Hi everyone,

Nice to meet you all. As you can see, my name's Andy. I have a 1 year old Rottie called Diablo, and we live in Jakarta, Indonesia (though I'm from the UK).

Please forgive my ignorance on almost all aspects of training - I'm completely knew to this so if my questions seem a little obvious at times, try to give me the benefit of the doubt!

Anyway, to my question: Diablo will bark at cats, dogs, motorcycle taxis and snakes. Occasionally he will bark at the odd Indonesian, but for the most part he's pretty relaxed. For those of you who don't know much about Jakarta, it can a very dangerous place. We bought Diablo primarily to protect my wife and our house when I'm at work. His presence alone seems to be doing the trick. However, when my wife walks him, she has on numerous occasions been sexually harassed by people on the street.

How can I train him to bark on command? I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but I would REALLY like to hear from someone who has had the same problem and worked through it.

Best Regards

Andy

p.s Diablo says 'woof' (I wish)

Welcome Andy,

Your question is a good one....I can tell you how I trained my dog to bark on command.

I held his favorite treat in my hand, let him smell it and then said "speak" he will most likley just look at you and say "Huh?"

so I just got a little excited... jumped about a bit to rev him up and said "speak" I must have done this for 10 min looking stupid hahaha but when he barked..out of frustration, I rewarded right then.. "good speak" then it was easy... just do the same thing. withold until speak.. then speak for 30 seconds... 60 seconds...

I actually use a "Psst Psst" sound for the command "Speak" so I can do it under my breath in public so people are not aware I commanded the bark. You can get creative and training any signal you want really, I have several for diffrent things. You want thoes A** Holes to think he is barking becasue he wants to eat them, not becasue you told him to bark...

I have sence taught a bark and nod for counting, I nod he barks once so I can amaze people with the dog that counts. I have Revier for the bark and hold, I have watch emmm for a defense bark. And the Psst Psst for street prey barking. I guess that's it. So 4 bark commands.

I hope that gets you going!
Lonny

Hahha almost forgot to tell you to make sure you train a "quiet" command to stop him from barking... I use "That's enough" I just covered his muzzle and said "That's enough" then bring him into my arms for calming and praise.

Welcome to the board, I have a rott as well. Do you really only want him to bark? What if someone calls his bluff one day? Don't you wan't the dog to be able to back his self up? Check around for some protection trainers in your area. If you go meet them and ask them what their ideals and styles are and come back to this board, I'm sure everyone will give you good input. Use Lonnys advice for the bark but I personally feel a dog that barks but won't bite is like having a gun with no bullets in it.

Andy,
Welcome to the BEST BOARD!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Both previous post should give you an idea that with K-9 training there are different approches to obtain the disired results. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Has your Rott been through Basic Obidience???
If not start now. You can work on having him become a better companion. This will let the natural protectiveness come out.

I'm not a dog trainer except for my K-9's. This Board will be able to help you with any question that you have. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> They have helped me for sure. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Stay in touch!!

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your replies - I wasn't expecting any with such a mundane question!!

Lonny - I will start practicing what you suggested immediately. In addition, I think that your idea about using 'Pssst' is great - alot more subtle. Many thanks....

Rottnvegas - Protection training is a compound problem for me I'm afraid. First of all, the nearest 'reputable' trainer (like there's such a thing in this country), is in Surabaya, some 1000km away. Furthermore, without meaning to generalise, the standard of animal welfare in this country is disgraceful to say the least. I would not entrust ANYONE here with my dog while I was at work all day.

Hopefully, with the info. everyone here is giving me, I should be able to do a good job of it myself.

Crabtree - I have taught him to sit, come, heel, fetch, lie down and stay. It took us one afternoon together and he's never looked back. Is there anything else he needs to know?
-------------------------------------------------

Ok! Take a deep breath - I have MORE questions!

1. He weighs 50kg now at 12 months. What, realistically, will he end up at in the future?

2. How long/far should he be walked a day? What about the heat (100C every day by 10 am)?

3. I feed him raw beef, rice and eggs - any problems with that? He also gets 2 meals a day (approx 1kg total). My friends told me he should have been reduced to one feed a day by now. Thoughts?

I have lots, lots more to ask you all, but I'll give your eyes a rest......for now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Selamat Pagi dari Indonesia

Andy

Andy,

To give specific expectations on weight is not much help. Look at the dog, If you can just feel the ribs and spine, he is probably about right. With a lighter coated dog you may be able to see the ribs particularly when the dog breaths in.

Since 100 C is boiling (212 F), I would assume you mean 100 F. I live in Phoenix, we get really high temps in the Summer here too. As a result I walk my dogs in the morning before it heats up or wait until the temp comes down at night. A test I use is to go put my palm on the surfaces the dog will be walking on. If you can hold your palm on the surface for 1 minute, it is ok for the dog. Other than that keep an eye on the dog, if the dog seems to be panting a lot or is obviously uncomfortable it is too hot.

Andy wrote: My friends told me he should have been reduced to one feed a day by now. Thoughts?

Rottnvegas: Your dog will benefit from your split feedings. This reduces the chance of bloat which is deadly. Keep feeding twice a day. Good luck

Andy, when i taught my rottie to speak, i did basically the same thing(used a toy instead of treat though). being a novice trainer, you will have to be carefull if you decide to train for protection. as far as his weight, there are averege weights, and breed standards, but it really just varies from dog to dog. my first rottie weighed 110lbs at ten months old, and you could feel his ribs good. definatly keep feeding twice a day. and finally, keep coming here for your questions and answers these guys are really helpfull!

Andy,
You need to add some veggies to his diet...I feed 1/3 veggies, 2/3 meat etc....That's all I can add!

Ask all you want, we are bored and love to answer questions when not training... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />