My minature schnauzer 2 years old barks when he is out walking at other dogs.  At the beginning he would pull on the lead barking but lately he barks and backs away.  I was wondering if he is frightened and if so could the cause be our Wire Fox Terrier as he is top dog and will put him in his place.  I must admit that I now try and keep my two dogs separate as much as possible by using their cages.  Perhaps the wrong thing to do.  I have tried the citronella spray collar which works but I do not think it is a cure.  Any suggestions.  He did attend puppy training classes and even then was very prone to barking at other dogs I do not think he would attack them but have never let him off the lead in the company of other dogs.

Did this just recently happen?

When i was younger i had a giant schnauzer who was trained to be a guard dog, i'm not sure if miniatures have the same tempermant?

I'm not sure if this is the same behaviour one of my GR's is showing now but sometimes he will try to initiate a play bark to other dogs, he will get down and bark with his tail wagging then the dogs will start chasing him.

The barking has been going on since he attended puppy training.  The Wire attacking him I think started when he started to come into adulthood.  I very nearly 1 month ago gave the Wire who is 41/2 to the Fox Terrier Rescue but at the last minute decided to have another go with the two of them.  I was told that the Schnauzer breeder should never have sold him to us knowing that we already had a 2 year old Wire at the time.

Well the Wire will probably be the alpha of the 2 , i wouldn't be suprised if your schnauzer was a bit submissive to him.

By attacking do you mean just running up to him and pumbling him and snapping, or is it play biting? Again , your schnauzer will probably be a bit submissive towards your wire because he will know he is the alpha of the 2.

No it is not play fighting it takes quite a bit to get the wire off the schnauzer and when you do the schnauzer tries to attack the wire.  I have been told different stories about how to deal with this and have tried several but I think trying to judge when the wire is anxious and agitated is the best way so far.  We have never let them fight it out as I am afraid the wire will do damage to the schnauzer and I do not want either of the dogs to get hurt.  Suggestions appreciated.

From what you've said it sounds as if your Schnauzer is not very happy esp. if he's backing away from dogs on walks now.
I would either invest in a good behaviourst (try www.apbc.org.uk or www.ukrcb.co.uk) or consider rehoming one of the dogs if necessary because if they are both not gettingon there is bound to be stress in some form always present. Sorry I don't mean to sound negative. Things can be very different in "real life" to what they are on the net of course, which is wny i suggest contacting someone reputable to help you :)

Lindsay
x

Got that problem with our 2 spaniels, I've posted a few times looking for help. Seems like the only options are rehoming or keeping them separate. :-( I have tried behavourists and books but so far no major breakthrough.