Barking?Guarding?

[furby]

I was hoping someone might have some advice. Mikey is a one year old miniature pinscher that we adopted from a rescue about a month and a half ago. He is getting along fabulously with our two greyhounds and he is a real little love bug. The only problem we have is that he barks at every sound he hears when he is with me. He seems to be a real mommy's boy and LOVES to be around me or snuggled up to me (which I LOVE ) and it appears that in his mind he is protecting me when he is barking. Problem is he seems to think I need "protection" from the sound of the washing machine, cars driving by the house, and even the sound of my husband in another room! I was hoping someone would have some helping training tidbits to help up discourage this behaviour as we have not had this issue to work through before (our greyhounds are practically mute )

 

[AmberwayGSD]

sorry I tried to post earlier but my power went out.BIG STORM HERE.Anyways I also have a min pin whom is quite vocal.He knows the word enough or quiet.He is one of the best watch dogs I have ever owned but I dont want barking all day long either.If you want to talk min pins send me a pm.

 

[Adrienne]

There are a couple of different ways to go about teaching a dog what is and isn't appropriate to bark at. I would try the word quite or enough. When your dog starts to bark give the command quite...if that doesn't get his attention use something that will, start waving your arms around and acting goofy. As soon as he is quite and focused on you say good and give some pats and love. Be consistent and eventually he will figure out that barking isn't something that needs to be done all of the time.

 

[yuckaduck]

sorry I tried to post earlier but my power went out.BIG STORM HERE.Anyways I also have a min pin whom is quite vocal.He knows the word enough or quiet.He is one of the best watch dogs I have ever owned but I dont want barking all day long either.If you want to talk min pins send me a pm.

Oh nice Lisa and you had to share the storm with us, we are getting it right now. Still have power though. LOl

 

[Doberluv]

I agree with with the others on teaching the enough command. Also, I think a lot of the household noises will eventually get to be old hat for your Min Pin. She just needs some more time. My girl Chihauhua was like that...still is once in a while. If I set my coffee cup down too hard on the counter, she'd bark. If I closed a cupboard door too hard in the other room, she'd bark. If I tap my fingers on the table, she'd bark. She still has this tendancy, but has gotten use to most everything in the house. (of course, we've lived here for four years now. ROFLOL) Plus, she knows when I holler out from another room, "It's just me Chulita." LOL. She stops. I think she knows by my "it's OK, nothing to fret about" tone of voice.