Obedience Q&As

Hi, I have a question that I hope you can guide me to the correct source... I have a question about training my new GSP puppy (4.5 months old) from getting kicked by my gelding. My goal is to go riding with the dog on trail. Do you have a reliable source as to how to properly approach this topic? My horse isn't a kicker--and my pup does respect him (the horse). But, all my work thus so far has been done on leash (introductions, etc.). I'm thinking about purchasing a Dogtra ecollar (...

Hi Cindy, I was watching Michael Ellis' Focused Heeling DVD and it raised a question for me. In many pet obedience situations, we try to fade the lure as quickly as possible. I understand the reasoning for maintaining the lure for muscle memory, especially in heel work. I was wondering, in competitive training, if you prefer to do the same when building muscle memory for downs, sits, and other commands. I could see the benefit in the repetition for building better responses, then naming wh...

This is mentioned in the tug DVD with Michael Ellis. There is a trainer, Rhonda, I believe, that has a 7 month old female that will not play with her with the tug but engages when she slips on the puppy sleeve... Ed mentions that Rhonda was able to correct this with some hard work.... but it's never revealed what that actually was... I have the same problem that I created out of ignorance (this is my first dog) and I'd like to work on correcting it. Thx

I spent a lot of time training my 20 month old German Shepherd in AKC Novice obedience. I felt we where ready for the ring. Ugly 2 days, would not sit on the stops, did not heal close, left me on the about turns. It was like she was in another place. She did stand, long sits and downs. On the recall she which was one of her strongest-came sat off to the side and did not finish. I took her out this morning and she did great. I already ordered the DVD on jumps thinking we where ready too move o...

Hi Cindy, I'm a bit confused about the rules on puppies with toys. Ed says in several of his videos that the toys are his, and that he doesn't allow the pups to keep them. Yet in the ex pen video, there are toys in the pens that he says he rotates every 2 days. Can I get some clarification on this? My high prey drive GS pup is really getting bored. She's 9 weeks old. I am on steroid inhalers for asthma and the skin on my arms is very thin. Due to my pup being so mouthy, my arms are band...

Hey Cindy, I got the new Nosework DVD and just had a few questions. I didn't see puppies in the video (maybe I just missed them). I have a new puppy so was wondering when you start doing nosework with a puppy? Also, is there an odor that you typically start with so the dog always smells that at first, then switch later? If so when, do you add the additional odors? Thanks so much. Its an interesting sport and think it could be a fun side sport to play with. Thanks as always, David

Hi, I have been working very successfully with my boxer puppy using both the DVD on training with food and the DVD on training with a tug. Here is my problem: his heeling doesn't click in right away. If I go some place new, for example, he starts out by looking around then looking at me then looking around; then, suddenly, he will be all focus, and I will have no more problems. This same thing often happens when I take him to the Schutzhund field which is familiar to him. At first I don't...

Cindy, I have a 2 year old GSD (working line) with a high prey drive, strong nerves, yet a temperament on the softer side. Over the past 6 months, she has become leash aggressive (barking during our walk) at certain dogs - not all & hard to predict. This is despite us crossing the street well in advance to be as far away from the passing dog as possible and a strong pop correction on a prong collar (as strong as I can give - my weight is about 25 more pounds than my dog). She usually obeys...

I have Golden Retrievers, and in most of them, there is not a strong drive to play tug, rather they are driven to retrieve balls, sticks, etc. I have your DVD on training dogs with food, but would like to go further and start using toys. My question is: do I need to get your DVD on retrieving and just go with their natural tendency, or should I work on more prey drive and try to teach them to play tug? In any case, I would need to teach them to "out" the object, so which DVD would be most ben...

I've watched the DVD on The Power of Playing Tug with Your Dog. I have a 5 month old dog and I use a tug to play with him. He sits, outs, and listens while playing. However, when I tug back and forth for a bit and then let him have the tug, he runs away with the tug, sits and tries to just chew on it. I tried putting a leash on him, and pulling him back, but Michael Ellis in the video was telling the new trainers not to do that. How do I get the dog to bring the tug back once I let him have i...

