# How do I encourage stimulative barking for Schutzhund?



## Squidwardp (Oct 15, 2019)

My puppy is now coming up on 10 months (May 26), and has been going to some Schutzhund sessions (interrupted for a while due to COVID).
Interrupted for 1 1/2 months or so by COVID, now it is starting up again.

She loves ragwork, and will snap (click her jaws) in anticipation of the lure. But she will NOT bark. OK, a few little yips, which are very rare and hard to coax, and get rewarded on the spot. Her focus is there, but she just rarely barks so far. We do a puppy circle of dogs who are not on the sleeve yet, and it is a real workout holding her back. But mostly she strains and lunges in silence with occasional jaw clicks. 

Now, at home, she is pretty protective of her perimeter, and will go off like a cannon at times. 
My wife took her out on a short walk, to have her pee before bedtime the other night. She saw a coyote, went nuts barking, and would have awoken the whole neighborhood had people been actually asleep. 

So the question is how I channel or encourage that, without creating a monster who knocks the shingles off the roof barking at everything. 
I tolerate some barking in the interest of not curbing the GSD's watchdog tendencies. That said, I am a little apprehensive about encouraging her to bark, and then she barks at literally everything, all the time. Right now, she is maturing well and has decent house manners.


----------



## CeraDean (Jul 9, 2019)

I have a very similar situation. 8 months old with a few months off club due to Covid. Great grip and great enthusiasm for the rag but little barking. My boy will give a great defensive bark at home but not at club. My TD and helper suggested to teach speak. I was hesitant because I don’t want a lot of needless barking in the home.

As silly as it sounds, I taught ‘speak’ with a squirt bottle that he loves to be squirted with. If he made a sound, I gave him the squirt and shaped it to a bark. He learned ‘speak’ quickly but I haven’t been able to go to club again to test it in protection. 

After teaching speak, I haven’t seen an increase in defensive barking around the home. But when training and he is confused about what I want, his fallback is now to ‘speak’. I’m guessing that is because it is so self rewarding for him, it’s his favorite fallback.


----------



## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

When she goes off at home pair "revier" with her barking and praise with "good revier." Then set up some scenarios like have someone come over at night and shake the bushes when she is out and on leash or in the yard and immediately tell her to revier. Some dogs are not natural barkers and can be taught and some just won't.


----------



## CeraDean (Jul 9, 2019)

Chip Blasiole said:


> When she goes off at home pair "revier" with her barking and praise with "good revier." Then set up some scenarios like have someone come over at night and shake the bushes when she is out and on leash or in the yard and immediately tell her to revier. Some dogs are not natural barkers and can be taught and some just won't.


I worry that would encourage barking at home. But it sounds like you are suggesting to setup over the top situations where the dog should definitely bark rather than rewarding barking at that unknown jogger coming toward the house.


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Deleted


----------



## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

I think @Jax08 and @Chip Blasiole both have very good suggestions. There likely to produce two different barks and mindsets from your dog. @Jax08 method will add barking to her repertoire, so if she’s confused about what you want, she will try it on the same way they will go through sits and downs to see what works. @Chip Blasiole method will probably increase you’re dogs defense response, not necessarily changing the threshold. I think one part he didn’t say is to make the person or stimulus go away when she does bark, so she “wins.”


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Deleted


----------



## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

If you’re teaching your dog something new, and he doesn’t understand what’s being asked, there is a very good chance he will try the things that have worked in the past, including barking. I’d agree you don’t want a dog doing a bark and hold in the middle of an obedience routine. I wouldn’t expect you to be doing a routine where you’re dog doesn’t understand what your asking. I would expect you to have taught him the steps of that routine. I know and have worked with trainers who have gone to WUSV and taught the way you described as well. I don’t know why felt the need to bring that up.


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Deleted 

Carry on dude.


----------



## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

I'm trying out a method similar to Chip's, so it's probably good. 

