Obedience Q&As

Hi, I desperately need your help on how I should train my Sheltie, Koko. When we first got him, he was only 8 weeks old; and now he is 11 weeks old. We gave him crate training from the beginning, exactly like you suggested on how it should be done, and Koko learned it well and fast. Eventually we started to let him out on a leash in the kitchen and started training him to give us a "sign" when he needs to go out by sitting in front of the door. It worked out well, and he hasn't had any acc...

Hello, I saw your web site. and had a question. I just recently purchased a GSD pup 4 days ago. He is 8 weeks old. He is a male. He came from german champion lines, so both parents are Schutzhund trained. The question I have is this, at only 8 weeks of age he is dog aggressive with my pom. This bothered me because I would have not expected this behavior in such a young dog. Additionally, the pup growled and barked at my husband and son as they were practicing karate. Is this a concern bas...

Hi, You answered a few questions for me before, I was hoping I could bug you with another one :) Could you give me your thoughts on a puppy training question please. I was thinking about getting a puppy, however everyone in the home is gone during the day. Would it be ok for the pup to leave it outside in a secured dog run with a dog house during the day? Would it be too lonely? Should I leave it food and water while I'm gone? Should I avoid a puppy all together if no one wi...

Hello, My name is Gail and I purchased 'Establishing Pack Structure' from you recently. It was very helpful and I enjoyed it a lot. I purchased the video to help be more prepared for a puppy I had purchased online. The puppy arrived Friday night and he seemed way too small to me. He weighs 8.7 pounds at 2 months. One web site. with a growth chart on German shepherds suggests a puppy should be on average and approximately 19.9 pounds at 2 months. This is a HUGE difference. ...

Hello, I have a male German Shepard that is 5 months old. He weighs 40 lbs. How big should the dog weigh when he is fully grown? His paws are nice size but not very big. Please let me know. He eats three times a day. I give him natural ultra dog food for large breed dogs. Will he be 75 -80 lbs?? Fully grown? Thank you! Eddie

My daughter has 14 week old Black Lab/Border Collie mix pup that she adopted at 9 weeks from a shelter. He is the runt of the litter, a full 5 pounds smaller than his litter mate, adopted by my son, (separate households). Ruben is a very happy, curious, energetic, smart puppy who likes to please and has done well with the limited training he has had thus far. My question arises because of something said by the teacher of the "puppy socialization class" the pups just entered. When a...

Hi Cindy, My name is Nick and I have a 61/2 year old female boxer. I feed her raw beef, raw turkey necks, dry beef as treats and very little dog food(Canidae). Her stool is very hard (like golf balls), especially in the morning. How can I help her having a softer stool? Thank you, Nick

Hi there, I live in an apt. in New York City with 4 other people. I just got a boston terrier puppy that is 11 weeks old. I am very concerned about my roommates handling my puppy...I need to limit their interaction with him and I don't want to come off as selfish or over protective. I work during the day, but I am close enough to my apt. that I can run home and lunch time to take him out and feed him, and play a bit. But often I am not the first roommate home in the evening...do I ...

Dear Cindy, We have corresponded recently, and you have been very helpful. also, I have several DVDs from leerburg. I now have a mal pup 10 weeks, and am trying with all my might to train her. she is extremely protective already after 2 days and my question is: how and when should I teach her that she can stop barking/being protective when a visitor arrives, etc. also, when someone walks past my office she barks. So far I say shhh with a hand signal to stop the barking, and ...

Hi there. A friend of mine at work gave me the link to your web site. I have a long coated shepherd myself. He's 16 months old right now. I also have a black and tan standard coat, and a white shepherd. Chaos, our long coated shepherd is one of the best GSD's that I have ever owned. He is also my first ever show dog. I started showing him the end of April and he finished for his championship 2 days under a year old. We are now going for his grand, which seems to be a lot harder than i...

I have just found you web site. and absolutely love it. It is the most informative one that I've ever come across. I have a 4 month old male Rottweiler puppy. Let me first say that I have owned one other Rottweiler and had her for 8 1/2 years but unfortunately lost her to cancer. She was wonderful and the best dog that I've ever had. Our vet said that she was the best Rottweiler he had ever seen. I realize the importance of the pack leadership of these dogs. My question is my puppy is a v...

Hello, I have recently registered for the web board, but have not been approved and desperately need advice. The GSD I am waiting for is 4 weeks old and the mother has disappeared. The puppies are eating cat food (current owner is not a professional breeder, just a complete wastrel who happened to have a couple of GSD's) and drinking water and would probably survive but I am planning a raw diet. Should I take the puppy now before current owner ruins them or would more damage be do...

I'll try to keep this short. I have read your article on Dealing with the Dominant Dog and wanted to clarify one thing before I work on this with my pup again. I took him to a friend's house to socialize him. He found a rawhide strip and having never had one before went to his crate, which I brought with us, to chew on it. I don't let him play with toys at his own leisure at home. After about ten minutes I decided he had had enough and reached in to take it away and he growl...

Hi there. I have an 11 week old female GSD. I have purchased your 8 week to 8 month video and have been following it. Everything has been going great, however today I noticed a peculiarity. My yard is about 1/3 grass and 2/3 pebble gravel. I have seen her picking up and playing with the gravel. I have tried to get her to stop, but never worried about it too much. Then today I came across a couple of stools that were filled with the gravel. Is there any concern that this might hurt...

Good day, It's been some time since I wrote to you. My pup is doing phenomenal, I love my dog. He is going to be 5 months on the 17th, but we still have a problem with submissive behavior. Every time I get home I have to ignore him to avoid having him pee the floor when I hug him and I call out his name with joy. How is this going to last? Another thing is on his feeding? I know you like a natural diet, but I cannot keep up with that option so I feed him Nutro (Lam...

Hi Cindy, Thank you so much for the DVD and replying to my email, I know how busy you all are and I really appreciate it. I have a question to ask before I purchase the obedience DVD; My male french bulldog is now 13 weeks old. I take him for short walks to a big patch of grass 3 blocks from my apt in Manhattan (I take him out morning, lunch, and dinner) He does not like to walk away from the direction of my apt, he will just sit on the ground and stare at me and sometimes...

Hello Ed, I have you 8 weeks to 8 month and the Basic Obedience Video as well as other videos I bought in the past. I have a quick question though my puppy is going to be 18 weeks old and he is very Food Driven. I am training him as per your videos rewarding him right at the moment he performs the action, but I see a huge difference in how he follows the 'Sit', 'Come', and 'Down' commands when I don't have a biscuit to reward him. He quickly knows if I have or not a treat...

I noticed on your web site that you state that once the initial puppy shots are done, one should not vaccinate again. My question is, how do I get my dog into dog shows, boarding kennels, and vet offices? They all require up to date vaccinations. Barrie

Can u please explain to me what "puppy rushes" are??? I have a Chihuahua (going on 4 yrs. next month) & when he gets excited he tends to start running around the house VERY fast, I was wondering if that's what it was.... Sorry if this is a silly question. Thank you

Hate to bug you, but I keep hearing conflicting information on free feeding our pup. Have a 7 month old Pit and he's on Wysong - Growth, the bag says to free feed all puppies, the vet says no. The bag states for his size 50 lbs he should be eating only 2 1/2 cups PER DAY, (for older/nursing/pregnant dogs) but that puppies should free feed. Problem is that this guy LOVES this food and I am putting down 6 cups a day, (according to the bag an 80 lb dog only gets 5 cups per day), 2 cups 3 tim...