how do i toughen up my dog?

Question

i have a mini schnauzer and hes a big softball.
hes wary of strangers but will take food from em and off the floor, jumps at noises and doesnt wanna b by himself.

how do i make him more independent?
and how do i stop him picking up food and taking it from strangers?
and how do i get him to be more protective?

Thanks

Answer 1

Don't try it, if you wanted something more independent, get a wolf. Dogs have evolved to take food were ever they can get it, and depend on humans.

Answer 2

You should have picked a different breed if you wanted a 'tough' looking dog but even a German Shepherd could have those traits.They are aloof with strangers which is often mistaken for wariness! They react to any noise and unless treated correctly can have seperation anxiety problems though some breeds are far more susceptible to this. With patience they can get used to being left alone, but it's not a natural thing for a pack animal so If you plan to leave them for long stretches another dog may be a good idea.
You shouldn't allow strangers to give the dog food unless you are training it to be social, and it should be proper treats not human food, and you should train it not to pick food up from the floor without permission so a training class might be the best route for you and purchase a breed book! That will tell you roughly what behaviour and health issues are relevant to his breed.
Treat him with love and respect and he'll develop his own way of acting 'protective' but because of his size that should amount to nothing more than barking when people call at the house or looking alert when out with you, and strangers approach. If it's called for he'll react to a threat to his 'pack' you and your family, in a more threatening way!

Answer 3

There are some dogs that are more sensitive than others!
It is not necessarily a bad thing to be weary of strangers either!!!!

As far as taking food away from people. A stern ( no) many many times is needed. Never hit the dog!! NEVER NEVER!!

As far as the floor,well that should be fair game!!! At least you don't have to pick it up off the floor.
What does it hurt if he eats food off the floor?

As far as not wanting to be by himself? Dogs are social animals!! They want to be with their family!!! Yes they may mean all the time!!! Dogs are our babies and we usually treat them that way. So what do we expect when they do want to be with us all the time?? I would rather have my dog around me than most people I know!! Trusting and Loyal!!!

Have you tried to leave the house for short periods of time. That way he will learn that you will be coming back. You need to work with this slowly. I am doing this now with my 3 month old Lab puppy.
I do put her in a kennel in the living room when I have to be gone. I keep the TV on for the sound. The kennel is her safe place. I have a bed in it and it is big enough for her to move around in. I don't like the plastic crates a lot of people us.
Since your dog is small you might want to put him in a kennel that might make him feel more safe while you are away.

As far as being tough?? Why do you want a tough dog?? I am sure that when the time would come if someone would attempt to hurt you or a family member he will fight to protect you!!

I had a dog that was the biggest baby around. She slept with my husband and me . She was spoiled rotten. One day my father was here and was patting my daughter on the leg kind of hard. It was hard enough you could it the noise from it. My daughter was home from school and when my dog heard this she went up to my dad and she bit his hand. Needless to say he did not do that any more.

A dog will protect its family when the time comes. If you are loving and kind to the dog he will pay you back in so many ways.
Good LUCK

Answer 4

Well i hope your not one of these irresponsible dog owners who wants to boost your own ego by having a "tough dog".You should be grateful your dog is friendly with strangers,as a dog who isn't or who is overly aggresive is a series problem and very hard to break the behaviour.A dog who is overly protective or who has many complicated behaviours is not a happy dog.Is this what you want to do to your dog?As the owner your the one who will be creating these problems for your dog and causing him to feel unsafe.A mini schnauzer is not a "tough" breed of dog,they are good watchdogs but not desighned to be aggresive or overly protective.Seperation anxeity however is a common problem with dogs regardless of breeds,you should always make sure he's being left with suffiecient chew toys to releive his anxeity and don't leave him alone more then 2 hours a day!! A good behaviourist will be able to help you further with this behaviour.If you dont want people feeding him then simply ask people not to offer your dog food.Good luck.

Answer 5

I'm puzzled-why do you want him to be more aggressive and less affectionate?

If you wanted a protector you chose the wrong breed.A mini Schnauzer is too small to be an effective guard.

