Training – My Pinscher

Miniature Pinschers, or “Min Pins” as they’re affectionally called, are a great species to purchase or adopt, becoming one of the most popular dog breeds available today. Although they weigh in at about 10 pounds and stand less than a foot tall at the shoulder, these tiny pups can pack a ton of energy and can require some training to mesh well into your family’s lifestyle. One issue that many run into when adding a Min Pin to their family is that the breed tends to bark excessively. There are several reasons why a dog may often bark, from boredom to territorial issues. Min Pins are even prone to nuisance barking. Luckily, with proper training, dog owners can lower the amount of barking and better manage their dog’s actions. Why Do Miniature Pinschers Bark Often? When you bring a Min Pin home, you may notice a lot of barking from the very start. In fact, this breed is known for its excessive barking amongst its many positive qualities. The dog requires little grooming, needs limited exercise, and works well in almost any sized home; despite this annoying barking habit, they are truly great pets. If you have a Min Pin and have noticed an excess of barking, you will want to address what may be causing the problem and then begin trying to fix these issues. You do want to remember that dogs bark to communicate, and not all barking can or should be stopped. In fact, many dogs have warned their owners of danger or even saved lives through barking, stopping it entirely is not realistic or even a result you should desire. With this being said, there are times you will want to limit nuisance barking, which is why we will discuss eight reasons why dogs bark and how you can remedy this issue. Some Dogs Are Genetically Likely to Bark Unfortunately, a significant reason why Miniature Pinschers are frequent nuisance barkers is that they are designed to be this way. Some breeds are just more likely to bark than others, and Min Pins happen to be one of these breeds. While almost any dog can begin excessively barking, Min Pins have become a breed that is practically ingrained to bark more than others. If you live in an apartment or an area where excessive barking is highly frowned upon, Min Pins may not be the breed for you. If you have already purchased or adopted your pup, we will later discuss ways to deter barking. However, if you are on the fence about taking in this breed, it is essential to remember that barking is something you will likely have to endure and greatly train against. Dogs Bark to Express Physical or Emotional Needs While you may be doing your best to meet the physical and emotional needs of your dog, there may be some things that are slacking. Often, a dog will bark because they are hot, cold, thirsty, hungry, or another easy to fix issue. Even offering insufficient exercise for your pup may cause an excess of barking, but luckily these issues are some that can be dealt with easily. Emotional needs may be a little trickier to deal with as a pet owner but can also be a significant cause of barking in your Min Pin. Some dogs have anxiety or fears that cause excessive barking. Also, dogs are prone to bark when they are bored, excited, need attention, and over a variety of other issues. Boredom is a Major Cause of Excessive Barking While Min Pins are not the most demanding breed available today, they do require some TLC daily. When a Miniature Pinscher is not getting the right amount of exercise and care from their owner, they can become more likely to bark. You need to be contributing several hours of quality time to your pup to ensure they do not become overly bored. If you do not have time to contribute to your dog daily, you will want to consider hiring a dog walker or even considering not adopting a dog. While Min Pins are not as demanding as some breeds, those who work or travel for extensive periods should consider waiting until their life slows down to bring in a pet. If you are spending a regular amount of time with your pet and they are still barking, this may not be the root cause of the nuisance barking. Some Dogs Suffer from Severe Anxiety We touched slightly on the emotional needs of your dog, but some dogs go beyond this to having more severe anxiety that may need additional support. Dogs usually are social animals, and some anxiety when being separated from their owners is to be expected. However, some dogs suffer from severe anxiety when they are left alone, even for small periods. An average dog should be able to be left alone for a regular workday or short trips by their owner. If you notice that your dog is struggling with even small periods of alone time and barking increases during these times, anxiety could easily be the issue at hand. If you notice an increase of neighbor complaints about your dog or hear that your dog has been excessively barking in your absence, anxiety could be at hand. Ensure Your Dog Has a Safe Environment Environmental issues are often the cause of barking in dogs, especially when a pup is adjusting to their environment. Since