Hello, I read quite a bit of your Q&A about dog biting and nothing really applied to my situation. I have 2 Golden Retrievers just under a year old. They are from the same litter, sisters. They are the best dogs I have ever owned but the problem is when we put them outside, they wrestle around and play. They are in no way trying to hurt each other and they never do this in front of my husband or I. The issue we are having is when they wrestle, they grab at each other's necks. One of th...

I have a 13-year-old, healthy, Pekingese who has been on the Nature's Variety raw food for 90 days or so before he refused to eat it. He is an incredibly fussy eater (except for any junk food he gets a hold of, i.e. hamburger, sausage patties, treats etc.). Up to today, he has refused to eat anything for almost 4 days. Today, I brought home freshly ground raw food from a local natural pet food store and he ate it. The mixture he likes is the ground turkey backs with added veggies (75% meat/25...

Hi, I was wondering if you could help me. I'm trying to teach my dog an emergency down from a distance and I'm having a hard time finding this in all your Q&As. So, I was wondering if you had maybe one of your short videos on your website on how to do this or if you could direct me to where to find it in your Q&A. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks! Chuck

Hey Cindy, Is there a national nosework organization? I would like to start a club here in Vermont so I would love to talk to the correct people about how to do that. I would also love to have someone like Andrew Ramsey come out and do a talk and clinic about the sport. Any help you could give would be great. Thanks, Nathan

Hi Cindy, I?ve been reading some of your Q&As about puppies. I have to tell you that you are so right that a pup being attacked by another dog can have dire consequences. My almost-4-year-old Doberman came from a breeder who took great pains to socialize him to be a very confident, almost unfazeable boy who loved all people and other pups. He was a dream of a puppy. Not knowing any better at the time, I took him to a puppy class when he was about 12 weeks old. He was great for the first co...

Hi Cindy: I just finished reading your pile of you know what about dog aggression and dog parks--unfrickinbelievable....what an ignorant not to mention callous and cold-hearted individual you are. So you would pepper spray someone's dog who is just approaching your precious little canine? You would have no qualms about smashing the skull of another dog who showed aggression towards your dog? You would use a cruel spike collar and remote device to control a dog's misbehavior? And on and on a...

Hello, First, my wife and I wanted to thank you for providing us the information in Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months DVD and Obedience training DVD for setting us up with a wonderfully trained dog for life. The training has been fun and rewarding, so rewarding we are debating on doing more. We have a high-drive female Doberman that just turned 17 weeks old yesterday. I have been interested in protection work and Schutzhund competition but we don't have any good trainers locally. Also, I...

Hi Ed, I've enjoyed your website and have ordered a couple of DVDs and high value treats as well. I have a question but can't seem to find it in your FAQ archive. Our 8 week old male GSD arrived this past Wednesday. We also have a 9 year old male Yorkie (3 lbs). Our 14 year old GSD now lives with our adult son (so he can enjoy a stress free life without a rambunctious puppy!). Our older GSD and the Yorkie are the best of friends, and we've never had to worry about the Yorkie's safety. T...

I understand the reasons why a normal family or protection dog shouldn't be socialized by having strangers touch or feed them. My question is: how does a person socialize a puppy to be a therapy dog? This will involve being touched, hugged, handled, petted, fed, etc.- by children especially- (since the dog will be a READ therapy dog- http://www.therapyanimals.org/R.E.A.D.-Program.html#Q5150). Do I still just keep puppy in the vicinity of others and her attention focused on me, or do I nee...

Hello, We have two German Shepherds & switched to raw about a week & a half ago. Initially they were in heaven, now the female has gotten picky. She did not eat supper well last nite & no breakfast today. The male is starting to follow her. He did not eat breakfast. They have both had the runs on & off since we started. Not ploppy, but coming out stream like & lord, really stinky!!! I realize if a dog has the runs, that kinda affects their appetite. Since they're kinda big dogs, being shep...