My Schnauzers Won't Stop Barking at Neighbors (terriers, miniature, best)

[SteelDragon]

I have two 18 month old schnauzers that love to bark at people. The barking isn't very friendly and one set of neighbors has complained about it. They only bark when people are outside. Of course, I can't tell neighbors to stay inside when my dogs are out.
I'm looking for best options. I've tried the muzzles, I haven't gotten to do a really good test with this yet. I also heard spray water or lemon juice into the dog's mouth for offensive behaviors.
What is your experience and what is the latest/greatest method for barking cessation?

[dualie]

Here is how I would handle this, and am sure others will give their solutions...

First, I would apologize to the neighbors for my dogs behavior and tell them I was seriously working on correcting it. I would also ask their help. If they agree....

The dogs need to be on a leash or long line every time they go outside, this will give you a way to control and correct without yelling and chasing them all over the yard. It will also be helpful to only let one dog out at a time... two dogs give each other courage and they tend to feed off one another. It may be one of the dogs that does the barking, which then sets off the second dog. Monkey see, monkey do! It's time to figure out which dog has the bad behavior.

If the neighbors are agreeable.... set up a meeting between them and the dogs. Let the dogs get a good sniff, have the neighbors give a cookie or two if and when the dogs are quiet around them. If the dogs misbehave, let them know it's not acceptable behavior and give them a good talking to. They need to be calm around these people, almost to the point of ignoring them.

Next, set up a time with the neighbor to set the dogs up. I should say dog... one dog at a time. Let the dog out into the yard dragging the long line (20 ft or so) and have the neighbor walk outside. If the dog barks, grab the end of the line, give it a good yank and drag the pooch to you giving him a good talking to the entire time. Use your voice to make him think his world is coming to an end!!!!!!

Your timing has to be good with this... it's ONE bark, not a dozen. Calm the dog and let him out again.. neighbor walks out.... dog bark, correct again. Do this as many times as needed until the dog either is quiet or looks to you. If he is quiet, calmly give him praise and bring him indoors. The neighbor should stand still and not react or even look at the dog while the corrections are going on.

Do the same with dog 2... you might find out that it is only one of the dogs that reacts badly but then his behavior sets off the other dog. If it's only one of them, that is the dog to work the hardest on. But both will need to learn the lesson.

If you will be diligent with this routine you should be able to stop the behavior within a week. But if you get lazy and allow it or ignore it... you have to stay on top of it. Schnauzers can be very reactive dogs, they can learn to bark non stop at "things" and two of them together will only rev the other up.

Good for you for wanting to stop this... you can!!!

[TinaMcG]

Dualie gives good advice here. Real good advice.

[oberon_1]

Schnauzers (you don't mention if these are miniature) often share the unpleasant behavior of constant barking. Some small terriers do the same. Please forget the spray, lemon juice and other such methods. Try positive reinforcement - i.e. associating these neighbors with good things. daulie provided a possible option. Check out the internet and Youtube - there's a lot of info on working with barkers.

[runswithscissors]

I also heard spray water or lemon juice into the dog's mouth for offensive behaviors.

OMG no! Would you do that to a human child that has no clue what they're doing? They're not doing anything offensive, in fact they probably feel offended by being left out there.

There is no latest greatest method to stop barking, it's the pack leaders job to be with the pack and direct what's acceptable and what isn't.

First they need to walk more to get out their energy, Schnauzers are high energy dogs and talkers!

I never leave dogs outside so I can't help you with that. But when they're with me I just correct them and they stop. This applies to Schnauzers that I dog walk for, too. They love to bark in the lobby and elevator so I make them stand still and stand in front of them and say shhh. We don't move as long as they're excited.

But if you're leaving them unsupervised they're going to bark for no reason. They're bored.

So I agree with what dualie said. Consistancy and calm direction is everything. Screaming "shut up" or other excitable things just makes them more excitable and confused, so be assertive but calm and non emotional.

[SteelDragon]

Thanks, all for the kind advice. We don't leave our Mini Schnuazers unsupervised outside AT ALL.
I will try first Dualie's advice. Let's see how it goes....