by Stacy Kaaki

Created on: August 28, 2008

Bringing a Miniature Schnauzer puppy into your home should be done with plenty of thought as to how the puppy will be trained to become a valued member of your household and community. Proper training will help ensure that your new companion becomes an asset, rather than a liability. Poorly trained and unruly dogs often suffer abandonment or abuse, as their owners become unable to cope with the dog's bad behavior. Who is to blame? Why, the owner, of course!

Training Miniature Schnauzer puppies is similar to training other breeds of dogs, and there are as many methods of training as there are dog owners. The key is to find a method that works for your puppy's particular temperament and to be consistent.

The first step would be to assess your puppy's personality. Is he outgoing and adventurous, or shy and reserved? Is he easily excited or calm and quiet? Quiet or shy dogs will do best with a short, calm training session. Rewards should be given without too much fuss, and conversely, corrections should be mild.

A more rambunctious pup will do well with stronger vocalizations and more excited praise to keep their attention. Stronger corrections may be necessary to have the proper effect on a rowdy dog. The most important thing is to gauge your puppy's reaction and adjust your energy levels to keep your puppy happy and alert. Under no circumstance should a dog be treated harshly or struck. This will undermine the dog's trust in you and make the dog fearful rather than eager to learn.

After identifying how you will interact with your puppy during training, pick a behavior that you want to modify or teach. All dogs need to learn the basics: Sit, Stay and Down. These behaviors are fairly easy to teach a Miniature Schnauzer due to their high working intelligence and most Miniature Schnauzers can learn these with about 10 to 12 repetitions.

Sit
Sit is taught by taking a piece of kibble or a small dog treat and slowly moving your hand above the dog's head and slightly back while saying, "Sit." If your dog tries to take the treat by standing on its hind legs, simply pull the treat farther away and say, "No," or use an "Aaah-Aaah" sound. Once the dog sits, hand him the treat and praise him with, "Good sit!"

Stay
Teaching stay is often done with a long leash attached to your dog's collar. Standing in front of your dog, hold your hand out flat, like a traffic cop, and firmly say, "Stay." Walk away from your dog while repeating, "Stay." If your dog moves toward you, simply put them back where you started and re-issue the stay command. Return to your dog, and praise them for staying. Say, "Good stay," and give him a treat. Start with moving a couple of feet away before returning, and then gradually work your way up to the end of the six-foot leash. Once you have mastered a particular distance, you can set the leash down if you are indoors or in a fenced area and increase the distance.

Down
Starting from a sit position with a piece of kibble or treat, move the treat to the floor while saying, "Down." Your dog's nose will follow, and if you move the treat slightly toward their body, they will automatically go into a down position. If you move the treat away from the body, the dog will crawl, so push it toward the body until the dog is in the correct position. "Good down!"

There are many other useful commands to teach your Miniature Schnauzer to help them behave properly around other people and in public. If you keep the training sessions short and positive, your Miniature Schnauzer will look forward to training and be eager to learn, and you will be rewarded with a well-behaved Miniature Schnauzer that is a pleasure to be with.

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