Obedience Q&As

Hi, I have a 4 and a half month old American Bulldog. When I go to correct him with the pinch collar, he flips & turns so I can't correct him. When I do correct him, sometimes he nips back. What can I do to correct him quicker? Thank you, Dawn

Hey Cindy, I have combed over the website, but I have not found anything answering a specific question of mine. It seems that most folks are struggling with dogs that pull when they are taken on walks. In my situation, I have a nine week old mini daschund that does not move when I try to take her for a walk. I walk a few feet away from her, call her name, but she doesn't move. When I squat down, she immediately runs to me. I stand up and walk a few feet away, call her name? nothing...

Hello, We are getting a GS pup on Easter. He was born on Feb 22, but was the only pup in the litter and is all black-very cute of course. Will this pup have some set backs being the only pup? Should I have any socialization concerns when I bring him home since he may have had no inner action with other pups? Should I ask the breeder to socialize the pup with the other litter? Maybe you know of this breeder, his name is Dave (I forget his last name) and lives on the west side of De ...

Hello Cindy, First, I want to thank you for your time. I have extensive experience with German Shepherds. Soon I will be purchasing an 8 week Doberman Pincher. My first one. In the event this puppy should display any aggressive behavior towards me, I realize this behavior must be addressed within a split second it occurs. Please, explain, briefly, how and what do I do? Second, how do you recommend I address aggressive behavior towards new people during the socialization pro...

I was hoping to speak with you regarding what videos you recommend for training my 3.5 month old imported GSD. I am looking at this early age strict obedience and looking for off leash capability, moving towards conformation work. Thanks Mike

Hi, I'm sure you get many emails regarding dogs. I have purchased many of your DVDs and read the wonderful articles you have online. We have a 14 week old boxer/lab who has taken to his crate very nicely, always goes potty outside in the same spot and seems to have a nice personality. I ALWAYS keep the dog on a leash, inside and outside (and have never had an accident because of it!). My question is, you mention not to interact with a puppy unless he is outside until 4-5 months. We...

Hi Cindy, Our yellow lab just turned a year old. He is a VERY ACTIVE, nice puppy, however sometime he loves to take your hand and wrist in his mouth and bites down and wants to lick you. He can also have this behavior when he gets excited when someone comes in the room and that guest wants to pet him. Is this teething, puppy or will he grow out of it? Or better yet how do we stop him and this behavior? Thank you, Lisa

Hi Cindy, I plan on getting a puppy some time in the next 2 to 4 months and have been searching the web for training DVDs and have decided to get some of the ones Leerburg sells. I guess my main question is which ones do you think are appropriate for me? We (me, my girlfriend and currently 20 month old son) are most likely going to adopt a puppy from a local rescue so I'm not sure exactly which breed/mix or what exact age he or she will be, but we'd like a puppy that will be...

Hi Cindy, We have a 15 week old GSD who we want to eventually train in protection. We have several of your dog training DVDs- puppy, 8 weeks to 8 mos, working puppy, puppy bite work, basic obedience, marker training, but I haven't seen the answer to these questions: 1. He is going through a very mouthy stage- we are constantly re-directing him to chew on acceptable items. Is this just what we need to do during this time, verses any corrections? We are working on 'leave it', ...

I have a 4 month old / 30 lb Black Mouth Cur (Mya) and got her when she was 8 weeks old. I want to give you a little background on her before I ask my questions. She is a great dog and very smart and from what I can tell (after watching your videos and reading on your website) has incredible prey drive. I have been teaching her the basic commands; come, sit, and stay as you recommend in your video '8 weeks to 8 months'? and she has picked up on these quite well. She is also crate trained ...

Hello, Please help us settle a question: Do puppies remember their litter mates? My friends have a 7 mo female Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix. Her sister came over to visit. They had not seen each other since 8 wks old. My friend says that she remembers her sister; I say they are puppies just playing. Thank you for your time. Jeannie

Dear Friends, I was so happy when I found your web site. Our family recently expanded with a new member, our new "baby" GS puppy.She is beautiful and only four month's old.We love her so much, our Bella. When we brought her home both of her ears are fine and our friends kept teasing us that we have a new "satellite" dish.But, we don't know what happened and her left ear 'flopped' two days ago. Could you tell us if that is ok for now and when we should tape it? ...

Hi Ed, I recently found your website and am so glad that I did. Like so many other folks out there, I fell victim to the idea that puppies need to be socialized with other dogs when they are little to ensure that they get along with them in the future. In fact of all the web sites out there, yours is probably the only one that says otherwise. My puppy is currently 9 weeks old. He is the sweetest little guy and loves other dogs. But other dogs hate him. At first, because I th...

Hello ! We live in Finland, in an apartment and we bought a GSD male puppy which is now 3.5 months old, we got him when he was 10 weeks old. This puppy is wonderful, he is very alert has high prey and food drive, he already knows to sit, lay down, come and sit infront of us with an order and stay sitting in his crate until we allow him to come out (when we open the crate), he is a very smart puppy. We use marking training and he obeys the orders very fastly and alertly and I always teach h...

Hi Cindy and Ed, I love your website and training dvd's and free information as well as the quality products you guys sell over there. Is there a "proper" or "best" way that you can recommend to introduce a dog to a swimming pool? I have a year and a half old chow/lab mix that I got from the dog shelter 9 months ago. She swims just fine but does not like going in the pool. I have brought her in using chicken as a reward but she still doe not like it. She goes into the...

Hi Ed, I have been reading your articles and been searching the discussion forum as well but I was unable to find the answer to a question I have about socialization. I have a GSD puppy arriving in a few weeks and have been watching your Basic Dog Obedience DVD. I have read your article on dog parks and am glad I did. I also read that you do not recommend having your dogs interact with any unfamiliar dogs along with very few people as well (Who Should Pet My Puppy?). Not knowing ve...

Hello, Several weeks ago I was lucky enough to have come upon your website. I found it so fascinating that I have spent hours reading dozens and dozens of its articles. Your insight into the thinking dogs is in many ways unique and I have come to the conclusion, accurate although it differs from so many traditional views. I have already purchased several DVDs and books ("Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 Months," "Basic Obedience," "Raw Dog Food," etc.) and consider them tremendously helpful...

It was recommended that I buy your videos by our breeder. I now have a pup who is being crate trained. He screamed for a few days. Now he is quiet intermittently. At what point do I start interacting with him? I think that he was dominant in his own litter and is pushy at 8 weeks. He is also quick to get snotty. I know, because when I first got him, I let him do too much socializing with the family. Then I started the heavy duty crate breaking. Now that he is quiet for most of th...

Hello, I enjoy your website a lot and I had a question. We just adopted a 4 month old golden retriever from the humane society 2 days ago. He was picked up as a stray. He seems to be healthy, energetic and very friendly. We've only had him for 2 days so I really havn't had time to do a lot yet, I've been keeping him in a the crate when I'm not playing with him and keeping him on a leash wherever he goes. I know its really early and he barely knows us but this morning he did somethi...

Hi Cindy.. Hope all is well. I have a nine week old puppy that constantly whines. If he is by me, he is quiet, but the instant I leave his sight or go to the store, it's constant whining. There are occasion that even when i am with him, he follows me around whining. His litter mates are nothing like this and only whine when their owners (my brothers and sisters) leave then they settle down. I notice he is not a confident as his littermates. Is this an indication of how he is going to be a...