It has been rightly said that a dog is a person’s best friend.Since time immemorial, dogs have accompanied humans through the mundane activities of daily life. Additionally, service dogs have played a significant role in making many people’s life easier in recent times.A lot of people have wondered if they could teach their dog to speak. While having a conversation with a dog will probably not happen anytime soon, it is entirely possible to use a set of methods to establish some form of vocal communication with your beloved furry friend. Furthermore, training your dog to speak or be quiet on command can prove to be highly useful, apart from being an entertaining trick.If you like reading this article, then surely check out why do dogs bite their paws and why do dogs howl at night for more fun facts!How To Teach A Dog To Say, ‘I Love You’It would be a dream come true for most dog owners to hear their pet dog tell them they love them. Fortunately, with a few training sessions, that dream can become a reality.Once you have established the methods to make your dog bark or “speak” on command, you can move on to teaching them to imitate the phrase, “I love you.” To do so, slowly and clearly say the phrase yourself while emphasizing the words “I,” “love,” and “you” in soft, loud, and quiet tones, respectively. Your dog’s instinctive behavior would be to imitate what you just said by making similar sounds. Use positive reinforcement, and give them a treat every time they try to imitate your words. Continuing this training method for a few days would yield the perfect result!How To Teach A Non-Vocal Dog To SpeakWhile barking is typical behavior among canines, many dogs are non-vocal and usually never resort to barking. For example, the greyhound dog is known for its aloof nature and quiet personality. So, if you have one of the quiet dog breeds, you must be wondering if you can teach your dog to speak on command, as well. The answer is a definite yes. Even non-vocal dogs can bark on command with the proper training.Before training your dog to bark on cue, it is necessary to ensure they understand the verbal command for being quiet. If this has not been established, even your non-verbal dog or puppy could resort to excessive barking. Once the ‘quiet’ command has been established, you can easily move on to the ‘speak’ command.First, get your dog to initiate barking. Once they do bark, enunciate your verbal cue with clarity or establish a hand signal, even if it’s a single bark. Additionally, don’t forget to reward barking with dog treats or their favorite toy. This whole process should be repeated several times so that your dog starts associating your verbal cue or hand gesture with the ‘speak’ command. Once the dog has understood to bark on command, you can use the two cues for ‘speak’ and ‘quiet’ one after the other and set the pattern. You might also add clicker training if you feel like your dog would respond better to that instead of a hand signal.Apart from these commands, seven other basic commands that could be a part of your dog training are name recognition, ‘down,’ ‘sit,’ ‘heel,’ ’leave it, ‘come,’ and ‘place.’ Potty training is also an essential part of every dog’s life.How To Teach A Dog To Say Yes And NoTeaching a dog to say ‘yes’ or ’no’ has been one of the most popular dog tricks. Additionally, a dog learns both these commands quite quickly, as it involves using a delicious dog treat.To teach the command for ‘yes,’ hold a treat in your closed fist and move your hand up and down, making sure your dog’s head follows along. Then, repeat the same, but this time hold the treat in your other hand. This lets the dog know that your closed fist is the sign for ‘yes.’ After this has been well established, ask your dog a question and make a slight up and down movement of your fist to get him to nod ‘yes.‘The process is quite similar to teach your dog the hand signal for ’no.’ All you have to do is come with a new visual command that signifies ’no.‘How To Teach A Dog To Say Your PrayersFor a lot of people, their faith means a great deal. It would be nice for such people to see their dogs take part in something spiritual as well.To start with this training, first, teach your dog how to sit. Once the dog has mastered this command, use a treat to get them to lie on the floor with a ’lie down’ command. Next, try this same process repeatedly, but this time with the ‘say your prayers’ verbal cue. Try to ensure your dog’s head stays down till you say ‘amen,’ which would be the perfect release word to end his prayer.How To Teach a Dog To Speak And Be QuietContrary to what you might believe, getting a dog to speak and be quiet is not challenging. Both of these commands go hand in hand and should be taught to your dog in a fun way so that they pick up the instructions quickly.To get your dog’s barking to start, use any trigger that will get the dog excited and accompany that by saying the word ‘speak.’ Additionally, you can add a hand command to the mix. While giving out the verbal cue, keep your palm facing the dog and then close your fingers, except for the thumb. The moment they start barking, praise their behavior and give them a treat. This enables the dog to associate ‘speak’ with barking. You can continue training and establishing patterns that consist of just one bark or several barks.To get your dog to stop barking, use a treat of more value to them than the previous one. Consecutively, when the dog barks, hold up the treat and say, ‘quiet.’ If this verbal cue doesn’t work, you can also try saying ‘shh’ or ‘shush.’ Every time the dog stops barking, give them a treat. Most dogs learn to identify this training quite quickly. For a puppy, it might take a while longer, but remember to stay patient and calm.With these tips in hand, you will be able to tell your dog to be quiet or to bark in front of other people or other dogs in no time.How To Teach A Dog To Speak And WhisperTeaching your dog to speak and whisper can be done in a continued dog training session, as both these commands are interdependent.Get your dog to sit in front of you and calmly use your verbal cue to get the dog to bark. Once they start barking, use the phrase ‘good whisper’ and reward them with a treat. This will teach your dog to bark when you say the word ‘whisper.‘Once this has been established, lowering the volume of their barking is the next task. To do this, only reward them when they bark at a lower volume. Since dogs are intelligent, your furry pet will soon understand what they are being asked to do.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how to teach a dog to speak, then why not take a look at why do dogs get hiccups or why do dogs smile?
It has been rightly said that a dog is a person’s best friend.
