt they can make them absolutely silent but you should be able to get them to be ‘quiet’ on command.
First, they need exercise. Not an excessive amount but unwalked dogs are more anxious and yappy. But these aren’t hyper dogs. A good 20 minute walk will take the edge off.
Is the dog bored? Does it have toys and play time? Are they entertaining themselves with barking because there is nothing better to do.
Find out what sets them off. If it’s people in the yard then pull the blinds.
Distract the dog with a toy when it’s barking.
Or get a little water gun, a squirt when barking and “Quiet” said in a firm voice usually kicks in after awhile. Paps hate to be wet or dirty.
Several training books or trainers can help them retrain the behavior.
But clear anything you do with the owners and they have to do it too or it won’t work.
Like velcropap said, you need to have a marker word that the paps understand to mean ’stop barking’. Understand that the dogs are either barking because they are playing or because they are at the door trying to protect you. If you are not against treat-training, I would suggest stocking up your pockets with soft, bite-sized treats (bite-sized as in a pinky nail or smaller!) and come up with a marker word that you want to use to make the dogs stop barking. You can use “no bark”, “hey now” or “thank you” like velcropap did. Make sure it is not a phrase that you already command them to do or similar-sounding to it (like “no”). When you catch the dogs barking, take out a treat in your hand and SHOUT the marker word (so that it takes them by surprise the first time). Try to keep the tone and inflection of your voice the same each time. So, say you hear the dogs barking and you shout THANK YOU! The dogs are likely to be startled and look at you for a second. Take advantage of this 2 second break here and say a release word “good boy” or “good quiet” and give them a treat. Continue using your release word and giving them a treat after they have been quiet for that 2 second interval after your THANK YOU! and eventually you can phase out the treats each time.
This will take a lot of supervision so that you can be there to command and treat at a moment’s notice but it should pay off in the long run. Good luck!
When the dog is quiet reward them and say “Good Quiet” or something to that effect, a command. Continue this only when they are quiet when they get the idea of what that means, give them the command when they are barking and reward them for the slightest break in noise. Also this can be controlled be teaching them teh command “Speak” or “Bark” telling them a good time do the barking because small dg do like to bark. Make sure the dog is getting plenty of excersize to do away with excess energy!!! This should take care of your problem if you are consistent!
first make sure your dog know the basic command sit. and with a bag full of treat say bark in a hit pitch voice with the treat out of their reach. that way they will know they can only bark at command another way is say quiet when they are quiet praise them a lot and when you are saying quiet like make a motion with your arm and hand whatever like a signal to quiet after they the hang of it when they bark say it
I have a pap and he always barks in the middle of the night and wakes up the whole house… He is very smart so I train him a little at a time and he will soon know when to stop…..hopefully
Sorry,but no you can’t train them not to bark.
I own a papillon & he barks alot as well.
yes, my pap only barks when someone is outside the house. when i tell her thank you, she stops.
Wrap duct tape around it’s mouth for a while.
After having it on for a while, it will get the idea and stop.