We have two absolutely gorgeous miniature schnauzers, Branwen and Breaca (Welsh names). They are seven year old bitches from the same litter and they are superb pets, loyal, affectionate, cheeky, inquisitive, cuddly and adorable.
The only problem is, they BARK! They bark at neighbours, family, friends, passing cars and people on the next urbanisation to ours just watering their plants.
We have had them from twelve weeks old. They came from a breeder in Snowdonia and we met their mother and siblings, saw them in their home environment, had all the correct paperwork and were delighted to take them home. Our previous dog, Scruffy, a bearded collie, had died two years earlier and we now felt ready to welcome them into the family.
I knew someone who had two miniature schnauzers and I liked their funny characters and the way they interacted with each other so we thought that having two from the same litter would be company for each other. And so they are. Problem is, once one starts to bark the other joins in and the the first one goes a decibel higher and so it goes on. They have a yap which is not only high pitched but echoes around your head like Big Ben at close quarters.
We love our dogs very much and can cope with the yapping but we worry about the effect on neighbours here in Spain who are in close proximity to us.A lot of Spanish people tend not to keep their dogs on a lead and any offending four leggers sniffing, or worse, in our garden get the full multi-decibel treatment.
We did some training in the UK which was helpful, and were advised to use a 'pet corrector' spray which mimics the sound of a preditor and can be effective in some circumstances. But who wants to frighten their dogs? We certainly don't. We just want them to chill out and stop barking! We have a very good dog groomer in Garrucha, Luis, who understands schnauzers. His view is: 'They are schnauzers ..... they bark .... it's what they do!'.
All we want is for everyone to love our dogs as much as we do.