Obedience Q&As

Sir, I'm writing you today on a recommendation from a friend who trains military working dogs. I have a 11 week old female GSD. My wife and I purchased her at 7 weeks. Every night for the last 4 weeks, I have been up with her multiple times at night, trying to keep her quiet. She has food and water, and is outside with an adult female GSD (they get along quite well). Sometimes I'll bring her in and put her in a playpen with bedding (continues to whine). I've been spanking her consi...

I hope you can help me with my new German Shepherd puppy. When we got him he was 7.5 weeks and a he's a very aggressive chewer and biter. I've had a german shepherd before and do not allow puppies to bite and chew on anything but their own chew toys. I have never let him bite me or chew on me because he is "cute and little." We constantly were correcting him and telling him "no." One night my husband and I were playing with him rolling a ball around while he chased it. He went to the door...

Hi Ed I have just bought your video bite training for pups and I have a question about it. I have just started tying my 10 week old pup up with a milk jug full of marbles above her head and I have also been using the bamboo stick. Neither of these things phase her. She has awesome nerves and monstrous prey drive, but she will only go after the tennis ball on the string. She will not go after the hand towel. I have used the hand towel to play with her before but she really would ...

Mr. Frawley, I purchased a 5 month old male GSD from a breeder in NY. I have had him for a month. Sire is an East German Sch3, mom is a Czech companion titled dog. Problem: This pup skits and bucks when other leashed dogs/puppies approach. He may or may not allow people to pet him as well. No aggression towards people, but he can become very timid and jumpy, or just stand and remain oblivious to people around him. Always acts the same with other dogs. Stares as...

Hi, I'm Argentine and my name is Martin and I write because I read something interesting on your web page. I would like to know if you could answer this question!!! My family is going to buy a dog and we are in feud between and retriever or rottweiler. I like rottweiler but my mother says that they are dangerous especially with children. I would like to know if you agree with her and if you can send me information about rottweiler!! Thank you.

Dear Mr. Frawley, Thank you for your excellent videos. They are helping me raise my new pup. But I do have a question that is not addressed in the videos: This is a female GSD of excellent working dog bloodlines. She is now 15 weeks. She is doing fine in every aspect, but a week ago she began to bark at people who come to visit us. The bark is not a growl, and she shows no other signs of aggression, but she does appear to be defending her ground. Is this normal? How should I...

Ed, I have read your Q&A section but can't seem to find anything related to my situation. I have a 4 1/2 mo GSD puppy (German lined!) who is having a hard time with traveling in the car. He begins drooling heavily before he even gets into the car. We have been trying to take things slow with him by letting him sit beside the car (drool, drool), letting him sit in the seat without the car running (drool, drool), having him in his crate in the car (drool, drool) and even placing bits of hot...

My husband and I brought a German Shepherd puppy 5 day's ago. She is 8 weeks old we are very happy with her and she seems to be settling in well. The first two nights she never cried during the night at all. Now however she whines and howls and we have got up to her and told her a firm "NO" and given her a light shake on the scruff of her neck. This method does not seem to be working now. Can you help? I think we should ignore her my husband is worried about the noise and the neighbors. We wo...

I have been looking all over the internet and just found your site. WOW! You cover so much. I know it may be a while before you can answer me but if you can I would really appreciate it. We (myself, husband and 2 teenagers) just adopted a collie/shepherd 3-month-old puppy. He has been responding very well to the crate training and in just 2 weeks is "so far" housebroken. Our problem is that after a few days with us he has started this thing where he pees whenever my husband does anything ...

Ed, I just rec'd your puppy video and watched it today. What a super video to watch!! We got a GS puppy (10 weeks) 2 days ago. I only have a couple questions after watching (I know I'm not supposed to have any) :) On crating the pup, how long/often during the day should he be crated so he's used to it and it works effectively? I don't want to be using it too much. Does that time wind down as he gets older? The video states that with food up at about 6:00 and water by 7:00, h...

