Miniature Schnauzer Dog Training: Learn When Praise Should & Shouldn’t Be Used

In daily life with the Miniature Schnauzer puppy, praise and petting should be used as rewards when the pup actually does something the owner desires. Otherwise, praise should be withheld. When a new command is taught, the owner should accompany it with some physical movement or posture to show the pup its meaning. As quickly as the puppy starts to make the proper movement, it should be praised. When the pup completes the desired action, it should be gently petted, preferably on the throat and chest.

An example of this highly effective form of instrumental conditioning involves teaching “Sit.” If the puppy’s name is followed by the word “Sit,” and the hand is held a few inches above, then moved slightly behind the pup’s head, the pup will raise its head and sit to keep its eye on the hand. After 3-20 such commands, the pup should sit without the hand signal. Each time the pup’s haunches even begin to sink, the pup should be praised by saying “Good sit.”

Teaching sessions should be short, no longer than a few minutes, and should end with much praise and petting. A puppy so treated soon learns to earn rewards of praise and petting from its “leader.” People have dubbed this type of dog training the “learn-to-earn-praise-and-petting,” or the “No free lunch” program. In the family situation, all members who are old enough should teach the puppy as a demonstration of consistency among the pup’s people.

training with treats at this stage is not recommended. While bait training techniques are effective, it can interfere with two aspects of life: Establishing owner leadership and housetraining, since the pup’s after-mealtime defecation schedule can be upset.

A Miniature Schnauzer puppy who enjoys a “follower” role with family members gains a behavioral foundation that makes all of life’s later lessons more easily learned. Because they have competent leadership, subordinate (follower) dogs are less easily frustrated and, hence, less apt to violate (chew) their leader’s belongings, steal their food, soil their property (house), etc. Therefore, a solid leader relationship with one’s dog has the added advantage of avoiding most unwanted behavior associated with family dogs. This in itself seems a worthy goal.

Most older Miniature Schnauzer dogs also respond well to the total social attraction regimen of teaching. However, because months or years, during which the adult dog has assumed dominance, usually precede such behavioral therapy, the owner must be prepared to spend more time than with a puppy.

Pet Therapy Tales

Lake Charles American Press - One resident told us of his miniature Schnauzer that he had to give away when he entered the nursing home. Another of the residents Katrina Pet rescue Memories The anniversary of Hurricane Katrina brought a wave of bittersweet memories from my time Go

Family pets can teach parents and children valuable life lessons

Staunton News Leader - M y friends all thought that a puppy was not a good idea. But we finally got one. It was a clandestine arrangement in the parking lot of the local Wal-Mart that brought us our schnauzer puppy. Our new puppy, “Tink” is black, and warm and soft and oh
Source: www.newsleader.com

Yes, the fix is in for rambunctious Bowser
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel - OK. Let’s be clear. I’m no Bowser lover. But these are days of reconciliation and healing. Yeah, definitely healing. When Sofia first got Bowser the schnauzer in July, I was less than thrilled. I’m just not an animal kind of guy. You might remember
Source: www.sun-sentinel.com

COMMON COUNCIL: Group asks city to get involved in rescue of feral
Lockport Union-Sun - Maddie s Fund, endowed by a wealthy woman whose beloved schnauzer s name was Maddie and who wanted to see the no-kill ethos spread nationwide, awards grants to municipalities and not-for-profit organizations for two purposes: to pay veterinary
Source: www.lockportjournal.com

Dog Training: How To Stop Your Miniature Schnauzer From Begging & Stealing Food

Learning to beg or steal food is the easiest of all life’s lessons for a Miniature Schnauzer puppy. The art is most often taught by the pup’s owners. In some cases, it is learned when food is accidentally dropped on the floor, or left unattended where the puppy can get at it.

Human taste discrimination is so crude when compared to the dog’s that many owners fail to appreciate the mistake of giving their pups little treats of the family food fare. Many times it only takes one taste of highly spiced table food to ruin a puppy’s appreciation for its less-seasoned commercial diet. The result can be a pup that turns up its nose at dog food and becomes a roaring menace around the dinner table.

The training method of extinguishing begging takes time. The time it takes depends on the duration of the habit, the Miniature Schnauzer puppies tenacity, and the consistency of its owners in carrying out corrective procedures. It requires that absolutely no attention be given the begging pup, regardless of its antics in trying to gain tidbits.

In the case of food stealing, the training method of extinguishing the behavior requires even more careful control of the environment, especially when young children are involved. They usually love to share their goodies with their pets, but it is impractical to explain the cause-effect relationship to such youngsters when they complain that “Sparky jumped up and stole my ice cream cone!” Children also tend to leave articles of food around on low tables and chairs, an irresistible temptation for most puppies.

To eliminate stealing, whether it is overt (taking food from children) or covert (pilfering the thawing dinner steak), it is necessary to initiate a program of at least 4 weeks, during which no food is ever placed within the pup’s reach. It goes without saying that no tidbits should be given during this period.

Remedies that often fail include lacing some food with pepper or ammonia, saying “No-no” while tempting the pup, and physically punishing the animal when it approaches the family’s food. These fail because they require the presence of some agent other than the food, either the aversive-tasting element or the owner. When these elements are not present, the Miniature Schnauzer puppy is rarely discouraged from stealing the food. It learns to discriminate between treated and
untreated morsels, and to avoid food in the owner’s presence.

