10 Tools That Can Change Your Dog's Behavior

Having five dogs and being a natural problem solver, I am always on the lookout for good tools and information on dealing with problem behaviors.

Listed below are several tools I have personally used and recommend:

(1) Pet Corrector - I am listing this one first because it is my favorite. When one barking dog sets off my other four, this tool is great to put an immediate squash on all barking. You simply say "No!" or whatever you want your word to be then push the button and it produces a hissing sound which startles your dog into being quiet. From that point on, all you usually have to do is pick up the can and they all immediately get quiet. This works great on four of my five dogs. Note: Don't overuse for many different behavior problems. Dogs can become desensitized if you overuse it.



(2) Pet Convincer 2 - This was recommended by my trainer. It is a more professional version of the Pet Corrector above. It also emits a hissing sound to help "reset' your dog's brain when barking, being aggressive, jumping, etc. It is rechargeable with C02 cartridges which can be purchased separately.





(3) Doggie Don't Device - This was also recommended by a professional trainer. It is used to "interrupt" the dog's thought to bring their focus back to you. It emits a "zapping" sound which gets your dog's attention very quickly. This is a great tool to stop jumping, barking or leash reactivity. I stick this in my back pocket on every walk.



(4) Dog Dazer II Ultrasonic Dog Deterrent - For whatever reason, my dogs feel the need to scuffle whenever I remove the full garbage bag from the can to take out. This little device stops the fight instantly. You can't hear it because it is ultrasonic, but the dogs jump back like something hit them. The garbage can theatrics are almost a memory now. 

(5) ScatMat - This is a mat that you can place on your couch or anywhere else you do not want your pet. I used mine on the bottom step because I did not want my dogs upstairs. If they put a paw on it, it emits a loud beep and believe me, they back off. One of the many purchase options is a thin, narrow mat you can use in a window sill or on a counter top.


(6) Sentry Calming Collar - I used this collar on three of my dogs. It worked great on two of them and I saw marginal results on the third. If your dog is high strung or fearful, it is worth giving this collar a try. It's a bonus that it makes your dog smell great too. Amazon's cost for a package of three is way below what you will pay in the pet store.


(7) Doberman Security Motion Alarm Detector with Infrared Sensor - This little alarm can be used in so many ways. You can use it to block off any area of your house you do not want your dog in. You can also use it to teach your dog to stay off the counter or furniture. It's also a great way to teach your dog to leave your food alone when you turn your back. I can't tell you how many times I have went to the bathroom to come back to an empty plate. Set them up a couple of times with this sensor and they won't go near it again. If your dog likes to sneak to a certain spot in your house to potty when you aren't looking, you can break that habit with this alarm.

(8) Home Security Camera with two-way audio - I have a camera on my dogs in the living room because that is where they spend 99% of their time when we aren't home. I can listen to them and talk to them through the camera. I have on several occasions logged in to find them howling. When five schnauzers howl, it's quite a little party. I spoke to them through the camera and told them to knock it off and they stopped. However, the camera I have cost eight times as much as this little guy. I'm liking what I see about this camera and may purchase one to expand my viewing area.

(9) Elevated Pet Bed - I now own five of these beds. If you do not teach any other obedience commands, you should definitely consider teaching "Place". It is the best dog obedience command out there. This hammock is great to designate your dog's "Place". We use the command "Place" several times a day now with our dogs: when someone rings the doorbell, when we have company, when I am fixing their meals, or when I just need them to be quiet, still and get out from under my feet. Here is a link to a great YouTube video about how to teach "Place". 

(10) Thundershirt - I have used this on two of my dogs. Abby used it when she was in obedience training to help calm her around other dogs. I use it on Bella when we have thunderstorms because she is terrified of loud noises. It works great for both. If you have a dog who is anxious in the car, this would be great for that too.

I hope you can find a solution for your dog(s)' behavior issues within this post. With five dogs, I am always running into something that needs attention and the above tools have helped out tremendously.

Here's a video of three of the girls going to their "Place":

Grooming My Schnauzers - Part 1

First, I want to say that I have the most awesome groomer.  She has groomed my dogs for about 10 years. Since I have taken four of mine to her since they were young pups, she has acclimated them to grooming very well. They all love to go there and she does a great job with them. 

