Behavior Problems Q&As

I have your videos on Pack Structure, Puppy 8 weeks to 8 Months, and Basic Obedience, have read your articles and tried to find this on the discussion board but have been unable to do so. First, I am a former math teacher and have had a lot of experience with teenage boys and a normal amount of experience with dogs. Your training methods for dogs are just what I applied in the classroom. I am retired and spend most of my time with the dogs. My husband is a pack member but he doesn'...

Hi, I just adopted an intact 5-yr old male German Shep who, I'm told, is Level 3 Schutzhund-trained. He's been retired due to an injury. I am having him neutered in the next 2 weeks. I am having a problem introducing him to my cats, as he is fairly aggressive toward them. Can you recommend a training video or other anything else, that can help me with this? I am reluctant to use shock collars and other extreme measures. My goal is to get him to be friendly with the cats...

You came highly recommended by a coworker and I could really use your advice. Last Saturday we picked up an 11 month old Australian Shepherd / Shih Tzu mix from the SPCA after being spayed. I have two girls one 8 and one 12 and a 13 year old cat. So far the cat and dog definitely do not get along and the dog has gone from constant submissive urination to becoming aggressive, hyper and even destructive. Unfortunately, I have had her crated all night and then again during the day while we w...

Hi Cindy. My name is Katrina. Recently, a couple of days ago, I bought a puppy from a lady. The puppy is a mini Aussie, 5 months old (in 4 days). I think I might have made a mistake. When I picked her up (I drove 500 miles to get her), she seemed ok. A little scared, but I thought that was normal. Now that we are home, I don't think she was ever around humans before, except to get fed. She will not come to me with kisses or whistling, or anyone else. I put her in the house, and she...

Hello Cindy, We recently (only been 3 days now) got a 4 month old puppy and I was wondering your opinion. The dog is great in terms of how nice it is, and it seems to already be learning quickly. The issue I was wondering about was the time we spend with the dog. I am thinking that we kind of rushed into getting him without really thinking enough about the time that we should spend with him. My wife and I both work full time and can't really be home in the day time. I can and have ...

Our 7-yr-old black lab passed away a month ago. We are thinking about adopting one of my brothers puppies. They are black lab and golden retriever mix. We would like to do inside at night and outside during the day (like our last dog). We have a 20' x 20' kennel. My only concern is if we do put her in there if it would have a negative effect on her behavior skills? Also how much time would you recomend for her to run around outside supervised? My husband and I really want another dog but ...

I have always had dogs, usually strays, but never trained or had one as a puppy. I would like to know from A-Z what books or dvds to start with. I am trying to do my homework before we get my first puppy. I have children at ages 2, 2 and 9. We currently have a Great Dane, age 6. I would like to get a German Shepard probably in 1 year or maybe 2. My goal is to have a well trained dog to protect the family, stay in our 1/2 acre yard and be good with the children. What are the ...

Hi Cindy! What a great site you have. We have recently adopted an adult female GSD. She came from a very loving family going through a divorce that did not have time for her. She is well trained--electric collar, but missed out on much interaction with people outside of the family and very little if any socialization with other dogs. She has bonded with us well--I have a 16 year old son and 18-year old daughter. She does not obey them or my husband as she does me, but so far...

Hi: I have a sweet 12 year old mini poodle, who is starting to feel his age, with poor vision and hearing, but he remains sweet and funny. He?s about 30 lbs. I have a chance to get a little 1 year old female poodle and would like to, but my husband says it may break the older boy's heart. Any words of wisdom? Diane

Greetings from Norway. My name is Kenneth, I am 22 years old and I am used to having a dog in my family. My mom has a dog, and my sister has a dog. But I have never had my own dog. I loaned a couple of your movies from a friend, and they are very good. The dog race I want to buy is an English bull terrier, I've heard they are quite stubborn and often dominant. I have seen your DVD on dominant dogs. But I dont really know what I am getting myself in with buying a bull terrier. Do you hav...