Min Pins are naturally likely to bark, they will often express their concerns for their environment to their owners through nuisance barking. Some of the common environmental issues that cause barking in Miniature Pinschers are: Being locked in a pen or cage of extended periodsLack of shelterRestrictive tetheringPassing carsSirensStormsOther dogs in the area While there may be times for your pup’s safety that they are locked in a crate or similar confinement, it is important that this is not done in excess. Also, it is critical that your pup has plenty of time running, playing, and has human interaction. If you are in the beginning stages of crate training with your puppy, you should expect some barking and complaints for a few days before the dog becomes used to the process. Barking is Often a Territorial Behavior For many pet owners, territorial barking is a double-edged sword that you must decide on how you will deal with. Most owners would prefer that their dog bark at intruders or those who may be wrongfully entering their yard or home. However, this can quickly become a problem when the dog begins barking at every passerby, other dogs, or even friendly neighbors in their yard. Some territorial barking is to be expected from your dog, especially if they are in the outdoor areas of your home or the evening when visitors are not as frequent. However, you will want to deter barking at friends, family, neighbors, or the postman. You can try to familiarize your pet with these familiar faces, and most dogs will become more accepting of specific individuals they see often. Visitors to your home must know in advance that you have a Min Pin who likes to bark at new faces. It is critical that you control this behavior at the barking stage, as some dogs can naturally become more violent towards visitors or those they do not know over time. Allowing visitors or neighbors to reward your pup with treats when they do not exhibit barking or calmly pet them, can help expedite this familiarization process. Min Pins Will Often Bark Out of Fear While Miniature Pinschers are not overly nervous or fearful dogs, they can develop fears that contribute to their barking. You may find that your dog does not only bark at strangers but is genuinely afraid of them. This can lead to barking and even deeper aggression issues, which can become a problem in all breeds. In addition to this, many dogs are afraid of loud sounds and may bark to help cope with the confusion caused by these sounds. Many pups find themselves scared of thunderstorms, fireworks, gunshots, lawnmowers, vacuums, and other unnerving noises. While this can be challenging, these spouts of barking are usually limited to the time when these sounds are taking place. If you notice that your dog has an increased level of barking during thunderstorms or when the neighbors are trimming their lawn, you can often accredit this to fear. While it is impossible to rid their life of these noises completely, you can offer your dog additional support and love at these times. Also, if most of these trigger sounds take place outdoors, keep your pet safely inside when these sounds are taking place, giving them distance from what is triggering them. Some Dogs Bark Just to Get Attention If you have made it to our final barking trigger and nothing seems to fit, you may be dealing with a Min Pin who simply barks to bark. Some dogs will bark when they play, when they want you to pet them, or simply to gather attention from whoever will listen to them. This can be challenging as these dogs do not always have an underlying reason for the barking, but rather love to bark. It is difficult to modify this behavior because your dog will often see nothing wrong with what they are doing. To many Min Pins, barking is simply their way of communicating, and punishing them for expressing themselves is not always recommended. In these instances, it is best to reward positive behaviors and ignore unwanted behaviors, which would be the barking. How to Control Your Min Pins’ Nuisance Barking You should never try to modify your dog’s barking by punishing them or using violence. In fact, many use anti-bark collars, and most veterinarians and dog trainers do not recommend these. These forceful measures will not get to the underlying issue of the barking and will, in turn, punish your dog for barks that may be very well warranted. Many of the bark collars that are sold today will cause your dog to feel abused and will lead to deeper anxiety or trust issues. Most professionals consider these measures to be inhumane and it is essential that if they are used, they are done so in as safe of a way as possible. You should never utilize a shock collar or similar device out of anger, which can lead to harm for your pet. Luckily, there are many ways to deter unwanted barking from your pet and encourage positive behaviors without harming your pup. Some basics to keep in mind when training your dog are: Never yell at your dog to get them to stop barking. Most dogs consider yelling like