However, in a couple of years, my husband and I plan to travel extensively in our motorhome.  I realized I would need to be able to groom my dogs myself.  No way would I take them to a strange groomer. I have heard too many horror stories to put my fur children in some stranger's hands.

I still take my dogs to their normal groomer every three months or so just to be sure everything is taken care of. My wonderful groomer has actually let me observe her a couple of times and is always giving me great tips. She understands why I am trying to learn grooming and shares all kinds of great tips with me.

When I first started thinking about grooming my own schnauzers, I searched the internet for videos and blogs. I bought books and searched Pinterest for hours.  There is a lot of information out there and it takes a lot of time to pull it all together. I thought I would give you a summary of what I have learned. 

Keep in mind I am not a professional - not even close.  But I think I do a pretty decent job at keeping them clean and neat. It takes a lot of practice and my dogs don't seem to mind at all if they are not perfect. It gives them one on one time with mom and they seem to enjoy that. With five of them, one on one time is pretty rare.

Treats & Kind Words

Attitude. If I am not having a good day, am tired or just plain not in the mood, I have learned not to even attempt grooming.  I promise you it won't go well. Your dogs sense when you are not at your best and they react accordingly. You don't have to keep a steady stream of conversation going, but an occasional, "great job!" or "you are so pretty" goes a long way. I have found when doing the difficult parts like nail trimming, treats are invaluable. Just a tiny, tiny piece of treat keeps them interested in pleasing you. I have been known to award a treat for each nail. These are the nail trimmers my vet's office uses and recommends.

Brush Out

I do a complete brush and comb out before bathing my dogs. If you bathe with knots and matts in their fur, they just get worse. They will tighten up more and be painful for your dog. I use a fine tooth metal comb to do a final comb through to be sure I got all tangles out.  I may do a little preliminary scissor work at this time such as trimming the hair close to their eyes. These little ball tipped scissors are great for working close to their eyes.

Bathing

None of my dogs mind getting a bath but a couple will object if you get water in their face. I haven't found a way to wash their face without getting water in it but I try to keep that to a minimum. Once you get a drop on their face, their only goal is to climb up the side of the tub. It then becomes a battle of wills to get them finished up. I now use a washcloth to wet their face, put a little shampoo on, then wait until last thing to give them a good face rinse.

I get them good and bubbly by using a bath net sponge.  I use a good quality shampoo with as few ingredients as possible. I have to use a medicated shampoo on Carly because she is prone to schnauzer bumps. Before they get out of the tub, I put a little ear cleaner in their ears, rub it around and stand back.  They always give a good shake after liquid goes in their ears. This dries up any moisture from the bath and keeps their ears healthy and smelling great. (I use Vetoquinol Care Ear Cleansing Solution as recommended by my groomer.) I pat towel dry them to avoid knots, then use a diffuser on my hair dryer to get them 95% dry. 

My dogs generally get a bath about once every three weeks or so unless they have gotten into something. Carly gets a bath at least once a week to hold off the schnauzer bumps.

I learned a majority of what I know about grooming schnauzers from "Schnauzer Mom" on YouTube.  She states that she is not a professional, but I will tell you she is awesome and a great teacher. She posted a series of videos that gives you a great deal of information.  

Here is a link to her videos:

Schnauzer Mom: Grooming Your Schnauzer

To be continued....

Abby has a slightly obsessive personality. Here she is being a little crazy playing ball:

When Did This Happen?

My husband and I were preparing for bed the other night and this is what our bed looked like.  I looked at him and said, "When did this happen?"  We both had a good laugh and climbed in. They all re-adjust when I give the command, "Scoot!" There is no grumbling over the best spots, they just wiggle in and start snoring.

This is a king size bed, believe it or not. You wouldn't think five miniature schnauzers could take up that much room. I know some people imagine all kinds of germs and bugs you could get having an animal sleeping with you, but I have done it for years and haven't had any issues. I have found a tick on me once or twice, but I blame my husband for that.  He is a tick magnet.

Having them next to me at night is like having five teddy bears to hug and squeeze when I feel the need. I can identify all of them by touch in the dark, usually by the texture of their fur.

