Hello everyone. We just got a 10-week old miniature pinscher. She has only been in the house a few days, and already, her little five-pound self has my 60+ pound boy dogs running. lol. I knew when we got her that small dogs like that are typically very "yappy", and I thought I was prepared. My bigger dogs HATE the squirt bottle of water, and it has now gotten to the point where sometimes all I need to do is reach for it, and they stop whatever behavior they were doing!
However, my little spitfire is another story. She barks CONSTANTLY. She barks in the crate, she barks to be held, barks to be let down, barks when a "brother" walks by....you get the picture. Using the squirt bottle only makes her louder and more agitated. Ignoring her doesn't work. Covering the crate (when she's in it) doesn't work. Clapping....she can't seem to hear over her own voice. She is never quiet long enough to praise her for being quiet! When she does quiet down, it's to go to sleep...but if you approach her to praise her for being good, she gets excited and starts all over again. I know she's a puppy, and a vocal breed...but I don't know what to do about the noise. We've tried leaving the room, and even leaving the house...we left to run errands and when we returned two hours later, we could hear her, still barking, all the way from the driveway! I don't know how she hasn't lost her voice by now, but it's still going full force...I hope someone who's conquered this problem has some ideas! Thanks!
