Teaching a Dog to Stop Barking with a "Quiet" Cue

Training Tip: How to Interrupt Barking by teaching your dog a “Quiet” cue, which means “Please stop barking and look at me for further instruction.”
Dogs bark for many different reasons which are all quite legitimate to them. They don’t understand that we humans have a “love-hate” relationship with their barking. We usually like it when our dogs alert us to possible danger, but we can’t stand when they bark at the same mailman every day or at every passing car.
Often out of frustration, we can find ourselves "barking" with our dogs by raising our voices and yelling "Stop it!", Hush!", "Shhh!", "Knock it off!" This rarely works and usually only startles or scares your dog. There is a much better way to help your dog learn that a few barks is plenty. We do this with a positive interrupt cue. Some examples are "Quiet", "Enough", "Thank you" and "That's All". This cue, when trained properly will allow you to interrupt your dog’s barking and have him direct his focus onto you. It is important to note that you will then need to give your dog something else to do or focus on. Otherwise, they may go right back to barking. Think of how a small child goes back to doing something right after you have asked them to stop. But if you give them something else appropriate to do instead, this is less likely to happen.
In this video you will see the beginning steps to teaching a positive interrupt cue. Always start out with the least distracting environment when training anything new. Slowly increase the distraction level based on how well your dog is doing at the last level. You should not attempt to use this cue while your dog is barking until you have established a very solid foundation. Many people make the mistake of going too fast and then being disappointed when it doesn’t appear to work for them. If you allow your dog the opportunity to be successful with each step, you will be much happier with the results.

[@terrietravis3203]

So nice to just get the information without of excessive talking!!!

[@korvusmangata9007]

I love methods like this Dogs can't understand what NOT to do, they can only understand what TO DO

[@tiffanylovell9380]

Very true! Teaching our dogs what TO DO and reinforcing these behaviors and choices is a much better and more effective use our our time than attempting to punish everything they do that we don't like. Punishment may startle the dog and cause them to stop in the moment, but it doesn't teach the dog what TO DO the next time. So you and your dog will spend his entire life in a vicious cycle of "wrong behavior....punishment....scared dog....damaged relationship.....wrong behavior next time.....and, so on" :-(

[@sigmanfloyd7179]

I tried this on my dachshund but it wasn't long before she associated her own barking with getting a treat. In otherwords, she trained me to say "Enough" so she could get a treat. She's now 4lbs over weight! 😅

[@coldnosecollegespacecoastf2565]

Hi, and thank you for your comment. It is important to be sure you're reinforcing the correct behavior at the right moment or what you're describing can happen. Remember to teach the cue first when they are not barking, so the dog has a crystal clear understanding of what behavior is reinforced (the whipping of the head in your direction in a quiet moment). Then when you're ready to use the cue during a time of barking, you must mark the instant the dog responds with that whip of head and quiet mouth. If this has been properly marked and the food immediately follows, the dog associates the treat with the focus and quiet and not the barking beforehand. You may want to try this exercise again with a completely different word and train it from scratch. :-)

[@donohoe71]

That's brilliant, sorry to hear it though. Dakkies are such intelligent and manipulative dogs they amaze me.

[@edbozulich57]

Sigman Floyd ja

[@dianabrown3671]

Yes, that is a problem- transition to my game: a squirt bottle with a long stream. Fill it with water. You will find it wont take too long before all you need to do is say your key word, NO and make the squirt bottle sound and the activity you want to stop stops, like pronto!

[@sigmanfloyd7179]

@@dianabrown3671 ~ Well we have hardwood floors so water over spray might not be good, plus she's turning 12yrs. old this month so... 😉🤷🏻‍♂️

[@tas2396]

This was the best video on this!

[@bethsherdell2413]

I just LOVE this "positive interrupt" cue. As a trainer, it has helped me immeasurably, especially with my barky chihuahua "students." I'm grateful for this video!

[@tiffanylovell9380]

Thank you, Beth. I appreciate your comment and am so glad you are finding a positive interrupt cue useful with your students. :-) When trained correctly, it can work beautifully and be a real "ear saver". ;-)

[@lizgriffis1324]

You mean screaming " shut up!" At the top of your lungs is not the best way to stop barking? 😋

[@coldnosecollegespacecoastf2565]

;-) Typically speaking.....no.

[@wangchung6910]

That is exactly what what every Spanish guy and girl around here does! Every dog they have goes nuts barking at every little sound or when anyone walks by. I get along with my neighbors, but I’ll be comin home and 5 lil dogs start barking Holy Terror and then it’s “SHUTUP!!” Usually in Spanish. One girl makes a big happy fuss when she sees me, “Hii how are you neighbor?” Then dog growls & starts yappin and suddenly the girl flinches forward and turns into a monster yelling SHUT THE F UP! If the dog peeks out the door, she yells “GET THE F IN THE HOUSE!!” I really hate it. The dogs act like they own the properties and seem unaware that other people live in these buildings too!

[@bethsherdell2413]

@@wangchung6910 You say "the dogs act like they own the properties and seem unaware that other people live in the buildings." It is not the dogs who are unaware. It is your neighbors, who don't care enough about their neighbors to get help training their dogs.

[@cosmeticplague475]

@@wangchung6910 Yes.Dogs are useless creature.Disgusting,loud,dumb.

[@EeriePancakeyyy]

Great informational video, thank you!