If you like Schnauzers and wanted a guard you should have gone for a Giant Schnauzer.They are as big and can be as tough as Dobermans while still looking like Schnauzers.

Answer 6

I agree that socialisation is a big thing for fostering independence. Crating sometimes helps with dogs who aren't comfortable being left alone. Once a dog gets used to their crate, it becomes their little wolfie den where they have their blanket and toys and feel safe. They will often just go to their open crate for sleeping and "chillin". It is relaxing for a dog to have his or her own little space in the world where they spend time away from you.

My dog is trained to the word "leave" (a shortened "leave it"). Daily training sessions of dropping food on the ground and then training the dog not to even go a step near it until it is told by "go on" to go get it. You might need a second person with the dog on a lead to start out with, to make sure the dog is told LEAVE firmly for approaching the food. It usually goes, SIT (they sit), slowly place food on ground as you tell them to LEAVE, if they get up make them sit again. repeat a bit each day until they stay seated while you place the food, using the command Leave or Leave It. Then you try it off the lead, etc.. etc.. you must correct them if they lunge to snatch the food.

Always use the same word, don't keep changing it to variants : Drop it, nono don't do that, etc.. etc..

This has come in handy when kids have food in their hand and when my dog sees interesting dead things or suspicious rubbish on her walks. I can leave a bit of dropped meat on the floor for ages now and she won't even consider it unless she is given permission. At feeding time, she sits and waits while I fill her bowl and waits for the "go on" to let her know it's okay to eat. If my loopy dog could learn it, so can yours!

as for being protective, I think this sort of behaviour is very much associated with breed characteristics. I'm not a specialist in protection training, though so can't advise.

Answer 7

You got the wrong dog if you want a protector. They are by nature loving and affectionate.

How old is the dog? Puppies don;t like to be alone. It's a big frightening world when you have not long left your mama and litter mates. Just remember his whole world has just been torn apart if he is still a baby. All he has is you. He will get more used to being on his own in time. If they are to be alone a lot it's best to get 2 though. They keep each other company.

As for taking food from strangers... I don;t think there would be many, if any that would not.

Answer 8

The best you can hope for is more confidence around others by socialising the dog. Take him for a walk through a town centre & various other different situations, get him used to strangers & the idea that they aren't something to be afraid of. Take him to classes to help socialise him with both humans and dogs.

Answer 9

How old is this dog???

He is a small dog.. How much protection is he going to offer you???
Socialize him more, get him used to people, new places new situations etc...
Don't allow him to take food from strangers, keep him on a leash and don't allow him to pick up food off the ground.

If you want to socialize him to strangers, then you provide the people with the treat that you want them giving to him... If you want to poison proof him, that's a whole different story..

He isn't going to do anything more than bark at people and bite ankles.. He won't offer you protection, but he will alert you to strangers or danger.... Maybe... He's little, what do you expect of him?

Answer 10

First of all,you DO NOT want a "protective" translate: aggressive dog. EVER!

What you want is a confident dog. One who is open and friendly and loyal and all those nice things we see in other doggies - but you DO NOT WANT AN AGGRESSIVE DOG!

I could go into a long treatise about "protective" aggressive dogs but they boil down to lawsuits, liability and all kinds of awful things that cost you money and get Poochie put down.

Now then, just as dangerous as an aggressive dog is a "fear biter" that cowardly scared little dog that thinks the world is out to get them. They're a handful to deal with. Not good pets.

Then you have the "food" problem you describe - eating every little bit of trash on the sidewalk. Not good. Makes him sick - or worse...

All this boils down to a good, extensive obedience class or classes. Look for one that has a "confidence" course of obstacles that Poochie has to overcome - ladders, tilty things, hurdles to jump. AND other dogs to socialize with.

Get into a good activity - like fly ball or better yet - the timed obstacle course. Dogs like your Poochie ususally do well at those as they're usually active dogs with lots of energy to burn. Besides, the competition is fun for everyone.

But it starts with a good obedience course/courses. Oh, and showing obedience dogs is fun too! Nice folks all around.

Good luck.

Answer 11

You can go for all sorts of training, check what is available in your area. Obedience is just ONE kind of training you can do with a dog.