Want to have a conversation with your dog? Teaching your dog to talk is an easy and rewarding behavior that most dogs master quickly. You won’t need a lot of supplies or equipment. The only supplies needed are:
- Plenty of little treat pieces your dog is happy about
- A clicker or marker word like “Yes” that your dog knows
Teaching your dog to talk through capture
It’s easier to teach your dog to talk using a methodology called capture. This means that we will mark and reward behaviors that your dog already does naturally, in this case barking. Over several training sessions, you will move from marking and rewarding each time your dog barks to setting up the talking behavior on a verbal cue. Clicker training or using a verbal marker word like “Yes” works well for catching because it allows you to communicate to your dog the exact behavior he has achieved and can help your dog learn more. quickly. Here are six simple steps to teaching your dog to talk:
Step 1: When your dog naturally barks, click with a clicker (or use your marker word like Yes) and give your dog a treat. If your dog isn’t particularly barking, encourage him to bark by ringing the doorbell, making a strange noise, or playing a new sound from the computer. When your dog barks, click with a clicker, treat and then praise (Good dog!).
2nd step: Have your treats ready in your pocket or pack a treat pouch so you’re ready to mark and reward barking when it happens during the day.
Step 3: The next step is to choose a verbal cue. Most dogs quickly realize that they are being treated for barking, which is naturally a rewarding behavior. Since this is a trick that dogs pick up easily, you can introduce a verbal cue of your choice very quickly. Choose any verbal cue you want like “Speak” or “Speak”.
Step 4: Ring the doorbell or make a noise that will make your dog bark and say your verbal cue, Talk. When your dog starts barking, click, treat and praise. Try to be as quick as possible when clicking and treating your dog. The goal is to reward your dog for a single bark and by giving a treat right away you will prevent your dog from developing a habit of barking repeatedly every time he hears the bark signal.
Step 5: After several repetitions of pairing your verbal cue with the sound that triggers your dog to bark, speak your verbal cue immediately before playing the sound that encourages your dog to bark. When your dog barks, click, treat and praise.
Step 6: After a few training sessions, your dog will have made the connection between the verbal signal and barking behavior. You are now ready to instruct your dog to speak only with the verbal cue. When your dog barks in response to your signal, give him lots of praise and treats!
If you say your verbal cue and your dog doesn’t bark, that’s a sign that your dog doesn’t quite understand the behavior you’re looking for yet. To help your dog understand, go back to the last step your dog passed. Keep practicing at this level for a few sessions, then increase the difficulty again and see if your dog now understands the behavior.
Once you’ve trained your dog to speak at the right time, it can be fun to get creative with your dog’s performance. When your dog understands speaking well, get his attention and then try to use the verbal cue in a sentence. In response, your dog should bark. Incorporating the spoken word into a sentence can make it sound like you and your dog are having a conversation. Although talking is a relatively easy trick to teach, it’s one that can really impress your friends and family.