Hello, I'm having trouble with my 6 month old siberian husky. I recently bought a german shepherd/husky mix about 6 months also (new puppy). At first everything was fine my husky loved the new puppy they played forever. Finally when things started to settle I took out toys for both of them I gave the husky her toy and the new puppy his, as soon as my husky saw this she took the bone and growled at the new puppy. Now anytime the new puppy comes near her my husky growls at the new pu...

Hi Cindy, I have an urgent dog question I was hoping you can help me out. I have purchased and watched the Leerburg puppy training DVD and went through a few podcasts regarding introducing dogs. Yesterday I brought home a 3 month old German Shepherd puppy and in my home I already have a 2 year old Yorkshire terrier. I introduced them in my front yard with both dog on their leashes. However the problem I'm having is that my terrier is really scared of the German Shepherd puppy and s...

I had a question about introducing our new puppy to our older dog. We recently got an 8 week old female Rottie. We currently have a 3 year old female Lab. How do we go about socializing the two? Is there a certain age the puppy should be? Eventually we want to put two in the kennel together. (Our kennel is large...20 ft by 40 ft.) Any suggestions? Jacklyn

Hi, Yesterday I bought a 2.5 month czechoslovakian wolfdog. I have a 6 months female Husky and she knows that me and my boyfriend are the alpha pair. She never had growled at us, but today, when we gave the food bowl to her, I did something that I always do to her when she is eating: I pet her. She began growling at me and I said no to her. I've continued to pet her and she tried to bite me and same with my boyfriend. She has never done this to us. I think that she is trying to be...

Hi, I just opened the DVD sales newsletter e-mail on defense drive and it made me continue my thinking on this subject. I have a very weak-nerved dog and if I try to leave him for an out of sight stay he has a look of discomfort/stress and I realize he is not going to get very far in training if he feels this way - therefore, my thinking is he needs to feel different about the exercise... so I have been thinking if I could switch him out of pack drive (which is where I suspect he is since ...

Hi, I have a beautiful 2 1/2 year old male Sable German Shepherd that I truly love; however, he has issues that I desperately need help with resolving. Bandit has gone through basic obedience training and I continue to work with him with what I know. He is very smart but based on the pod casts from your web site I believe he has weak nerves. He is very nervous around strangers and any quick moves from anyone other than me he reacts as if he is going into fight or flight mode. I have h...

Hello, I need help with my 15 week old dachshund. I am having the hardest time getting him to wear his collar. I've had dogs my whole life and have never encountered this problem before. As soon as the collar goes on he transforms into a completely different dog. He lays in a corner and whines the entire time it is on him. He does not move! He won't eat, pee, or poop while it's on him. From previous experience, I decided to just leave it on him and he would eventually get used to i...

Your Q&As are extremely interesting and helpful. We have a three year-old male neutered white GSD named Trigger.? He can be a bit fear-based dominant and aggressive (I have your DVD). We are working on this aspect of his personality and making good progress. We would appreciate your advice on one small issue. Our bedroom is a duplex. There is an open staircase from the first floor where we have our home office and the second floor where the bed is located. By open ...

Hi, My husband and I really enjoy watching and reading your various articles on dog training. We currently have two GSD (1 male, 1 female). The female is the newest in the family and the two seem to get along quite well. The question we have is this... the female is very submissive and the male very dominant. We give them their own time to play with us and we also allow them time to play together. The problem (we think) when they play together is that the female just runs after the...

Hi, I am very impressed with your website and have referred to it for advice many a time, but I cannot find the answer to this question: I have a six year old, well trained, docile dachshund female. She comes to work with me every day as a therapy dog, and has met thousands of people. She also has several "dog friends" that she interacts with calmly and non -aggressively. if a large dog gets too "physical" in play, she runs to me, and asks to be picked up. She is crate trained. ...