Question regarding no-bark training

Maxy24

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#1
Tucker barks when he hears knocking sounds, not just the door but anything resembling the door including banging a spoon on the side of a bowl when cooking or strumming your fingers or banging your fists on a table. So I figure it's a good idea to reward him with treats if he notices the noise (looks up, ears perked) but chooses to not bark at it. My question is, how many times/for how long do you reward? Often if I just give him one treat he'll take it and then start barking, or he'll take it, stare a little longer, then bark. So I want to continue rewarding until I know he's over his nervousness about the noise, but I'm not sure how to tell when that is. Any ideas?
 

ihartgonzo

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#2
I would not reward him alerting to the sounds. I would repeat the sound over and over, and reward him when he is no longer reacting at all. Pairing a clicker with each reward would be very helpful in communicating to him what you want! I had to desensitize Fozzie to MANY sounds as a puppy (knocking, doorbell, dropping anything, some one coming down the stairs, the list goes on...) as he is a Corgi x Husky. Enough said! Now he is a dog who is for the most part unaffected by noises.
 

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