barking, making matters worse instead of better.Try to keep training positive and upbeat. Stop training when things get too frustrating for both you and your pet. Stay consistent with your training. Ensure everyone in your family is on board with the training process. If your dog goes to another house or has a pet sitter, ensure they too know what you are working on and your methods. Remove the Barking Motivator The best way to start when it comes to controlling your dog’s barking is to remove the motivation that is the cause of the bark. If you do not allow your dog to see or experience the trigger for the barks, more than likely, they will stop. Some examples of this are: If your dog barks at individuals passing on the sidewalk, block out their view of the path. Hanging up a curtain or shades on the windows will stop your dog from seeing out and, in turn, stop their barking. If they continue to bark when outside of the home at those around your home, bring them immediately inside. Remove the stimulus, and they will stop the unwanted action. Ignore Your Dog’s Barking One of the best ways to deter your dog’s barking is to ignore the barking until it stops completely. Often, dogs that want to gather attention or bark for no reason simply do so to grab the attention of their owner. However, if you do not allow them to get this attention, they will often stop the barking because it does not give them what they were hoping for. When you try this method, you will want to wait as long as it takes for your dog to stop their barking, which can be challenging. However, if you break too soon, your dog will see that they are getting attention for their barking and will continue to do so. This is often an issue if you are crate training your dog, but can be helped with these steps: Put your dog in its crate or in the gated room you wish for it to stay. Turn your back on the dog and ignore it, especially if barking starts. Once the barking stops, turn around and praise your Min Pin for stopping. Offering a treat at this time is a great option as well.Start small, rewarding after a few minutes of quiet. Spread out the quiet time more and more before giving the reward. Vary the time at first, starting at just a few seconds of quiet, then a minute, then longer. Do your best to keep your dog interested and learning. Find the Stimulus and Desensitize Your Dog Most often, your dog is barking because of a stimulus, whether this is a storm, a person outside, a squirrel in your yard, or a variety of other reasons. Your dog will often stop barking once they get used to this stimulus. If the item is something you can hold or maneuver, you can quickly desensitize your dog and replace this negative behavior with a positive one. One of the most common triggers of barking is another dog in or around your home. This is mostly due to territorial issues that are naturally ingrained in your Min Pin. If you find that your dog is barking at other dogs, one thing you can do is utilize a friend or neighbor who has a dog that you can use. Start by having your friend stand with their dog out of sight; this will help ensure that your dog is not barking at the other dog yet. Let your friend walk with their dog into your dog’s line of vision. Once your dog notices the other pet, begin feeding them treats and praising your dog. If they start barking, stop the treats. Offer the treats again once the barking stops. When your friend and their dog are out of sight, stop offering the treats.Repeat the process a few more times and on different days if this behavior continues. This can take time, as your dog will often bark through the first few times you do this exercise. You also want to continue doing the exercise sporadically or if you see the nuisance barking begin when other pets are nearby. Give Your Min Pin Plenty of Entertainment While we have touched on spending enough time with your pet and how you should not bring a new Min Pin home if you do not have the energy to put towards the dog, offering other entertainment is also important. You should be allowing your dog to get regular exercise daily because bored dogs are often barking dogs. Take your Min Pin on short walks every day to help wear them down; extend these walks if your dog is not sleeping well or if they are still nuisance barking during the day. If you must be away at work or another engagement, provide your dog with other options for entertainment. Give your dog toys, bones, chew sticks, or other interactive toys to keep them busy during the day when you cannot be there. Of course, always make sure any basic needs are met like food, water, and shelter for your pup. Final Thoughts When it comes to Min Pins, you may find that they bark at practically anything, and this is one of the biggest annoyances most owners find with the breed. However, they are quick to let owners know when people are around, which can be very beneficial for those who want to add a dog for their protection. While they can be barky pups, Min Pins are a great addition to your home with proper training.