Barbet Training

About This Breed

The Barbet is also known as the French Waterdog a gentle, loyal, playful and friendly dog breed that deals well with kind training methods. The name of this dog breed originated from the beard the dog seems to have. Barbet training is considered to rank in the medium to easy difficulty area. The dog temperament, not very aggressive and quite docile makes this breed a good choice for beginning pet owners or for those people that do not have a lot of time to invest in training their dog. There are many activities in which a Barbet performs well: herding, working as a gun dog for waterfowl and is also great and different dog sports and agility tests. Here are some of the most useful Barbet training commands, that you should teach the puppy right after the COME command (which is also simple to teach, as the Barbet is very affectionate and shows excellent responses to his or her master’s commands).

Mastering the SIT command – an important element in Barbet training in Austin

  1. Start the training by verbalizing the word SIT every time your dog sits. The puppy will soon start to make a connection between his action and the word.
  2. Get down to floor level so that you seem less threatening. In Barbet training this makes it easier to connect to the dog and gain its trust. This greatly improves the bond between owner and dog and it represents a vital step in any Barbet training program.
  3. Have a treat ready and bring it above the dog’s head. The smell of the treat and the natural curiosity of the puppy will make your dog look at your hand and back up to sit.
  4. When this happens, give the command SIT again and reward the dog with the treat. Successful commands should always get some food praise and verbal praise as well.
  5. The puppy will begin to form a strong association between the praise, treat and the verbal command (SIT) and response to such commands will be better with each passing day, this rule is not only true for Barbet training and can be applied to any dog breed.

Austin “Stay” Training for Barbet Dogs

  1. Begin by having the dog sit or lay down.
  2. Give out the STAY command, remember to have a firm but non-threatening voice, an important element in Barbet training . A gesture with your hand that accompanies the vocal command will help the dog learn even faster.
  3. Even moderate success, a brief command response from your dog should get the dog some praise. Lower your voice and praise the dog, a pat on the head and maybe even a small treat will also work, but don’t overdo it.
  4. Combine the STAY and COME commands and repeat them several times, giving the dog some praise every time the command works.
  5. Don’t repeat the Barbet dog training sequence more than a few times in a row, monotony will ruin the dog’s mood and command responses will be poor.