Dogs can and will do just about anything to make their hoomans happy. They will play dead, roll over, jump for a ball or frisbee and any other number of fancy tricks to keep their people entertained. One dog is going viral for her commitment to making her mama happy, but not in a way you might think.

Meet Mame, the Shiba Inu that’s proven to the world that dogs can, in fact, bark softly.

There are many things that people can train their dogs to do. Through simple commands and reward-based training, like giving out treats or special toys, dog owners can get their dogs to do just about anything.

Of course, some breeds are far easier to train than others.

Some breeds, like border collies and poodles, for instance, are more eager to please their owners than the average “bear”. Even if a dog is easier to train than others, though, there seems to be one dog habit that almost all dog owners struggle with; loud barking.

Even with an easily trainable dog, this is one hard habit to break.

That’s what makes Mame’s mom so impressive, as she not only got her dog to stop barking loudly, but she did it with the notoriously stubborn Shiba Inu breed!

This particular breed of dog is known for being among the most difficult to train. They are strong-willed, single-minded, and often too smart for traditional training methods. Even just getting them to listen to basic “sit” or “stay” commands is no easy feat.

These few facts alone probably have a lot to do with the fact that Mame’s viral video has pulled in over 10 million views and counting since being uploaded eight years ago.

The good news is that thanks to her hilarious video, dog training experts have come to the rescue on how you can get the same effect.

The kind folks over at Wag Walking have put together a quick read on three different ways to go about training your dog to bark softly on command.

There are three methods to achieve this highly coveted goal, and all three of them are pretty darned simple. The best part about it is that you can use these training techniques on any dog, even the tiny ones known for their big, loud, relentless barking.

Essentially, the key to getting your dog to bark softly, as with many things, is treats.

The trick to teaching your dog to bark softly lies in how you go about dispensing the treats. There is the door method, the video method, and the opportunity method. Each of the three methods is basically a way to get your dog to start barking, either by playing a video of another dog barking out of their sight, having someone knock at the door, or just implementing the training as the opportunity arises. Like when your dog barks at the mail truck or passersby, for instance.

When they do bark, respond by saying “softly” and reward them with a treat. This is step 2.

Then you tell them “quiet” in a soothing voice and the moment they’ve stopped barking for at least a second, treat them again. Keep repeating the process until they bark at “softly” and start barking less loudly at “quiet”.

After they get the hang of this, you can train them to bark even softer by only rewarding them as the barking tones down. Of course, the final step is to practice, practice, practice.

Once you’ve succeeded, you can rest easy knowing you are a true master of dog training. To see the moment that has everyone in stitches over Mame’s impressive training, watch the video below.

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Source: guettavogel/Wag Walking