My husband and I brought a German Shepherd puppy 5 day's ago. She is 8 weeks old we are very happy with her and she seems to be settling in well. The first two nights she never cried during the night at all. Now however she whines and howls and we have got up to her and told her a firm "NO" and given her a light shake on the scruff of her neck. This method does not seem to be working now. Can you help? I think we should ignore her my husband is worried about the noise and the neighbors. We wo...

Mr. Frawley, I wrote to you about my 6 month old Rott. Thanks for your advice. Just finish watching your (Bite Training Puppies). My question now is that I just got the pup when it was already 6 months follow your videos, my pup has no play drive. I tried playing with the sack, but he has no interest in biting the sack. How should I start his play drive with his behavior? He has a lot of avoidance when I try to follow your instructions on the video. What should I do?

Your puppy video arrived in the mail this weekend and we watched it, twice. Good job! The video covered a lot of ground, but I still have more questions. I read your article on why you shouldn't have two dogs at once. Unfortunately, we already have the two pups, and we want to make the best of it. Based on what you've written, I assume we could have some problems with them not accepting us in their "pack" of two. What are some warning signs to watch out for in case they decide we d...

Our 9-week-old German Shepherd just arrived from Texas, and we recently purchased your "Puppy" & "Basic Obedience" videos. There is an issue you might help us with that was not addressed in either. Swimming. We have an in-ground pool and considering the heat in South Florida we are anxious to introduce him to it. Any suggestions or advice? I might also add that we have tried to strictly adhere to all of the information offered in your tapes and on your web site, and so far knock on...

Ed, We have a Rottweiler female puppy (born Jan 14th). We also have your puppy training video. Abby has responded well to our correction for jumping up on us. Thank you. She is outlawed from the house because she doesn't control herself and tinkles when she gets excited. Any hints for that? However, the main reason we are writing is because of her constant lapping. Abby loves people, and she laps thin air, hands, thin air, legs, thin air, clothes, and thin air. It drives us crazy. ...

Ed, Our great puppy, Xanda vom Leerburg (born January 16, 2000; call name "Rebound"), is progressing beautifully. She is almost five months old and has settled in as a full-fledged member of the family (which includes my wife, three children, our male yellow lab and me). I would like your thoughts on a particularly disturbing and dangerous habit that she has exhibited. During our walks in the neighborhood, she literally lunges at moving cars. In response, I shorten way up on...

Dear Mr. Ed Frawley: I found your website on the internet, and I was hoping you would be willing to help with some advice or maybe a referral to someone who would be able to help us. I am sorry to say that we are having a problem with our Jack Russell Terriers. We have a 5 month old male Jack Russell Terrier who we bought from a friend who bought him from a pet store called "Just Puppies." We have had our male dog for about 1.5 months. My husband bought me a 12 week o...

I would like to get a German Shepherd, but I am out of the house for about 12 hours a day five days a week. I would have to leave him locked in a crate until he was fully house broken. What is the maximum amount of time a dog can be left in his crate? Thank you, Mary

I was wondering if you could help me. I have a nine-week-old GSD pup that doesn't seem to want to bond w/ me. It never seeks out affection from me and only seems to tolerate being petted. She seems to be healthy and has a high prey drive. She only seems to want to bond with my grown mixed breed dog. He is a large very strong, Pit bull mix. She is not intimidated by him at all and will play rough with him and likes to bite him and pull on the skin under his throat. She only ways 14 lbs but...

We recently found a puppy in the ditch wandering around a mile away from our home in the country. We carefully called him to approach us and he seemed adorable so we took him around to several houses in the area to see if anyone lost him. No one knew anything about him. We proceeded over the next several days to see if anyone lost him. Meanwhile I took him to the vet and got worm medicine - they tested his poop and he had worms. They thought he was about 8-12 weeks. He still has his baby ...