[@dianabrown3671]

Well, Im glad to see the tip used on a Doxie. I have one. They are single minded. They are also prone to being overweight, therefore I do not use food/treats as a motivator. I am not a professional trainer. I am a results oriented pet owner. Mostly I find Doxies will eat a trash can full of garbage if you are not watching carefully. I use a squirt bottle with a long stream in training. My key word is always NO. It will not take long before all you need to do is make the squirt bottle sound and the dog will stop the behavior you are looking to stop. BTW, it works on cats too. I have a cat that thinks she is a Doxie. She pays a lot more attention than the Doxie most times too! Good luck with your training!

[@cathiehertz9978]

My female Doxie looks just like your pup only a bit thicker around the middle 🤦‍♀️ I use the cue "thank you" cause its much tougher for me to say that in an angry tone if I am having a bad moment :)

[@elainegoad9777]

How can I always have a treat and clicker ready for barking that could occur at any time ?

[@Dubstepconcept]

Very informative, thanks a ton!

[@taniaclass2796]

Like many of us, we are not so quick on these phones & computers. Old age has it's advantages as well as it's disadvantages.

[@johnminet9067]

Thank you

[@doggydantheonlinedogtraine4752]

How do I stop my dog from demand barking?

[@korvusmangata9007]

I have a yappy German Spitz mix and absolutely everything I've tried hasn't worked so far. I hope this video saves us. Edit: Kenji is silent and cat-like 95% of the time but as soon as she gets distracted by the doorbell, she barks like a hound out of hell. She's very intelligent, and takes her about 20-30 minutes to learn a new command. But the only ones we can't teach her is "speak" and "hush" and it is disastrous when guests walk through the front door.

[@tiffanylovell9380]

Thanks for watching and being open to trying a new way to train your dog. Please remember that the key to success is building a VERY solid foundation before ever attempting to use the cue when your dog is barking at something. If ample time is not spent on this beginning phase, you will not see the success you're looking for. Good luck and have fun training! :-)

[@glennisdart1919]

I had trouble reading instructions quickly enough also ( old age) but I just reran the video & read again a few times & wrote it down :)

[@coldnosecollegespacecoastf2565]

Thank you for watching and for your comments. It can be challenging to create a video that has ample amount of time to read all the important content, but still keep it a reasonable length. Feel free to click "pause" as often as needed to read all the words. I hope you find the video helpful with your dog. :-)

[@bethsherdell2413]

You can simply stop the video with the 'pause" button and write down what you need.

[@donohoe71]

Thank you, interesting approach and beautiful dog. I'll give it a go, it makes sense.

[@tiffanylovell9380]

Thanks for your comments. My clients love using this positive interrupter cue because it gives them something proactive to use during a barking episode instead of all the frustration and yelling that so many are accustomed to. Have fun with the training! :-)

[@enanoagus]

Excellent. Thank you. But at the begining you associate the cue only with food. And then you mark with the clicker. So the clicker is NEEDs to be associated previously

[@samsara2752]

What’s the difference between using “yes” and “enough”?

[@hanstiusanen8205]

Well.. how to train your neighbors dogs barking.. if some one has tested and tried.

[@lanaspi4578]

I can’t believe the dog trainer is saying to use bits of cheese as a reward! Everything I’ve ever read and heard has said to *NEVER* give cheese to dogs it’s not good for them!

[@tiffanylovell9380]

Thank you for your comment. But just as with humans, unless the dog is lactose intolerant cheese is a completely appropriate food to use. Most dogs LOVE cheese and it can be a very powerful reinforcer when teaching behaviors. Of course, moderation is the key. One would never feed a steady diet of cheese. This is meant to be used as a motivator and reinforcer for training and cheese is also often used when delivering medicine to dogs. :-) Here's one article from AKC which explains why cheese being bad for dogs is a myth. www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-cheese/

[@EeriePancakeyyy]

Dogs can eat cheese but obviously, feeding them a huge amount at once is not ideal. Unless your dog is lactose intolerant - they will be able to digest cheese.

[@cosmeticplague475]

Use acid and kill your godamn dog

[@dbrant8903]

Why wouldn't a dog associate bad behavior with getting a treat.....

[@coldnosecollegespacecoastf2565]

Thank you for your question and it is a good one. This is a common misconception and I'm happy to explain. If you were to simply give the dog a piece of food immediately following the bark, that would cause the dog to associate barking with receiving a treat. Because we know that reinforcement drives behavior, the treat would most likely cause the barking to increase due to that association. The difference here is...you are helping the dog to associate the moment of quiet with the treat. You say your cue, the dog responds with a "head whip" in your direction along with a moment of quiet. That behavior of looking in your direction in a quiet manner is marked by a click or verbal marker and THEN reinforced. Therefore, the reinforced behavior is actually the quiet attention they are giving and not the barking that happened right before it. Thanks again for your question. :-)

[@Priya-qy7qh]

Oh I should of done this oof oh crap I sold my dachund cause it kept on barking an the neighborhood got annoyed

[@taniaclass2796]

I'm not as quick at reading as most. SOOO this didn't help at all... ENUFF!

[@Lovestar305]

You could....i don’t know....PAUSE the video to read?

[@MiauHai]

Here's a handy tip while on You tube, If there is reading to do, PAUSE it. No one is reading those paragraphs that fast, they're pausing them.