My Jupiter can "speak" on command, but it's not as loud, deep, or threatening as his alarm bark. It sounds too playful (to me, at least: I'm used to it). However, I noticed his doorbell response bark is nicely scary. So I'm going to use the doorbell alarm, first reinforce it (note that I'm fine with him with him barking at the doorbell either way), and then try to pair it with a command. I hope to then have two barks, his "speak" and his "attack". Actually, I should probably use a different one for the second bark... any suggestions?


----------



## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

It’s all good. You don’t need to apologize. It just struck me as a little you have you have no idea or that you felt like I was saying that it was completely wrong and to not use it. I’ve seen a lot of dogs do it when they don’t understand what’s being asked. Not all, so so I don’t mean it to imply every dog or anything like that, just that it’s a possibility.


----------



## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

CactusWren,
The sound of a dog's bark reflects his emotional state and sometimes what drive he is in. Your dog's doorbell bark is more serious because your dog is in defense drive due to him perceiving a threat. So it will be difficult to teach your dog to speaks in different states on command unless it is paired to a stimulus that elicits that drive state.


----------



## Squidwardp (Oct 15, 2019)

I appreciate the responses. 

She will bark pretty impressively at home. I try to respond promptly and reward, but her barking is usually coupled with running to a front window, or, if she is in the backyard, to the corner of a fence. 
I never taught her to speak for food, though, and I'm having a tough time transferring her barking to something that gets rewarded. 

Kind of a mystery why she will not sound off in rag work. At first, she was getting more individual attention in rag work. Then we had a bunch of puppies show up, and also the thought was being with other puppies in a circle might prompt her to bark. Not so far, though that may have has prompted the snapping/jaw clicking. 

She does escalate her defensive bark at home based on situation. Neighbor dogs (one of whom is very barky), she will bark back if they are in the same area of the yard. 
Front doorbell, she will bark. 

For whatever reason, when the coyote(s) come around and do whatever they do in our yard and adjacent yards, prowl, mark, leave their scent, she goes nuts. Sounds like a three year old male,not a a 10 month old female. As noted, she and my wife surprised one in a neighbor's yard on a night time walk, and the barking was not to be believed.


----------



## Squidwardp (Oct 15, 2019)

Chip Blasiole said:


> When she goes off at home pair "revier" with her barking and praise with "good revier." Then set up some scenarios like have someone come over at night and shake the bushes when she is out and on leash or in the yard and immediately tell her to revier. Some dogs are not natural barkers and can be taught and some just won't.


Some follow-up-- the trainers have made it a side project at Schutzhund to get her to bark.

Some success yesterday night. On harness, she was lunging and straining, but not barking. We switched her to a prong, and got some jaw clicks and a few legitimate barks. 
. 
She remains a very willing barker at home. When she alerts to something or someone on street, package drop off, etc. I do try to catch her in the act and praise her and say "Gib laut!" 
(Should that be "revier" instead?). 

I'd like to set up some scenarios like you describe, but most of my neighbors are nervous about larger dogs other than Goldens or Golden-doodles. The ones who like her and have met her probably would be afraid she would come to associate them with trespass, bad acts, etc. I might be able to persuade my son-in-law to shake some bushes, with some bribery.


----------



## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

I would use revier if it is a scenario where someone is hiding and trying to arouse suspicion.


----------



## Squidwardp (Oct 15, 2019)

Update: she is barking pretty reliably now. The barks are getting deeper. 
Some things the helpers have tried: (1) putting her in the "box," stimulated quite a bit of barking. They did that once. (2) Placing a barrier, namely the fence for the practice field, between her and the decoy. Decent barking. (3) She is now doing some sleevework, and hits the sleeve hard, deep and on target. 

All that said, her younger pack-mate is still a much more willing barker. One doesn't have to work to coax anything from him. He comes in the gate to the field, sees a sleeve or bite pillow out of his range and it is bark-bark-bark. 

At home, though, she is the one who will bark, loud and long if she detects something going on in the street after dark.


----------

