Urgent help needed - barking dog

[Pineapplemonkey]

I’m usually over on the puppy thread but this is such a huge problem I feel I need to cast my net wider, I am at the end of my tether and just want to cry.

Pineapplepup is 18wks old, female mini schnauzer. We’ve got through the uncontrollable biting, the toilet training , lead walking difficulties and eating issues, I thought we were doing pretty well now, but the last few days, beyond awful.
She just will not stop barking. This isn’t a bit of yapping or being a bit chatty, it’s full blown, ear splitting barking interspersed with loud howling. She goes to the patio doors when she needs to go out in the garden, the second I open the door, the barking starts and she runs to the bottom of the garden whilst barking and just doesn’t stop. I must be driving the neighbours mental. I go into the garden with her each time and the only way I can get her to stop is to pick her up and take her back inside. Then of course she never actually gets to do what she went out there to do. Any minute now she will pee or poo on my floor because of this. She’s also intermittently doing the same barking indoors. The odd occasion she goes outside and doesn’t bark, the minute she hears any noise such as another dog barking in the distance, she starts up with her barking.

This cannot go on, it’s literally breaking me, I have a permanent headache from the noise. I just don’t know what to do.

She’s healthy, well fed on high quality food, she sleeps well, is walked, kept occupied with her many toys and is never left alone.

I’ve got an appointment with a behaviourist in a weeks time (free with my pet insurance) but I’m struggling to make it to the end of today, I can’t go on like this for another week- any helpful suggestions welcome.

thank you, it’s good to hear you believe MS barking can be controlled and not just something I have to learn to live with because it’s in their nature. I have an appointment with a behaviourist next week so I’ll wait and see what they say and carry on doing what I can to manage it in the meantime.
On the positive side, she’s beautiful and has a big personality but she’s still a baby so lots to learn

They are GORGEOUS little dogs with so much personality - like any dog they have their challenges but I would say there's a LOT of promise to work on it especially with her being at such a young age . It might be a phase

Where are you based ? There may be a local schnauzer group to you ( not sure if you're familiar with schnauzerfest! )

I only know one dog that had unresolvable barking and it was a small parson Russel terrier ... however sadly he was throughly under stimulated mentally and under exercised. They are a ratting breed / terrier too .

I'd say out of all the terrier breeds I find JRT and their PRT cousins , alongside Yorkshire terriers generally far worse than MS .

However part of the challenge here is working out if it's the classic scenario of people not training small dogs very well as they see them as harmless / cute / a baby / that's just how they are - which is super frustrating !

I don't think anyone said you just have to live with it, but I do think you need to be realistic about the breed you've chosen and what challenges you'll face.

Every one of those dogs I have met has barked, barked and barked some more.

I don't know why you have bought a barking happy breed when you live in such close proximity to neighbours.

Schnauzers were bred as guard dogs/watchdogs (among other things), so were trained to bark to alert their owners. Miniature Schnauzers are going to bark even more because of their petite size they are going to find every loud noise to be alarming

'Miniature Schnauzers are a very active and vocal breed of dog. They are known for their high energy levels and tendency to bark frequently. This is often due to their history as a working breed, as they were originally bred to be guards and ratters on farms. Additionally, Miniature Schnauzers are also a very social breed, and they may bark to communicate with their owners or to express their emotions. Training and positive reinforcement can help to manage excessive barking in Miniature Schnauzers.'

Notice it says excessive barking. You are going to still have it barking a lot.

Wrong breed choice for the environment, sadly.

Modern anti bark collars just buzz and beep, they aren't the old fashioned electric collars.

I bought one to try for a barking young dog, but I tried it on full settings myself before use and it really does just vibrate.

They aren't cruel

They are an aversive method . There's no debate to be had about it that , it's a fact .

Science has proven that positive reward based training is the most effective .

shisshhhh shusshhh go wee wees

Thank God I prefer cats!

@HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow yes, they are.

They may not be as cruel as shock collars but they're still aversive tools and aren't recommended.

A woman I met on dog walks used one of those vibrating dog collars on her border collie who barked a lot every time he saw another dog. He never attacked a dog just would bark repeatedly at them and she got some flack from ignorant dog owners who didn't like her dog barking at their dog!

She bought the collar and it worked at first but then the dog was now confused and would run around other dogs as before but not bark as it was obviously unsettled by the collar vibrating.

This must have been troubling for other dogs who previously understood the barking but were now presented with a wide eyed silent dog who looked a bit mad and they attacked.

I wouldn't recommend a vibrating dog collar for use around other dogs or at all.

I disagree that it is cruel. The buzz in modern dog collars is less pronounced than the vibration on your mobile phone. It doesn't buzz automatically, only when you press the control, it is used to get the dogs attention back on you. It is a tool along side others such as clicker, and reward based training and as part of a tool kit used appropriately it can be very effective.

The best way to train a dog not to bark is to change their emotions around what's causing the behaviour in the first place, which doesn't mean shutting them up using a vibrating collar.

You're missing the point when you say it's "less pronounced than a mobile phone". It's not about it causing no pain, it's about the fact that it doesn't address the root cause of the behaviour.

If your dog is so unfocused that it requires a vibrating collar to listen to you, then you have bigger issues than barking!

Exactly @margotrose 👏👏👏

It's not seeking to solve or understand the problem at all .

The dogs deserve better :)

I am sitting a noisy doggo at the moment (see username). It's definitely partly breed-specific. So, my only comment really is, it's not something you are doing terribly wrong. I'm sure it can be addressed, don't give up hope, you will have a very liveable and loveable dog in not too many months if you get the right support. Professional is a really good idea if they are well-trained in positive reinforcement type methods.

I have a different dog (male, retriever, placid) but even he had his challenges as a teen dog, and there were times I felt trapped and like an idiot for getting him at all. It's a whole other level of responsiblity and pressure if you're on your own.

You've also got hormones potentially swirling around in a female small breed at that age. It wouldn't be unheard of to have a season at 5-6 months of age.