Miniature Schnauzers are loveable dogs that are packed with a ton of energy. As a dog owner, your hope is that this breed can channel that energy and still be good, well-behaved dogs. Luckily, for anyone who just brought home a Miniature Schnauzer puppy, they do take quite well to training.

Actually, it’s one of the best parts of this breed. They’re so eager to please that they love training! Miniature Schnauzers can match their high energy with some serious intelligence, making training a great outlet for their energy. They are highly trainable dogs who are quick learners and enthusiastic students when given reward-based training.

Here are seven Miniature Schnauzer dog training tips for anyone who is bringing home a puppy.

1. Start Training Right Away

You should start your training sessions with your Miniature Schnauzer puppy right away.

This is the best time for you to strengthen your bond and establish good behavior habits in your dog, which helps to prevent any problems from ever emerging.

Miniature Schnauzer puppies learn quickly, and the behaviors they learn as puppies will stay with them through their adult life. Dogs learn best with a clean slate, and while old dogs can indeed learn new tricks, it is difficult for them to break bad habits.

2. Use Reward-Based Training

The best training method to use with Miniature Schnauzers is reward-based training. This method relies on repetition, consistency, and constant positive reinforcement rather than violence or negativity.

Schnauzers respond best to upbeat training sessions in which they are treated well. Since they can get bored easily, you can use play training, with games like fetch and hide and seek, to make things more interesting for you and your dog. This makes the training experience enjoyable for you both.

3. Watch Your Tone & Volume

With Miniature Schnauzer training, you should be assertive, but not loud. Give commands with a calm, authoritative tone, rather than shouting at your dog or sounding harsh, even if your puppy is unresponsive to start. It can be easy to get frustrated during training, but you need to maintain a consistent, positive calming voice so your dog doesn’t get discouraged.

Likewise, you don’t want to take a negative tone, especially when using your dog’s name. When training, try not to use your dog’s name when you are reprimanding or warning him. You want to build trust in your dog that when he hears his name, something good will happen so that they will respond enthusiastically. Your pup will also want to have a positive association with your voice rather than fear.

4. It’s Not A Competition

When training your Miniature Schnauzer puppy, it’s important to remember that you aren’t trying to “break” him, or defeat him into submission. It’s not a competition between you and your dog, rather a partnership. Taking a competitive approach will give you a dog that responds based on fear instead of reward, which takes away from the fun of having a loving pet.

5. Don’t Give Too Much Attention When Your Dog Does Something Wrong

Miniature Schnauzers love attention, so if your pup misbehaves, you should make sure you aren’t giving him too much. This can confuse your dog and actually reinforce the behavior, rather than condemn it. For instance, if your dog likes to jump up on you, don’t handle him or push him down repeatedly. Push him away once, give the “No!” or “Down!” command, then ignore your dog.

6. Challenge Your Miniature Schnauzer

As highly intelligent dogs with a lot of energy, you will quickly get through the basic obedience training commands of sit, stay, down, come, heel, etc. with your Miniature Schnauzer. But this breed is capable of so much more!

They love to learn new tricks and are also great for agility training. Give this breed a challenge and they will be eager to keep learning and training.

7. Be Patient!

While Miniature Schnauzers are quick learners, it will still take some time and patience to go through training.

They won’t learn everything in just a few days. Housebreaking, in particular, can be a frustrating part of your Miniature Schnauzer training, but if you are consistent, you should be able to achieve results in fairly short order.

If you have regular training sessions, a more realistic goal is a few weeks to up a month to have a well-trained puppy who will be your loyal companion for life.