Miniature Schnauzer Dog Training: 2 Steps To Total Barking Control

Step 1: The owner should ask someone to make sounds outside the house or apartment, walk a dog outside the door or fence (if the pup is in a yard), or otherwise visually stimulate the pup in a way that has caused the problem barking in the past or may do so in the future. As soon as the pup barks a few times, the owner quietly calls the animal to different parts of the house. In other words, the pup is taught to sound the “alarm” and then to seek the owner.

It is a desirable trait for a Miniature Schnauzer that will function well as a watchdog to seek out its owner in the event of trouble. When the pup responds, the owner quietly praises it and remains silent thereafter. If the pup turns again toward the stimulus, it is quietly called back until it settles with the owner. Make sure that the outside assistant does not create unnatural situations to stimulate barking. Heavy foot-steps, jimmying the door, trying to open a window, etc., are good agitations, but they must not be overdone either in volume or duration.

Repeat this procedure until the pup automatically seeks the owner after a couple of barks. Allow at least 2 1/2 hours between training sessions. Hold at least 2 sessions per day until the puppy seeks the owner and remains quiet after the alarm barking, without being commanded to do so. In this procedure, the owners should avoid:

Scolding or otherwise loudly or angrily reinforcing the behavior.

Holding shut the pup’s mouth (this only frustrates the pet and may cause problem barking in the owner’s absence).

Physically punishing the Miniature Schnauzer puppy, as this may reinforce the barking.

Step 2: The Miniature Schnauzer puppy that continually barks when alone must be dealt with after the barking is brought under control in the presence of the owners. When this is achieved, a second person should create a situation that triggers barking. Immediately following the bark stimulus, the owner must introduce a distracting stimulus that the pup associates with a feeling of well-being. Some quieting distractions can be the rattle of a dinner dish or a door knob, a radio coming on, etc. (anything associated with quiet behavior). A distraction that has stimulated barking in the past should not be used.

In any of these situations, the interrupting stimulus must be one that is practical to apply until the puppy quiets for longer and longer periods, up to several hours, even when additional bark-inducing stimuli are introduced.

This procedure may be time consuming and laborious only if the owner neglects that first step in the correction procedure: to control barking when at home with the puppy. Pups have been successfully silenced with this method in only 1 day; others have taken as long as 2-6 weeks. If the procedure is applied regularly, both night and day, an acceptably non-vocal pet will result.

15 pedigree puppies worth $40,000 stolen from pet farm 

SINGAPORE: A dog farm in Pasir Ris is still trying to find out who broke into its 4-acre premises on Thursday, and took 15 pedigree puppies worth $40,000. More…

KINGSTON - By now many dog owners in Kingston have heard of the name Mike O’Neil. O’Neil has been training dogs in Kingston for more than 11 years with his company Complete K-9, Professional dog training. More…

Dog Specialists: Selecting A Specialist Who Can Help With A Problem Miniature Schnauzer

Always take your problem-pet to your veterinarian for a complete physical examination. Take along a fresh stool sample for a parasite check. Research of more than 2,000 cases show that more than 20% of Miniature Schnauzer dogs with behavior problems who had not been checked in more than 6 months also had a health problem. There is no use wasting money on a behavior problem when there may be a contributing health factor.

Get at least two referrals: After the physical examination, ask the doctor about the behavior
problem and whether you might benefit from professional consultation. If the answer is “yes” and a consultant is recommended, ask what sort of feedback has been received from other clients so referred. Make notes about each specialist. If any of those clients are acquaintances of yours, talk to them before telephoning any specialists on the list.

Many veterinarians themselves are getting involved in consulting about problems, so if your pet’s doctor has some ideas, listen to them. If they sound reasonable and appealing, you might be well advised to follow the veterinarian’s suggestions before contacting anyone else. But, give the advice time to work and follow the instructions carefully.

Qualify the consultants. The telephone call to the specialist is aimed at gathering vital
information about how he or she goes about working with owners and their problem pets. But keep in mind, just as you are qualifying them, they are also qualifying you!

If they are operating on the highest ethical standards, they will want to know a great deal about you, your pet and its health history, plus the history of the problem from the beginning to the present time. They should be especially interested in what steps you may have already taken to solve the problem yourself or with other assistance.

Give them all the facts. This will allow them to decide if they can really help, or if they should refer you to someone more specialized in the problem. On the other hand, if they show no interest in the history of the problem and simply press you for an appointment, count your blessings, thank them nicely, hang up and contact the next consultant on the list. Anyone in this profession who does not extend the courtesy of qualifying his or her clients through a few minutes on the telephone falls into one or more of the following categories:

They lack the necessary experience and/or training to do it. Why pay them to educate themselves with your pet?

They subscribe to the car dealer’s “system house” approach, which states: “You can’t get their check and close a deal on the phone.” This is not professional, since the consultants don’t even know if they can be of any assistance at this point.

