Min Pin - Chihuahua mix - small dog - big barking issue

[JKC27]

Our male MinPin/Chihuahua mix (approx 2 yrs old - about 16lbs) has a barking problem. At home he is normally pretty well behaved, has a love/hate relationship with our 2 cats (which is a funny situation in itself).

Here is the issues:

A) 95% of the time anyone walks by our house he goes nuts! Barks non-stop, hair stands up on his back, throws and shakes toys, or whatever he can get his teeth on. This is 100% of the time when the person has a dog. He just goes crazy if he is outside for a potty break and someone is walking their dog by our house. We will try to run at the other dog, but has only once tried to nip. Also related to this - If he sees a squirrel (he knows what that means), or a cat outside he will paw at the windows to the point where he has damaged 2 or 3 screens for our windows. Sure these can be repaired, but why should I have to constantly dish out $ to do this....

B) If someone comes to the door (pizza delivery, mailman, etc.) he again barks uncontrollably. Guard dog instinct???? He did come through as a good guard dog last summer when some neighbourhood punks decided they would hop our fence and go pool hopping (2 nights in a row in fact) in the middle of the night. Good dog!

C) Biggest issue!!!! If we have friends, or family over (aside from a couple people who he is very used to now), he does the same thing - Non stop barking. It's an issue to the point of not wanting to have friends or family visit or stop by because he won't stop.

We have tried to squirt him with a mister/squirt bottle. Doesn't always work, in fact sometimes we have practically soaked him. Tried - citronella collar - didn't work well at all. Tried - sonic collar - he actually kept barking, totally oblivious to the beeping of the collar. We could here the beeps from the collar, but he kept going.

Other than getting Cesar to my house, or hiring a behaviorist (is that a word?), which we cannot afford, I think last resort is a shock collar. Do these work like they say on the packaging? What is a good one to get for him?

Any other suggestions?

I am pretty sure that the Min Pin - Chihuahua combination is a perfect mixture for lots of barking to begin with.

[BenMax]

Good lord, I have the exact same breed mix with the exact same 'issues'. What I have noticed is that Julia's problem is actually fear based and not due to aggression. Though she appears relatively 'secure' she actually is not at all.

The issue with smaller dogs is that having hands on with them are not that easy as they will scurry to avoid any correction. I personally am no longer agile enough to bend down quick enough to correct...impossible.

What I have done however is bring her everywhere possible to get her more comfortable in different conditions and/or scenarios. This has helped tremendously where she is less reactive.

When I have visitors, I point to her crate and she will go in now. She will however bark and when she is calm, I invite her out. She needs to build a report with visitors which means I tell people not to look at her, nor talk to her and especially not to touch her. I ask them to pretend she does not exist. In a few minutes she will approach and react much better than she did (which was to take a bite).

It is work in progress. I will have Julia for 3 years this summer and progress has been slow. My BF who is a certified trainer has made progress with her since we have united our family together..so the improvement has been noticed more so now. Even at that, we still have issues with her in regards to charging dogs outside that are not within her pack.(yes she is leashed). This is something that we are trying to continue to correct as this could be very dangerous for her and the animals within the pack during our walks outside.

I hear your pain, but do not use a shock collar on these dogs. They are very delicate physically and emotionally. This will not fix your issue in fact it will make it worse.

Honestly - I would contact a trainer to evaluate the situation and provide training tips. You may not require a behaviouralist as a good trainer can teach you tricks to divert his attention and also show you how to correct little dogs properly.

[the gang]

well said ben max, i agree big time in the crate, as mine are barkers too, they need maners and to be taught, mine go in the crate when someone comes over and when they can behave they can come out, good luck to you ,brenda and the pins - 1

[JKC27]

I am pretty certain after reading an article, and even watching Dog Whisperer, that this is a dominance (pack leader) thing that is causing the behaviours I mentioned. But still it has to stop somehow.

We want to go camping this summer with him, but can't if he does this. Last thing we need is for someone to get nipped, or have complaints about his barking all the time.

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by JKC27

I am pretty certain after reading an article, and even watching Dog Whisperer, that this is a dominance (pack leader) thing that is causing the behaviours I mentioned. But still it has to stop somehow.

We want to go camping this summer with him, but can't if he does this. Last thing we need is for someone to get nipped, or have complaints about his barking all the time.

There is a very fine line between dominence and other issues. I think you better look more closely at it being possible fear aggression. This can be overlooked very easily as people think that the word 'fear' would mean that the dog is retreating which in some cases ...it is not the case at all.

Maybe a behaviouralist may be a good option afterall in order to find out exactly what type of behaviours your dog is exhibiting. Unless you know alot about body language and what all signs actually mean - then seeking someone on the outside will be beneficial.

If you mis-diagnose exactly what types of behaviours and why this could actually can and will confuse the dog when you are trying to correct or help the dog overcome the behaviour.

Remember - when I say correct...again this is not to insinuate anything physical. Correcting can be done with absolutely no contact.

[BenMax]

I just wanted to also add that alot of these collars or devices are band aid fixes that do not always work. Infact, the dog's behaviour can manifest into 'new' undesireable behaviours as a result.
We do have an expert here at Pets whose name is Tenderfoot. She may be able to help you pinpoint what type of behaviour being exhibited and how to remedy it. The most important thing is finding out what the root cause is before it is addressed.

[lilbinkey]

I have the exact same problem. He barks at everything & tries to go after other dogs when we take him for a walk. What can be done??? When someone walks by our door he goes Crazy Barking... We live in a APT.
Help Pleaseeeee