Noob Q regarding the Bark

[5shot]

Do SchH dogs only Bark by command and/or during the Bark & Hold?

In the videos I have seen, the dogs are totally quiet at all other times. This seems like a great outcome, as I really hate dogs that bark non stop or for no reason.

Just wondering.

Thanks


BTW - if staying quiet at other times is part of the training, how do you teach a dog not to bark?

[Liesje]

I am going through this with one of my dogs right now. Yes they bark during the guarding (and I personally prefer my dogs to bark guarding in the open too, not just in the blind) but should be quiet for the rest of the routine. I've seen dogs do it barking, but a lot of times barking (and more often, whining or screaming) is more about the dog being overloaded and leaking drive rather than actual guarding. One of my dogs is a screamer so we're already working on *not* overstimulating him and making it clear when to bark and when not to bark.

[5shot]

Do you correct for barking when not appropriate or work on praise when it is correctly done? I don't want to inhibit the dog with too many corrections.

[Liesje]

Both. It depends on the dog. I don't over correct right now because my dog is young. Also we need to learn how to work him and cap his drive before he overloads and gets crazy. I won't throttle him all the time when it's not really his fault, you know? Right now I do always praise him (calmly) when he is being quiet. If we are working on this specifically, I send him for a bite.