Behavior Problems Q&As

Hi Cindy, I work at an animal shelter and we have a very large Dane mix (160 pounds) with us at the moment. He's an unneutered male, just over 2 years old. He grew up without boundaries and pulled his previous owners off their feet several times, even broke their leg and shoulder. We trained him to walk nicely on the leash without distractions, but he is very reactive to other dogs (sex doesn't matter, so I assume it's not a testosterone issue). When he sees dogs he lunges like crazy, ...

Hi! We have a 7 month old male Corso pup that we got when he was about 15 weeks old from a good breeder. I don’t think a lot of training was done prior and we’ve been constantly working with the dog thru the crazy puppy phase. We can’t seem to break him of this jumping and nipping that he does to me, my husband, and teen son. It seems to come out of nowhere and once he starts it’s hard to redirect without blurring the lines of rewarding bad behavior or redirecting. He’s good driven ...

I’m facing a problem with my male indoor dog. I also have two outdoor dogs—one male and one female. The outdoor male is actually his son, and there has been competition between them, which is why I separated them. Lately, my indoor dog has started marking inside the house, but only when I’m not home. When I return and try to correct him, he doesn’t seem to understand or respond to the correction. I suspect this might be related to the competition between him and his son, but I’m ...

Hi Cindy, Hope your well. I have a 5 year old intact male sporting dog (Pointer). We got him when he was around 12 weeks old. Since day one he light chased. The breeder use a laser light for the puppies to chase to tire them out. Anytime there is a light reflection he will sit and stare at it, wagging his tail and whining. If the light reflection moves, he chases it and repeats the behavior. We have tried increasing his mental and physical exercise, but this actually makes him really sna...

Hi. We used to foster through our local shelter, and foster failed with the last puppy. Lucy, the new addition , is around 9 months old and spayed. She was brought into the shelter with her litter mates at 14wks, and all were very timid. We worked a lot on obedience and commands, building trust, not rushing her - luckily she's very treat motivated. Lucy gets plenty of exercise everyday - we own a gym, and I work from home, so it's usually play with toys, the other pups, or a long trail walk w...

Hi Cindy, so my working line GSD he is 5 now. He’s is trained, I would say intermediate level/ But he has this issue when we are at home only. He will grab a rock in his mouth from the backyard then goes and place it in positions all around the back lawn and digs. Some of the trenches are 500mm deep. The only way I stop him from doing this is by locking him in the laundry when I'm not home. Although he is less likely to do it if I am not home. But if I get home let him out the back ...

Hi Cindy, I recently acquired a German Shepherd pup at 7 months of age. He was started in obedience work and drive development from the kennel I purchased him from. He was originally being developed for police work or high level sport. I just want him for family companion / protection work. Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to develop this pup from 8 weeks old into my training and drive development or capping where necessary. When I received him he didn’t have bite inhibition o...

My 3 1/2 year old labradoodle is not neutered. He catches the scent of an in heat dog and it’s off to the races. We walk on the beach daily and folks bring their in heat dogs on vacation. He will follow a weeks-old scent. He’s been off leash since he’s been 8 weeks old. Will a remote collar work?

My Mal was rescued and wasn’t crazy socialized. He is fairly nervy outside, but getting better at least walking. Amazing food drive indoors but will not even try to open his mouth for food outdoors. My hope was IGP for this dog but I don’t think that can happen. I do want to be able to work flashy obedience with the dog. However, I don’t know how to do so outdoors if the dog won’t work for food. My dog is 1.5 and I’ve had him around a month at this point. I know it can take a dog...

Hello-I have a 4 month old GSD and I am very aware that they can be vocal/whiny/barky however, I am determined to prevent this behavior via management and controlling his environment. When he sees certain dogs in the neighborhood (large, fluffy) he does a bark when he is not engaged in something/activity. most of the time he sees a dog, looks and easily can move along, but certain larger fluffy dogs can elicit a bark. So far the bark doesn't turn into anything more(it's a bark or two and I ca...

