Barking.

[TinaSeed]

Hi,
Nelson our mini is 10 months old now and seems to have found his bark! And oh how he can bark!
It seems to be reactionary, if any dog within hearing distance barks he just goes mad! Barking and running around like a mad thing. This an can be anytime, day or night.
So my question is - how do we stop it! Or at least reduce it?
We ignore the attention barking! And that seems to wrk! But this is not for our attention and to beautiful honest he is almost impossible to distract when he is barking. He doesn’t bark when out! It is just when in the house/ garden.
Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[zeta1454]

Hi Tina - mini schnauzers are vocal dogs (barkers) as, by heritage, the breed are from watch dogs who would alert their owners to any strange noises / sights etc. by barking. We have 11 dogs and it is really only the 3 mini schnauzers who will bark when they are in the garden and hear dogs barking in the distance or the next door neighbour's dogs - the others of a different breed are far less likely to make a sound. Not all minis are so territorial but if you have one or more that is, it can be hard work to stop the barking entirely.

Nelson is still in adolescence which may be why you are having difficulties with distraction which may improve as he matures but you may find this is not an easy trait to stop entirely. Training is the key even if he is not very responsive at present and you just need to be patient and not give up on it. What are you using as a distraction? If you can find something which gets him more.. or at least as...excited as barking at noises outside- whether this is a particular food or favourite toy (squeaky toys can often be a good distraction and, if this works to catch his attention maybe keep the toy only for this so it becomes more desirable).

We have found with our minis that food is the best distraction and, if they are in the garden and start to bark at other dog's barking elsewhere, rattling the treats tin usually brings them running back for a treat. It may depend too on how often there are dogs barking where you live. Here it is only now and again but, if it is more constant where you are, this may be more difficult as you would be calling him in all the time. Setting up a kibble trail or treat hide and seek in the garden can often be a good general distraction for dogs that are likely to be listening out for noises otherwise or you could try initially making sure there is someone with Nelson when he is outside and engaging him in games / training to distract him with something he enjoys.

With our minis, barking is not really a problem indoors or even on walks though. It is only in our garden and I think that is a territorial issue. Our minis are girl dogs but all are mature now and a number of behaviour issues can be worse while a dog is going through adolescence. If there is always someone with Nelson at present when he is in the garden, with a ready supply of treats or toys, and as soon as they hear a bark which may set him off barking in response, scatter the treats or start a game with a toy, acting as excitedly as possible to get his attention and divert the barking into something else. I do understand that with some mini schnauzers this can be a difficult issue to resolve but you may find, if you keep trying with distractions, that you can reduce it as he matures.

[Oscar 12345]

Also struggling with this myself Tina particularly in lockdown as there are more people out and about. Otto is 2, never barks when out of the garden, easy to sshh when in the house but we live in a very quiet spot but with people passing so the noise does travel. I always think he is barking at nothing but he will have heard something and sure enough a few moments later when it gets nearer I hear it. It is still very much a work in progress but for me I always go to him immediately with a finger to my mouth and a sshh/quiet. I then normally get quieter arrooo rooo in my face as he tells me "Mum I heard something" but it does acknowledge that he understands no more required and he stops and then he gets lots of praise.. Sometimes I hear the noise at exactly the same time he does so I can do a sshh/quiet just before he barks which can work. I can't let him out at the front of the garden, dogs passing, complete no no. He has to stay round the back and if things ever get too bad then I am afraid he has to go indoors. Life with an alert dog and I am afraid they tend to be olympic standard in this activity.

[Dawnspell]

Both Barney and now Jasper bark at things outside. Jasper is harder to distract from barking but he's still a pup. He's allowed 3 barks at whatever it is. At first I'd got to him put my finger to mouth saying shssh, no more barking, then give yummy treats. Once he realized yummy treats were involved I can call him to me to tell him to stop. If he's being really reactive like someone at the door then he has to be kept being given treats to keep his attention. It does take a lot of work but can be done.

Barney was funny he would be outside see something, bark 3 times then come in for a treat on his own

[Schnauzer Sam]

Rosie is now nearly 3 and only barks when she sees or hears something going down a grass track at the bottom of our garden or when on neighbourhood watch looking through the windows at the front of our house. We sometimes for get to close the door but she soon gives the game away with her alert.

Edie on the other hand isn't yet 2 and we're still trying to constrain her barking. She just loves to give off when in the garden, so much so that our neighbour has stopped talking to us and will walk past me with her nose in the air out in the street. I think it's because I refused to use a "noise collar" on Edie saying I trained my dogs with love and reward and didn't want them to behave out of fear. The thing is that Edie barks for maybe 5 minutes in total every day. She's never allowed to bark unchallenged and we always bring her in after 5 barks and reward her for coming in when called.

Both girls though will bark at anyone who comes to the door or comes in to the house who doesn't live in it.

I don't really find the barking to be excessive and knew it was a breed trait so I went in with my eyes (and ears ) open.