hi everybody!
I am living in Korea and I have recently gotten a mini schnauzer, "Toots". She is now 4 months old and I am having a terrible time with her. She is nervous and impulsive with barking, whining, running in circles and generally strung out. Although I walk her twice a day, socialize her with people, other dogs she continues to display manic behaviour all the time. I feel that I am a responsible and firm owner but these panic behviours are making me nuts and others as well. I purchased her from a breeder here but I am worried she has potentially been over bred???. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Rachel

What do you mean overbred? It is a concept often levelled by non ddog people to mean inbred. Inbreeding of itself does not create a problem dog, as all it does is bring out what is there. If you mate two related animals together you have a higher chance of their traits being exhibited bythe offspring when their genes combine, than if they were totally unrelated, as they will both carry more of the same genes.

In knowledgeable hands this can be a great tool for weeding out unwanted traits and fixing desired ones, and it's main negative effect longterm if overdone is reduced fertility and vigour (here we are talking very close breedig for generation after generation which is only practiced in lab animals, and would only occur to a lesser extent in breeds with very small gene pools, where there are very few founder animals in the breed.

You say the pup was locally bred. Was this a respected person in the canine community who kept their dogs for show, and breeding was the by product. If not it could be that your pups ancestors were the result of two poorly bred parents descended from exports from UK?US?European Puppy farmers. Good breeders over here will rarely export Asian countries as the Welfare laws and standards are often poor.

This doesn't of course help you. As a breed they are quite exciteable and you will need to teach the pup to be calmer.

Never shout or move quickly around the pup, as this will excite it more. Speak in a low and slow voice. Also pet him with slow steady strokes that will have a calming effect. When it gets excited at the sight of something, turn it away to break eye contact, and speak in a calm but firm voice.

Wyhat are you feeding? Avoid foods with coularants and artificaial preservatives, and too much Protein. If it is Puppy food, avoid anything over about 28% Like with hyper children dogs can react to these additives in their food.

Take the pup to a good training class.

Hi Rachel,

I have a mini schnauzer too, and although I would not describe
him as nervous or aggressive, he can be VERY energetic, noisy
and sometimes a flipping nuisance - but I knew that the breed
were renound for this before I got him - and thats why I love him so much!
He is cheeky, mischevious but for everything we sacrifice for him we
get 500 times more back!

Maybe you are having genuine problems with him, or perhaps
your expecting a little bit too much - he is still only a baby.

I would suggest reading everything you can, taking him to classes
and taking a step back and letting him be a little 4mth old monkey!!

My schnauzer is just over 6mths, so a little older than yours, so if there
is anything I can help with - let me know.

Louise x :-)

Hi Louise,
Thanks so much for your reply. Toots and I have been having an up and down time--you are right about my expectations level, I think I need to let her be a pup in some respects as I have only ever had big dogs. I would describe her as nervous, but I think it is as a result of my being a t work. I leave her for up to 6 hours on her own. Although with other dogs I have had this has not been a huge problem, it might be with her. I think she is experiencing seperation anxiety. What I am noticing is that when I walk her alone she is great. She sits, stays, comes and fetches. However, when I walk with a friend she is barking and whining constantly!!! I have tried to ignore this behaviour in the hopes that she would see it does not generate a reaction from me. Unfortunately, this seems to be inaffective. She seems to be great when we hang out with her other dog friends, but I feel held hostage by her need to have me alone.
If we could work out the whining this would be fantastic! Others have suggested a water spray bottle to shock her into silence. I am not sure about this as she is a little nervous and I don't want to scare her. She recently has a haricut at her vets and the vet was so upset with her whining and trying to run away that the vet asked me why my dog was so "excitable"? I felt bad about her behaviour and I think this has been the impetus for my writing in this forum---sigghhhh. I feel like a parent whose toddler has been biting other kids!
On a postiive note, it is great to talkwith you and others about this stuff. Thanks again. Any help is always appreciated.
Rach

Minis can be quite clingy dogs. They're not usually nervous (an undesirable trait in a Mini), but if they feel they're not getting all your attention, and are a bit spoilt, like mine is, then they don't half create a racket if you're talking to someone in the street, ignoring them etc. I personally don't feel mini schnauzers are a breed that take well to being on their own in a house all day. Luckily when I got my mini I already had a very calm whippet in the house, who showed the new pup that there was no need to panic whilst alone. I don't think he would have coped on his own otherwise, and would have become extremely clingy and sad. I also have someone to pop in every lunch time to take them both out for a walk, so the long day is broken up a bit.

I don't know how to advise you with regard to calming your pup. I understand your worry...you are obviously a caring owner. I just felt compelled to warn anyone thinking of buying a mini who is going to be out at work all day..think twice. I honestly don't feel they are cut out for it. They are extremely sociable, intelligent dogs and need company. Someone else may feel differently...this is me speaking from my own experience.

Leaving an old piece of clothing that you have worn to get your scent on it often is comforting to a dog that is anxious when away from you??

Rach, have you got a quiet area that you can put her in when she gets hyper. It is really important not to excite her by showing that you are glad to see her (I know how difficult that is). If you have got a play pen, try ignoring her a little until she is calmer. When she gets over excited again put her in for a "time out". I have a month old male mini, he can get very excited at times but I know he will grow out of it. Good luck