How do you reward a puppy for quiet time without getting him excited?

Question

I know you are suppose to ignore a barking puppy to teach it not to bark to get attention, but how do you reward him for being quiet?

Answer 1

Approach & praise him calmly, tell him good boy in a very normal voice without trying to use effort to get your voice high.

and then give him a treat slowly with no "Goooood Booy!"

Answer 2

I personally would go about this differently. I would recommend correcting the puppy when he barks inappropriately (in my experience, ignoring it isn't as effective as people are lead to believe). A verbal correction usually works, particularly if they are doing it for attention; if they become more persistent and ignore verbal corrections you could keep a leash on them and give them a leash correction for barking, or if you're close enough give them a slight jab with the tips of your fingers when they bark (make sure it's firm enough to seem like a correction). If you correct the inappropriate behavior, you won't have to reward the appropriate behavior and the dog won't expect constant rewards for doing what he should do anyways and the inappropriate behavior will stop much quicker than ignoring it (which dogs don't do with each other anyways).

Of course, don't give the dog attention until a few moments after the correction and the dog has stopped barking, otherwise you will be reinforcing the inappropriate behavior.

Answer 3

First of all, you have to be very calm, too. It's important that you model calm behavior. So getting excited because he's being good will just sabotage his calm behavior.

I find that soft verbal praise works best. Touching him or offering a food treat may get him more aroused.

I'll say "G-o-o-o-d b-o-o-y" very softly and slowly, making sure my voice goes down at the end.

If this gets him excited, you'll have to teach him to take soft praise. I'll start by saying just "g-o-o-o-d" softly. If he is still relaxed, I'll build up to the whole thing.

If he starts to get up, I'll turn my head and look away (but I'm really peeking at him). When he's settled down again, I'll go back to occasional soft praise.

For some puppies, taking praise well is a learned task. Puppies vary by breed as well as being individuals.

If you have learned clicker training (and if you've done it calmly, not getting all excited when you click and treat), you can use clicker training to reward quiet behavior. But it's not a good thing to do for your first adventure in clicker training. Wait until you've taught him a couple of other things first. That way, you'll be more comfortable with your skills and the importance of perfect timing.

Start the "sit for everything, nothing in life is free" rule so that he sits and calms himself before every meal, before petting, before getting his leash on for a walk, before everything that he wants. This will help to teach him self-control.

If he's outside and wants to come in, wait until he has been quiet for 5 seconds, then let him in. Gradually increase the amount of time he has to be quiet before letting him in. In a variety of ways, we're teaching him that being quiet works, and being noisy doesn't.

Enjoy your puppy. I'm so glad you're concerned about getting him off to a good start -- he's a lucky puppy to have you for an owner!

Answer 4

You should give your puppy a treat, pat on the back, and praise it a lot so it will learn not to bark and when your puppy does that he/she should know it will get a reward and will always keep this in his/her mind. So it will look forward to doing this because of the special rewards! All pupies love the praise and the treat! Praise your puppy and pet the puppy's back a lot whenever your puppy follows up with this rule because he has to know if this is what you want him/her to do!
~Well I hope you got my point!
~Hoped this helped!

Answer 5

Praise him in a nice quiet and gentle voice or a little back and or neck rub will do because he won't expect the compliments. He barks because he expects to rewarded. That's why he does what he asks. To please you. But if you are talking about rewarding him with treats, leave him a trail of snacks and when he reaches to the spot that marks the X, if he barks ignore him and then massage him like the following stated above.

Answer 6

This is a very nice question. I always say that people never forget to scold a puppy for bad behavior, but always forget to reward the quiet times. The best way is to just very gently stroke the puppy from her head to her tail, right down her back and say softly, "Good girl/boy! Good girl/boy".
The stroking should mimick how the mamadog soothingly licks them. NICE!

Answer 7

Depends on the puppy, they are all different, as are all people. A small treat might work, or a soft pat on the head. Usually vocal praise gets them excited though, so I would avoid that. Might take some trial and error, but you will find what works for your specific puppy.

Answer 8

Using tone and quietness helps, but also hold him, pet him gently, a little massage on the head or back while gently praising him. Sing to him softly also while petting and holding him, at the very least he will turn his head side-ways, looking really funny while he is listening.

Answer 9

A very gentle head rub and praise in a quiet voice. That way he won't think you want to play.

Answer 10

Don't touch or pat her/him, you'll disturb the moment. In a very soft voice simply say 'Good Girl/Boy' and leave it at that, your pup will know.