They are too acutely dog- or cat-oriented to appreciate your role in the problem, especially if they use the old story that they must “see” your pet before anything can be decided.

Miniature Schnauzer Dog Self-Mutilation

A Miniature Schnauzer that licks or chews on itself is manifesting stress or frustration about something. The problem may start because of some frustration relating to environment, but soon develops into a self-reinforcing habit, as the licking or chewing causes inflammation. Further licking or chewing can provide at least temporary relief, but this ultimately perpetuates the problem.

A complete veterinary evaluation should precede the behavior program for rehabilitation. Flea or tick infestation must be ruled out as a cause. Possible allergies also should be considered, as the problem in many self-mutilators stems from food or other environmental allergies. Many practitioners recommend hypo-allergenic diets, even in the absence of clinical symptoms, as a matter of “insurance.”

Corrective measures must consider the environmental factors that bear on the problem. However, a general plan involving nonphysical, off-leash training and stabilization of the owner-pet relationship provides satisfactory results. Owner leadership is established by withholding petting and praise, except when the pet responds to some directive from the Miniature Schnauzer owner.

Miniature Schnauzer Dog Psychology: Understanding Fear & Shyness

Fear and shyness are combined in this section because in many Miniature Schnauzer dogs, fear is an outgrowth of shyness. That is, a shy dog is more likely to become fearful than a bold, gregarious animal. Extremely strong or prolonged fear-producing stimuli are required to induce generalized tearfulness in a dog with a well-balanced nervous system and a sanguine personality. On the other hand, extremely excitable or inhibited pets are often quick to develop tearfulness.

Fear of falling is thought to be the only inborn emotional fear response. All other fears are presumed to be learned associations. However, because fear is a subjective emotion, it might be wise to define behaviorisms associated with problems in fearful dogs. The first startle responses in puppies are to sudden movement and loud noises. Distress vocalization appears when pups are isolated from their litters. These responses will not be dealt with here because they do not usually trigger the types of overt problem behavior under consideration.

Fear and shyness may describe a submissive response to relatively normal stimuli. For example, extreme panic accompanied by defecation, urination and expression of anal sacs is not a normal reaction to a sudden loud noise, a car ride, or handling by the veterinarian. Nor is a submissive posture (ears back, tail between legs, slinking, urinating) a normal response to the mere presence of people or other animals.

Submissive responses of course would be more prevalent in submissive dogs with passive defense reflexes. A fearful or shy dog with active defense reflexes would be more likely to growl, bark or bare its fangs in response to a fear-producing stimulus. Fear biting may occur in either type.

Understanding The Shy Miniature Schnauzer

Two important questions should be answered before any attempt to modify shy behavior:

1. What does the dog actually do? (for example, tail tucked under, head down, freezes, retreats, rolls over).

2. What stimulates the shy behavior, and when was it first noticed?

If a dog displays shyness only before its owners, one must consider its behavior with other people. If shyness is absent with other people, most likely the dog has been over-punished. If it has not extended its shy behavior to people, it may be basically aggressive.

Most Miniature Schnauzer owners confuse genuine shyness with submissive behavior. Wolves are shy; when approached by people they retreat if possible, responding to the instinct for self-preservation. A pet dog faced with its owner’s threats often finds retreat impossible. Therefore, the pet behaves submissively (tail down, whining, rolling on its side, urinating, etc) to tell the aggressor (owner) that the point is well made.

Because Schnauzer owners who over-punish their dog are not attuned to canine behavior, the pet’s submissive gestures fail to ward off the threats and/or punishment. If the dog continues to be over-punished, it will act submissively when approached by anyone. This learned behavior is then misinterpreted as shyness.

Dog trainer instills obedience in even cranky canines 

To say the Recreation Department went to the dogs last week is not as disparaging as it sounds. On Wednesday nights, Bedford Recreation welcomes dog trainer Kathy Fardy and her canine companions for classes in obedience, socialization and good citizenry.
Source: www.townonline.com

Cancer Is More Frequent in Pets Than People; Charity Collar Sales Help Fund New Cures 
Every year, millions of dogs and cats get cancer.
Source: biz.yahoo.com

Readers share adoption tales 
The Olympian asked readers to share their experiences with pet adoptions. Here’s a sampling of the responses. My husband and I adopted Sam, a Chihuahua mix, eight months ago from a local non-profit organization called Animals in Need. Sam was rescued from Puerto Rico where he was a stray.
Source: www.theolympian.com

15 pedigree puppies worth $40,000 stolen from pet farm 
SINGAPORE: A dog farm in Pasir Ris is still trying to find out who broke into its 4-acre premises on Thursday, and took 15 pedigree puppies worth $40,000.
Source: sg.news.yahoo.com

Miniature Schnauzer Dog Owners…

If you own a Miniature Schnauzer then we’ll have some great info for you…