I have an 5 yr old rescue with the impulse to ingest inappropriate things he finds - like bark mulch chips, etc. He has puked up sticks the size of my thumb and I am worried he will cause himself a lethal internal injury. I have tried the standard "leave it" and now he just swallows faster. How can I get him to understand that this is undesirable/unacceptable behavior? He is muzzle trained so that I can permit him some off-leash time but other folks treat him like he is Hannibal Lecter. Ot...

Hi there, we have a 11 mo puppy we have had him for 4 months now. He was in a shelter for 4 months before we got him so he just knew to potty anytime anywhere. We got him to learn the dog door and he has been great. All of a sudden after a camping trip and weather turning he wouldn't go out the dog door, would go inside. I guess maybe he really doesn't know how to tell us he just uses the dog door anytime! He relapsed for a few weeks and is back on track but if the dog door is closed he ...

I have a 9 month old male GSD, he is from German show lines. He has a really nice temperament. But at this age he is fresh, he thinks its fun to jump on me. He rarely did this when he was 5 mos. old. I know he is just playing with me but its annoying. He's very gentle when he puts his feet on me, he jumps back then barks at me. I don't want him to think this is OK to do. I have tried the squirt bottle and the sports drink bottle with water it didn't work so I added a little bit of vinega...

Hi Cindy, My 9 months old 60lbs goldendoodle when he gets overstimulated (e.g. by dogs or pedestrians during walk) or frustrated, he redirects (jumping and biting) me and my daughter which each time caused multiple bruises on our hands and legs. We don’t reinforce excitement. We work on exercise to establish leadership role everyday. We tried redirect with toys, used bitter apple spray as suggested by a trainer, all worked only for few days. May I ask what other methods that can help corr...

Hi Cindy - I have 2 German Shepherd dogs - a 20 month old recently neutered male that we got as a pup, and an 18 month old intact female we have had since September. Both get daily obedience training and play at home, and professional training (obedience and scent work). Plenty of exercise - between 3-6 miles of walking daily. Both are attentive, eager to please and have pleasant demeanors. Male is more boisterous. Dogs ride in back of our SUV in a 2 dog crate with a divider. The male l...

Hey Cindy, We adopted a Dutch shepherd/mix back in July. He's a little over a year old now, and as more of a medium dog, I'm guessing he's mostly done growing. I'm planning to train him as a running partner in the spring, and at this point, he's doing very well with basic commands and leash manners. The problem I'm running into is that he likes taking the thin parts of his soft toys and grinding them between his molars. Our German shepherd did this with rope toys when we first got her (she...

Hi Cindy, I have three dogs and my nine month old French Bulldog is marking on all the dog beds. She’s doing great with potty training and their beds is the only place she pees so I know she’s trying to be Alpha. She does other things to prove she’s Alpha like cutting the other dogs off at the water bowl and snapping at them when they walk by. She also doesn’t understand polite play, she ignores the other dogs cues when they don’t want to play anymore. I intervene when I see it hap...

Hello Cindy. I have a Bernese Mountain Dog who is reactive and you have helped me modify this behavior! Thank you. Now she (3 years old) has taken to tearing into packages around the house when left alone when we go out. It used to be about food but now she got into xmas ornaments. What do you suggest? I have done the following courses: Leash reactivity; remote collar training and marker training. Thanks

Hi Cindy! How would you explain 3 yo GSD female raising her leg slightly when peeing/ marking ? During heat as well as when not in heat. She does NOT dig/scratch the grass with her back paws after. Is it a sign of a dominant female? Anything to be on the look out for? Thank you!

Cindy we got a German Shepherd puppy at the age of 4 weeks we were told he was 8 weeks old back in August of last year every time we correct the puppy he pees on the floor as well as now is chewing up items that does not pertain to his toys what could be the cause of this. I have a feeling it is separation anxiety. He only choose things that have our scent on it. He is now 11 months old will be a year next month on the 26th what can we do to prevent this from continuing any suggestions or ide...