I have a 1 1/2 year old working male Bouvier who is defiant about taking the platz/down command. He knows it, but is giving me the finger. Any ideas?

First – this is a dominance issue more than a obedience issue. You can do any number of things to FORCE the dog down – many of them will work but you take the chance of wrecking any kind of a bond you already have.

I recommend that you read the Free eBook I wrote titled THE GROUND WORK TO ESTABLISHING PACK STRUCTURE WITH AN ADULT DOG My web site has a large number of FREE eBooks that I have written. Go to the main directory for eBooks.

This is not a stage he is going to get through. The dog (at 18 months) is starting to mature. So he is just entering the point in his life where he either gets a respected pack leader or he assumes the role. It is easy to brow beat a dog into submission – it takes your brain to get him to understand you are a fair leader. When that’s done he will be more willing to work for you.

With this said – I always train my dogs with remote collar. But you need to know HOW TO DO IT. I did a DVD on it – Remote Collar Training For the Pet Owner. I use a Dogtra 1900CP on my personal dog.

Cindy (my other half) used Dogtra 200NCP on her dogs. It’s a little smaller in size than the 1900.

There are less expensive collars on the market but I don’t believe there are better collars.

I prefer the 1700 because it has a digital read out on the transmitter that goes from 1 to 127. This allows very precise control. I am raising a GSD right now and he started wearing the collar at 4 months. I would never own a dog again without using a remote collar.

I hope this helps.