My husband is the one they wake up when they are ready to go outside in the morning. They will lick his bald head until he submits! They sometimes try to wake me, but I just turn my back to them and they know Mom is not ready to wake up and they better leave her alone. When I am ready, they take turns laying their head on my neck so I can kiss and pet on them. What a great way to start your morning!

Three 3-Ingredient Treats

I just cringe every time I hear there's a new recall on dog treats or dog food. It seems as though the manufacturers don't understand that our dogs are like our children. I guess they have looser standards on pet food.  I started scouring the internet and Pinterest looking for treat ideas that I could make myself.  That way I know what is in the treat and don't have to worry about a recall.  

Before I start with the recipes for baked treats, I wanted to share the fruits and vegetables I give my dogs as treats:

Vegetables:

• raw carrots
• frozen peas
• canned green beans
• cucumbers

Fruits:

• apple slices
• frozen blueberries
• bananas (fresh or frozen)
• strawberries
• watermelon

*Note:  Grapes and raisins are poisonous to dogs!

Recipes

Here are some three ingredient recipes that are quick to make and my dogs love them:

Banana-Peanut Butter Treats

4 bananas (mashed)

2 cups peanut butter (no artificial sweeteners)

6 cups uncooked oats

I put the oats into my food processor and pulverize them into a powder.  I then add in the peanut butter and mashed banana and mix well.

I pinch tiny amounts, roll & flatten on parchment paper.  These are the perfect size treat for my mini's.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until hard.  I freeze all but a small amount I can use in a few days.

Bella as a puppy

Banana Treats

7 cups pulverized uncooked oats

3 ripe bananas (mashed, reserving 1/2 banana)

2 eggs

Mix together the oats, mashed bananas and eggs. Roll out to 1/4" thick and cut with a pizza cutter or cookie cutter. Place a thin slice of reserved banana on top and press into cookie. Bake on parchment at 375 F for 20-25 minutes until edges are brown and banana on top is dry. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Carly as a Puppy

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Treats

1/2 cup peanut butter (no artificial sweeteners)

1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree

1-3/4 cup flour (oat, rice, wheat - your choice)

Mix all ingredients well.  Roll out on floured covered surface. Cut out with cookie cutter or use a pizza cutter to cut into squares. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes. I freeze all but a small amount I can use in a few days.

Abby getting kisses

Speaking of treats....

Schnauzer Monitoring

I wanted to share a couple of pieces of technology that we use to keep tabs on our babies when we are away from the house or away from our motorhome when traveling.

1. Piper - This is a camera that we can check on the pups from a phone app. We have a great visual of the living room where they all sleep while we are gone.  It also has two way audio so I can actually talk to them through a microphone in the unit. If I check on them and they are howling, etc, I simply talk to them through the app and tell them to hush! Sometimes I just log in to let them know mommy will be home soon.  The unit actually has other features like a motion detector, loud noise detector, alarm, etc.  We mainly use it to keep an eye on the dogs since we already have an alarm system at our house. Here is a snapshot I took last night when we were driving home:

They were watching for us to pull up in the driveway.

2. Animalarm - We use this unit in our motorhome.  I have always worried what would happen if the electricity went out or if our air conditioner suddenly stopped working while we were out on a day trip. This unit monitors the temperature and sends me a text if it rises above a setting I choose.  I can also text the unit and it sends me back a report with the current temperature. This gives me so much peace of mind while we are traveling.

I have actually put the Piper camera in the motorhome when we were going on an extended vacation and it works very well too.

If you are a worry wart like me, these two pieces of equipment are well worth the money for the peace of mind they give you.

Welcome!

Welcome schnauzer people!  I decided to create this blog to connect with other people like me who are dog people.  I want to share some of the fun and trials I live with every day with so many bundles of fluffy mischief running around. Because you can see in the pic below, I am mom to five noisy, lovey, stinky mini schnauzers. I'm still not sure how that happened.  It started with one who claimed our heart at a flea market and just escalated from there. If you are a schnauzer person, let's be friends! I hope you find my blog fun, informative and heart-warming.   

From left to right:  Scooter, Daisy, Abby, Carly & Bella