Ask Me Help Desk - Need help with training my dauschand

We recently rescued a young, female mini-dauschand who is fitting in nicely with one exception - she barks at noises or voices from family members in another room and proceeds to run at them barking when they enter the room she is in. She has never been mean or attacked the two girls in our home but can scare them. How do we correct her without yelling or making her nervous. When we have yelled "NO", she has been known to urinate on the floor. Thanks for any advice.

The urination is called submissive urination. More gentle corrections along with confidence building exercises will help both that problem and the barking.

Many dogs eventually outgrow it, but you can reduce it by building the dog's confidence up. Start with obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog.
Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made
Lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
Foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get
Them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch
Carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

Finally, make sure it has a den to live in. If you are not using a crate, buy one. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcrumley

We recently rescued a young, female mini-dauschand who is fitting in nicely with one exception - she barks at noises or voices from family members in another room and proceeds to run at them barking when they enter the room she is in. She has never been mean or attacked the two girls in our home but can scare them. How do we correct her without yelling or making her nervous. When we have yelled "NO", she has been known to urinate on the floor. Thanks for any advice.

I had a daschund from the age of 6 weeks to just shy of a month of being 12 years old. They are a VERY loving and VERY smart dog. When ours would bark, I would pick her up and take her into wherever she may be barking at and show her (while explaining) that everything is all right. If there is someone in the other room she is barking at, let her smell them and have them speak gently to her. They always want to keep their family safe. In fact one night someone was trying to steal out car and she woke me up very quietly barking almost with her mouth closed so that no one outside would hear her. Of course we scared the person away, kept our car and he was caught. They are the MOST WONDEFUL dogs ever!! Ours also loved all 5 of our grandchildren and couldn't wait to see them when they came to visit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by macdonald

I had a daschund from the age of 6 weeks to just shy of a month of being 12 years old. They are a VERY loving and VERY smart dog. When ours would bark, I would pick her up and take her into whereever she may be barking at and show her (while explaining) that everything is alright. If there is someone in the other room she is barking at, let her smell them and have them speak gently to her. They always want to keep their family safe. In fact one night someone was trying to steal out car and she woke me up very quietly barking almost with her mouth closed so that no one outside would hear her. Of course we scared the person away, kept our car and he was caught. They are the MOST WONDEFUL dogs ever!!! Ours also loved all 5 of our grandchildren and couldn't wait to see them when they came to visit.

Debe