My Dogs Barking

Senna

I have two miniature schnauzer, both of which bark at anyone who walks along our road, they'll also bark at things like, maybe a tree moving in the wind, which they think is somebody or some animal (they wont just bark for no reason). Its a rural road so there is maybe one person every hour walking on it.
They wont bark inside unless they hear something outside, in which case they will go nuts.
The thing is my wife is alone at night a lot of the time so she finds their bark "to warn" very comforting. The problem is i would say its annoying people who walk along the road. The dogs cant get to the road and would be at-least 10 feet away from the road, so i would hope no one is afraid of the dogs, just annoyed by their bark.
The nearest neighbours are 100 yards away and i asked them before if the barking ever annoyed them, but they said they didn't notice it. (i'm going to ask them again, as i think they may have been trying to be nice), the next door neighbour to my neighbour have dogs which bark every time they are let out, which isn't very often, so maybe mine are "less" of a nuisance.
I would like to train them not to bark at anyone on the road, but would that be training them not to bark at all. I still want them to alert us if anyone is outside.

Graces7

Senna wrote: »

I have two miniature schnauzer, both of which bark at anyone who walks along our road, they'll also bark at things like, maybe a tree moving in the wind, which they think is somebody or some animal (they wont just bark for no reason). Its a rural road so there is maybe one person every hour walking on it.
They wont bark inside unless they hear something outside, in which case they will go nuts.
The thing is my wife is alone at night a lot of the time so she finds their bark "to warn" very comforting. The problem is i would say its annoying people who walk along the road. The dogs cant get to the road and would be at-least 10 feet away from the road, so i would hope no one is afraid of the dogs, just annoyed by their bark.
The nearest neighbours are 100 yards away and i asked them before if the barking ever annoyed them, but they said they didn't notice it. (i'm going to ask them again, as i think they may have been trying to be nice), the next door neighbour to my neighbour have dogs which bark every time they are let out, which isn't very often, so maybe mine are "less" of a nuisance.
I would like to train them not to bark at anyone on the road, but would that be training them not to bark at all. I still want them to alert us if anyone is outside.

They are simply doing their job; not sure what the issue is given the paucity of traffic there and that it is a help also.

Why worry? It is not as if you are on a busy road with close neighbours. And anyone passing who might have less than honourable intentions needs deterring.

It seems no one is worried except you?

Our two bark if anyone comes near; that is their job. We are way out in the boonies so need to know if anyone is approaching. eg the meter reader comes no further than the gate without permission and comments on the efficiency of the dogs.

Let them do their work for their masters? They love you and are protecting you.

charley2012

Is it cruel to leave a small dog in the house alone from 8am to roughly 3.30pm..if he is left outside he will bark non stop all the time.the neighbours have complained. i am too fond of him to give him away..what can i do?

kylith

Your dog is bored out of his mind, that's why he's barking. Would it be possible to leave him indoors and have someone come and take him for a walk at lunch time to let him go to the toilet? Kongs are also good if stuffed with wet food and frozen, but certainly won't entertain for an entire day. Does he have any toys in the garden at all?

Some dogs do well with a companion dog, although it's 50/50 whether they'll play and be quiet or if you'll wind up with two dogs barking constantly.

charley2012

He has a lab best friend,but barks when he is with him outside also. The lab doesnt bark at all, i have kongs for both of them, he barks all day and at nothing at all. i wouldnt have anyone to call in to him, i feel like i am being cruel to him leaving him inside, when i come home he goes bananas nipping at my pants and does laps of the room around me!They get regular trips to the beach though