Behavior Problems Q&As

Mr. Frawley, Two training questions for you, first the background. We've had our GSD, Kaiser, for going on two years. Vom Haus Glitzernstern supplied your 8 weeks to 8 months video with the pup. We've used that and your basic obedience video to develop Kaiser into an excellent house dog who loves to please. He has very strong drives and has worn a path around the perimeter of our property that he regularly patrols. First question. We have a swimming pool that Kaiser is not a...

I just read your piece on the Internet about showing the dog lovers out there all the various methods of training their dogs to refuse food. I am a person who lives next door to a couple of first class ass-holes who have a large dog that barks and barks and barks and barks. It barks at everything and it barks at nothing. It barks all day long and all night long, and these two idiots tell me that there is nothing they can do about it. I can't afford hiring lawyers and suing p...

Hi. We have a 6 year old Chow named Otis. He's been a very sweet loving affectionate dog with no problems all his life until recently. We moved into a new house about 6 months ago. The first thing we did was get an invisible pet fence and collar for him. That works great. When we're not home we leave him in the basement. It's never been a problem before, but about a month ago he started chewing up the basement door and frame. So we looped the wire for the invisible fence around the door. ...

Hi Ed, I would like to know what your opinion is on using an e-collar in my situation. My dog is 9 months old and is extremely people aggressive. He hates absolutely everyone but my husband and me. We got this puppy at 4 months of age. He's always been shy and a little strange around people. He got quite sick for a while, and ever since then, he's been very aggressive towards people. He will bark, growl & nip at anyone who even looks at him the wrong way. He's terrified of everyone...

I am hoping you can help me. My dog (miniature doberman) is a little older than 1 year old, we have never walked him. He has gone out a few times and has always run away. I would like to start walking him and taking him places on his leash. The problem is that he cowers when we put the leash on him and lays down. Is there something we can do to help him feel more comfortable? Thank You!

Hi, I have been reading your articles on training for about five months. I purchased a german shepherd puppy at the age of seven weeks old, he is now seven months old and just does not listen. He loves to be outside, but when he comes in the house he jumps on furniture, bites the kids, and basically just doesn't listen. I have taken him to puppy school and we are on level one obedience right now. I just don't know what to do with him. I don't want to leave him outside all the time I want ...

We have a spayed female shepherd/lab mix named Sandy. We got her from these people at 1 year old, now she is 3. Every since we got our 7 month old husky puppy, Zoe, she has been acting weird. When we first got her, she ran away a lot, but was friendly to dogs. Now she runs away and picks fights. Her last fight we saw. We witnessed her in a yard and the dog that lived there sniffed her for a greeting and then Sandy just started fighting. She came home with a bitten ear and now she is starting ...

I just want to say, like everyone else who logs in on your web site, how informative your site is. Just received your catalog the other day and I'm interested in purchasing a training video but don't exactly know which one I should order. I have a 14 month old male neutered boxer that has gone through basic obedience classes with a passing grade. He has no problem with the "sit," "down," "stay," "leave it" commands but needs a little work on his "come" command. A couple of b...

Hello. I know that you have a lot of mail so I'll try to make this as short and sweet as I can. We have a 6 month old male, black lab and golden retriever mix pup. This dog loves garbage!!! He refuses his dog food even after several brands have been tried. We have tried every thing. Taking trash out before we leave the house, tying him up, putting gates up so he can't get into certain rooms and the cage. Nothing works. He chews through the leash, destroys the room he is in and jumps the g...

Hi Ed, I have helped a friend who has a 5 year old Bichon go through basic obedience. We can do long sit and down stays inside and outside and at shopping malls. The dog also walks well on a leash. The problems she has is that first the dog was not letting anyone in the house. I solved this problem. But he goes nuts when people want to leave to the point of snapping and lunging. I tried to desensitize him with food away from the door, sits and stays away from the door...

Hi Ed, We recently adopted a 2-year old female husky mix from a local shelter. Denali displays submissive urination whenever she is verbally corrected (not screamed at). This usually happens with me, and not my wife or older kids. While working on obedience training, any type of correction (verbal or physical with choke collar) causes her to urinate. I praise her consistently and keep her in my company as much as possible to strengthen our bond. I'm planning to purchase your...

I was introduced to your wonderful site per the Doberlist to which I belong. I own a male Doberman (from very good German lines) who is now 2 years old, (all 40kgs of him). Could you please offer me some advise as he very often attempts to mount my daughter (10 years) as well as most women who come to our home as well as my daughter?s friends, both male and female. This is to my mind an attempt to dominate and I would not favor having him castrated, I am also aware that male...

Hello I was wondering if you could give me some advice. We have an 8-month old neutered German shepherd mix (lab and husky we think) and I am having trouble controlling him. We have a three-year-old daughter, so I know it is imperative that he listens and behaves. He has a habit of picking up her toys and chewing them -- sometimes swallowing them. No matter how I handle the situation, he will not drop the item in his mouth. Yesterday he got my mop cover and started chewing h...

Mr. Frawley, I have a 6-year-old German Shepherd named Caro. About a year ago, we sent him to be professionally trained over the course of a month. When Caro came home, his behavior was excellent. We also got two other dogs a few months ago - a Lab mix and an Italian Greyhound - both are puppies. Lately though, Caro has been up to his old tricks again - only at a worse level. He likes to run around and bark at trees, but sometimes he will bite the bark off. Recently he de-ba...

You have a very informative site. Thank you for your open and honest opinions. I will implement some of your suggestions if I ever find myself a witness to another dogfight. I notice that you seemingly have little hesitation at telling people to kill their dogs when you have no other remedy for their situations. Have you any experience with natural medicine, i.e. herbs and homeopathic, in treating some of the symptoms and causes of those symptoms, such as fear? For the patient and consistent ...

Hi Ed, I finally got to read the Q&A on your web site and realize you are an expert on canine behavior. So I am going to ask for your advice on my German Shorthaired Pointer. He is a wonderful soul "after" I took him to behavior training. "Before" he did not respect me as a pack leader, for good reasons as I had no idea I was supposed to be one, and small dogs have attacked him before when he was a puppy. When he was an adult, he would bark and go submit a small dog. He woul...

I was reading your article on aggression in dogs and I have a question for you. I recently purchased a Beagle/sheltie mix. Well, that's what the mother was in the shelter I got it from. They couldn't tell me what the father was. My question is this; he has a bad habit of biting and nipping at my wife and me. He will be playing fine, but every once in a while he will start barking at us and lunging at our feet, hands etc. He also has a fear or other dogs I think. When I take ...

We recently purchased a male GS. When we visited the dog, he seemed very confident and outgoing. However, when we brought him home, he has latched onto my husband. He gets upset when he leaves, he has to be constantly with him. When he leaves, I try to bring the dog out by playing with him, etc., and he just goes back into the porch to wait for my husband. He's a very soft dog, so I don't want the corrections to be to harsh, but he just doesn't engage in anything when my husband is gone, ...

Hi good day!!! I just have a question regarding my 4 month old german shepherd. He was barking at someone and the one handling him pulled his leash to prevent him from attacking the person he was barking at. But instead of stopping he bit the one holding him. The dog didn't have any attack training or have any advance training. He has just been trained at home with basic training by me which is only my first time to train a dog. Thank you and more power!!! G. S.

I love your web site! But I have a question for you about one of your products. I have a new GSD, approximately fifteen months old. He's from working lines, and has never lived in a house before. Everything is going very well, except for one thing. He barks! I'm crating him while I go to school, and this is when the problem arises. He likes his crate very much and enjoys being in it when I'm with him. But as soon as I close that door and leave, he barks all day long. According to m...