Pet Therapy Tales

Lake Charles American Press - One resident told us of his miniature Schnauzer that he had to give away when he entered the nursing home. Another of the residents Old dogs, pregnant dogs, puppies, handicapped dogs, blind dogs and sick dogs. Their individual needs were immense.
Source: www.americanpress.com

Miniature Schnauzer Dog Training: How To Prevent Submissive Urination

The important point for dog owners to appreciate is that submissive urination is not deliberate. It just happens in response to dominant behavior. This being the case, punishment or other dominant behavior approaches are counterproductive. Scolding, picking up the pup, shaking, spanking or hitting it, pushing its nose into the urine or slapping newspapers at the bewildered and innocent animal are to be avoided.

These puppies lack confidence and therefore worry about their ability to cope with situations wherein they must be subordinate. To correct the problem, a pup’s confidence levels must be raised and strengthened so that the conditioned urination is not triggered.

An environmental factor involved in most cases of submissive urination is that the pup is reprimanded far more often than it is praised for its achievements. In fact, most owners do not really consider their pup’s need for praise. Most owners believe the pup should be punished for doing the wrong thing, especially if it is “caught in the act.” This leads to a vicious circle when urination is reinforced by the stimulus that causes it in the first place (punishment or dominant behavior).

A preferable corrective measure is to create situations wherein the pup can be praised both for doing the right things in response to its owners, and for not doing the wrong things. This approach is totally positive and avoids submissive urination in most cases. The puppy should be taught to respond to the simplest commands of “Come,” “Sit” and “Stay,” and be given immediate praise even for starting to make the appropriate responses. All teaching must be
done without physical force, punishment or even gentle positioning of the Miniature Schnauzer puppy. These may be too closely associated with dominance behavior and could lead to urination.

Other recommendations include:

1. Do not “hover over” the pup if this has caused urination in the past. When calling or petting the pup, the owner should crouch down. Petting is done palm up, under the chin and on the throat and chest, to avoid placing the hands upon the pet’s head.

2. If homecomings stimulate urination, ignore the pup for at least 5 minutes after arrival home. Then, when greeting the puppy, crouch as described above.

3. Associate the phrase “Good dog” with petting and say it when putting down the pup’s dish at feeding times. Then, whenever the Miniature Schnauzer puppy does something desirable, happily repeat “Good dog” a couple of times.

4. Avoid all scolding vocal tones, especially if these have stimulated wetting in the past.

When these corrective steps, including the simple commands, have been practiced for at least 2 weeks, the pup should be gradually taken through situations (except those involving punishment) that have caused wetting in the past.

Kirby: Pet diapers a doggone idea - just ask Fido

Salt Lake Tribune - According to Pet Peepers of Amherst, N.H., 143 million owners of cats and dogs will experience indoor pet Junior, a 2-year-old miniature schnauzer, belongs to Karly Short. He’s a nice enough mutt but doesn’t have two brain cells to rub
Source: www.sltrib.com

Pets get blessed at St. Charles Church during annual ritual
Martinsville Reporter-Times - A calm golden retriever, a miniature schnauzer, a black cat with a rhinestone-studded collar, a puffy Siamese-rag doll mix, a Chesebrough has blessed hamsters, guinea pigs, turtles and snakes, in addition to the many dogs and cats that show up
Source: www.reporter-times.com

Pet Therapy Tales
Lake Charles American Press - The dogs lit up the faces of the residents as they recalled their own former pets. One resident told us of his miniature Schnauzer that he had to give away when he entered the nursing home. Another of the residents said that no one but the therapy
Source: www.americanpress.com

Miniature Schnauzer Dog Training: Barking Training Tips

When a pup barks at other dogs, cats, people or unfamiliar objects, it is usually the result of some frustration. I once had an ear-wracking lunch with a young couple who had taught their 10-week-old Labrador Retriever to “speak” for tidbits. The pup made conversation virtually impossible and, worse yet, the sheer volume of its barking seemed to inhibit the flow of gastric juices necessary to digest what otherwise might have been a delicious meal.

Most pups between about 12 and 26 weeks of age begin announcing their presence to strangers, attracting the attention of their owners, sounding territorial alarms at other animals or otherwise trying to stimulate some sort of response from unidentified objects, odors, sounds or movements. The secret of curtailing this natural tendency is to avoid reinforcing the barking, and it usually fades away. This requires ignoring the behavior. To a puppy, the act of vocalizing appears to be identified as just that vocalizing. Therefore, shouting at a vocalizing, vocally oriented puppy to obtain silence merely reinforces the barking.

When the barking is aimed at someone or something the pup perceives as threatening (though this is not so), the animal’s interpretation of the stimulus must be altered. This process takes from a day to a few weeks.

Eliminating the Miniature Schnauzer puppies misinterpretation of threat by certain people, objects or sounds require that the owner introduce the pet to these stimuli while reassuring it with good-natured and jolly (but low-volume) words and phrases. If a visitor stimulates this type of barking, the owner should approach that person and behave in a friendly manner, crouching down while demonstrating friendly trust as an invitation for the puppy to approach.

The Schnauzer puppy should in no way be pulled or ordered to the guest. Rather, it should be allowed to gain confidence at a natural pace. It often helps if the guest assumes the same crouched position as the owner, but remains immobile and passive while the pup begins to gain confidence.

This same method can be used with a barrier between the pup and the inciting stimulus. The puppy can be taken to the other side of the barrier, whether a gate, fence, door or window, and introduced to the stimulus in a friendly manner. When this concerns other animals, more time and effort are required to obtain the involved animals and have their owners cooperate in correction. The same happy, jolly routine must be undertaken by the owners in these situations.

Where this procedure does not succeed, the pup should be stimulated between the time of the pup’s initial orientation to the incoming stimulus and its overt barking, followed by jolly reinforcement. If the problem is caused by an odor, sound or movement, the pup should be escorted happily to the area from which these emanate and allowed to investigate, while the owner reassures it that no real threat exists.