Barking at Squirrels and Birds

[BuddyPup]

I have a 3 yr old Springer Spaniel, he was adopted at age 3. He barks sooo much at Squirrels and Birds I can hardly stand it at times. I need ideas on the best thing to do when he won't stop when told to.

[LetsPlay]

Hi there,

are you around when he does it, or is he outside and you inside?
You should practice both, the "speak up" and the "quiet" command.
Some dogs are vocal and like to express themselves and by teahcing them to "speak up" in the right situations you can make use of their natural instinct and at the same time practice them to "be quiet". That way the whole barking thing is more controlled and your odg is still allowed to bark at times.

For example you could teach your dog to speak up when performing certain tricks and praise him like crazy when he is quiet after being told so.
That way he will learn to respect that command. The other option is to remove him from the situation, wait for him to calm down and then praise him.

Let us know how you get on.
John