Teaching growling on command

So, basically, the crux of it is the dog's mindset. I don't think you can really teach a dog to put on a perfect act. Either you want them to actually feel threatened—in which case the conditioning process is completely different (and I’d be dead against that myself)—but the dog would look very convincing. Alternatively, those behaviours are disconnected from the instincts that drive them. In that case, the result probably won't look very believable.

Evening everyone :) My partner was wondering how to teach our dogs to growl on command, and consequently how to get them to bark too :) Should we reward them every time they growl? What word should we use? We aren't really sure how to go about it ^_^ Thanks The techniques and approaches used usually look a bit like this: 1. First, you need to name the action to make them conscious of it. So, you have to teach the meaning of 'growl'. Just like with 'sit', you name the thing. You say sit, they sit. 2. It’s going to take a lot of time and patience, because many of the skills we train a dog to perform are natural to them. Sitting is natural. Giving paw is fun. It's simple for them to understand that they should walk to heel without getting ahead of their owner. But growling is agonistic behaviour, which generally occurs as a result of instinct. It means something to the dog. There has to be a stimulus (another dog, a bike), and that triggers the growl (an instinctive response). What you are looking to do is decouple this instinctive behaviour from any form of external stimulus. You want the stimulus to become the request, the signal, the command. But do you want the dog to feel (in his head) the same way he would if he sensed a threat? Or do you just want him to growl on cue like a circus act? That is what won't be easy to manage. 3. It should be easier (I’m only speculating here) to teach him to bark. Barking isn't necessarily linked to a threat. Growling isn't like barking. Growling is a threat. Barking can be the result of an invitation to play. The state of mind isn't the same. So, that should be easier (just a guess). 4. You might also find it easier to get a bit of a mix between a growl and a bark.

Marlo, I really don't see the point in you coming here to post useless messages on a four-year-old thread; I don't see the point at all.

Hi everyone! Getting your dog to bark is actually quite simple. You just need to find an everyday sound that triggers them. For me, it was the whistling noise a balloon makes when you stretch the neck to let the air out ^^. For other dogs, it’s often the sound of another dog barking or a fire engine siren—you get the idea. Once you’ve found the right sound, look it up on YouTube, play it on your mobile and keep saying "speak, speak, speak" until they’ve learnt the command. Make sure to give them plenty of praise, and treats work wonders ;) Keep at it with the rewards and eventually you won't need the recording anymore—they’ll do it on command ^^ Hope this helps, cheers everyone!

I really don't see the point in teaching a dog to growl and bark... Some people have dogs that are real barkers and would give anything for them to stop!!!!! A well-trained, well-adjusted dog... doesn't need to bark to show they're protecting someone.

+1, sadly... :( This breed profiling is just unbearable. But at the end of the day, you have to think about your dog’s safety first ;)