A new command...?

[ljbrooks]

I had a poodle mix the other day that I picked up from the owners house. The dog barked and growled and and hid and I thought "Oh no. Here we go with a cranky little monster." The owner says in a voice you would use for children, "Bark quiet!". I didn't know this was an option and I waited to see what the dog would do. The dog did not bark any quieter and in fact, continued to bark and growl.

Well, the good news is, this dog was a doll to work with. Perhaps just territorial of her home. But the woman...I have never heard that and I've heard lots of weirdo things people say to their dogs. I've heard lots of people talk to their dogs like people/children (which I admit to doing myself), but not a specific command to basically "talk quieter". I just thought it was so unusual.

What are the weirdest things your clients have said to their dogs?

[Peaster]

I had one tell her dog to use "its inside voice". It diden't listen either and just kept barking up a storm so no one in the lobby could understant a word being said.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

I had one tell her dog to use "its inside voice". It diden't listen either and just kept barking up a storm so no one in the lobby could understant a word being said.

ROFL, this one got a big chuckle out of me. You're inside voice, rofl...too funny.

Tammy in Utah

[NUNGUIS]

it sounds funny but i have a client with a lab i do once a week and this dog will do anything for treats he does: high five, low five,shakes hand and they are all different trust me and then he speaks and he barks they are and sound very different this dog is so smart he runs to my van jumps on table and then on tub turns around on his own so i can scrub the other side and when i turn off the dryer he jumps on the grooming table he knows the whole routine form start to finish i tell him sometimes (moose is his name) moose i wish you would learn how to groom yourself and i could just sit here watching.

[redbird]

mine

Both my Lab and My poodle can "talk quiet" when told to.
The terriers, forget it.

We start by teaching them to speak, and then you slowly just
tease a little tiny grunt or growl out of them and reward.

Tessa can woof so quietly that you have to turn down the sound
on the tv to even barely hear her.
Coaly is trying but is a very vocal dog anyhow, and he tends to
wiggle all over as he does it. He is such a sweety.

[barepaws]

This had me choking on my morning coffee. Too funny. Let me run out to my yard and tell my 4 dogs to please use their inside voices when chasing deer at 3:00am outside my window, or at least bark quite so I don't wake up,
ROFL

[PAWS]

My husband said that to our dog once, with a whole party of friends over! We all laughed so hard! Actually what HE said was, "Ozzy! That's not your inside voice!". All conversation stopped and there was a breif silence before hearty laughs.

If we whisper, he will bark this cute, muffled "mmmooof", when we are asking him to speak.