# Teaching Shush



## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

It's time to work on 'speak' and 'shush/quiet' with the boy. We tried to teach it when he was a puppy, but we couldn't get him to bark on command. Now he barks much more frequently, so I think we'll be able to do it. 

As per Ian Dunbar, we were planning on teaching 'speak' first. 

Anyone done these with success? What methods did you use?


----------



## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I haven't tried it, but I've been thinking about it. I'm interested to hear how it goes. Cash tends to bark very loud when he's really excited and it's usually when I take him somewhere indoors like the vet or Petsmart. I'd love to be able to get him to hush!


----------



## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Yup. Oso developed his guard dog voice when we moved into our new house. Def. one of the most attention drawing behaviors, haha - especially when in an indoor setting.

We like that he warns us, but we need to be able to shush him when the baby is sleeping, so just one barks and that's it.


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

It was funny how I taught June to speak. 
She was about 3 or 4 months old. She has always been a very vocal girl and is highly food motivated. I don't think this would work if the dog doesn't have both characteristics.
I held the treat and told my daughter to speak. She would bark and I would give her the treat. It only took about 10 minutes of her watching Taylor get treats for barking, and she figured it out.
In hindsight this trick is wasn't the best one to teach to a vocal, highly food motivated pup. She started coming up to me barking throughout the day, and expecting her treat.
She had to learn that it only worked, when I asked her to speak.
I don't tell my dogs No a lot, but I do use the word when they are doing something different than the learned command. It lets mine know they are not on the right track. For instance if I ask one to Down, and the dog sits.
I say NO, Down. I haven't really ever taught June quite but for unwanted barking I tell her No, and give her a different command. It can be kennel, down or place. Just something different for her to do other than bark.

Cash knows the Quite command and it also was not the Dunbar route. I duck and goose hunt with him and if he barks ,or more likely whines in a blind. He would get a low nick from the ecollar with the quite command. He has been hunting with us for years now, and knows there is no whining in the blind. He would only get a nick, without a command for a correction now.
Lucy learned quite with the small water sprayer.
She probably thinks Quite is the water bottles name.
I would tell her quite and spray her with it if the barking continued. I guess you can tell I teach each dog differently depending on how the dog learns.
Maybe my next one I will try Dunbar's method.


----------



## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

I used this YouTube video to teach speak and then quiet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vtn8NhofOw 

It took practicing it in a few sessions, but it worked. I know use hand signals for both quiet and speak. She has the speak down pat, quiet sometimes takes a few seconds to kick in ;D.


----------



## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

I've tried it, but haven't been able to put in the consistent time that Savannah would need to learn both. 

Another forum member mentioned that they didn't teach speak and shush, per se. If their pup alerted, they would go see, say 'Thank you, that's enough' and their dog would stop barking. I tried that the next time Savannah was barking at something through the window. Sure enough, she stopped. She's not quite as consistent with 'That's enough' as she is with a learned command, but her behavior is consistent enough for most of our situations.


----------



## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

We also just recently moved into a new place and our boy has been doing a lot of alert barking. (He's almost 16 months, so he might be going through a fear stage) Sometimes our "quiet" or "Thank you, that's enough" works, but when he's really on edge, we have to work hard to distract with obedience such as sit, shake, go to bed. I know like most things dog related, it just takes time and consistency. (But hopefully we get it taken care of soon)


----------

