Jo's Old Site

Ilse my miniature schnauzer doesn’t bark much. But when she does she can be quite noisy. And I was told that it is a schnauzer thing. I was also told that Ilse is quiet for a schnauzer, and mum and I were also told that our shelties were quiet too. As shelties are another breed that tends to be barky. Also most of the time Ilse barks because she knows that I’m going out somewhere, and when she does this I cannot say anything to her as it just eggs her on and she becomes more noisy. So I just leave and after a short while she just accepts that I have left.

She is also quite noisy when I return home, and again I can’t say anything as it just eggs her on. But then yesterday mum fed her tidbits until I went inside my flat and this stopped the excited barking. Mum also told me to leave Ilse outside until I have finished unpacking my groceries, which I did. And I’ve also read somewhere sometime ago that food has a calming effect. Mum has also been telling me stories about a behavourist that counsels dog owners that have trouble managing their dogs. And from what I’ve heard from mum this behavourist that she sees on TV has some quite good ideas on ways to manage our dog’s behaviour better.

As one of this behavourist ideas that my mother told me about is when a dog barks because someone had knocked on the door that people are better off saying to their dogs “thanks for that.” As saying this doesn’t make people sound angry. And then after they have rewarded their dogs with a tidbit they then can go and answer the door.