Obedience Q&As

Hello Cindy, Question: If I am training heeling and a correction needs to be made while we are walking, is the dominant collar an appropriate tool and will it allow me to give enough of a correction to get the dogs attention or do I need a muzzle with the prong? If the muzzle is the answer, can you help me with the correct size the dog is 13 mths and 110 lbs. History: I have a male Black Russian Terrier that I am taking through obedience training. He is doing well in...

Hi Cindy just a brief question, I?ve read your advice and other peoples on your blog and such and am a little confused on the issue, you and some of the other people say it must be 100% compliance to the COME command, the only thing NEVER mentioned is the type of correction used, (this I find most curious as this is the most important part of it). If I punish or firmly correct my dog when he doesn?t come what motivation is it to come once he has disobeyed it and knows there is a correctio...

Dear Mr Frawley, My german shepard likes to come up to me as soon as I sit down in a chair to put my shoes on and will not leave me alone while I put my shoes on. When I push him away and tell him no, he barks at me. Not in a mean way, but barking to be noticed I guess. How could I fix this problem? I bought your Basic Dog Obedience DVD already but only have got to the intro to markers. Thanks for your time and help. Mike

Greetings, I have a 7 year old Rescue Dutch Shepherd and a 15 week old Australian Cattle dog. I've never had two dogs at the same time before. Following your advice; they are getting along famously. The Dutchie is good on walks (not a perfect "heeler" but stays by my left side and doesn't get ahead or behind). I haven't done any formal leash work with the pup but have taken her out on leash for socialization purposes. At some point I will want to walk both dogs togeth...

I recently purchased your DVD on Basic Obedience Training. My dog is a two year old Yellow Lab. He has been doing well with the marker/treats training. He knows very well the basic commands of sit, down, and stay. He is very attentive when we do the training with treats. However, if we are somewhere and I don't have treats, or if he is distracted by the presence of someone else, he pretty much just ignores me. It's like he is saying 'I know what I'm supposed to do, but if you're not givin...

Dear Leerburg, We purchased your Dog Obedience training DVD. We only have one question. You mentioned correction levels from 1-10. Can you please elaborate on what a level 1 and level 10 correction are? Thank You, Maxine

Dear Cindy, I would be interested in your recommendation of a school which I can attend with my Doberman to become an instructor in all phases of dog training, particularly obedience, protection and tracking. Also, it should provide some kind of certificate. I have a few of your videos, but I really want and require working with instructors who can provide guidance on techniques. I look forward to your response. Many thanks. Best regards, Michael

Cindy, I have a 4 year old female Brittany who was given to us when she was one and a half because she was afraid of the shotgun and wouldn't hunt. She is very obedient around the house and in our backyard but the second you put a leash on her and take her out she forgets you exist. She is too busy observing the birds and squirrels and she pays no attention to the person at the other end of her leash. I had a trainer come to my house and whenever he is around she walks nicely but a...

Hi Ed and Cindy, I adopted a female GSD (then 6 months old) from another family a few months ago. She is now 10 months old. Her previous family trained her in search and rescue at a very young age, and I think they did this without even training her in basic obedience. When we got her, she was practically pulling my arms out of the sockets during walks and sniffing the ground the entire time. They also taught her to "speak" when she wants something, and now she is constantly whining and ye...

Hi Ed and Cindy, First of all, thank you so much for your website. It is the best resource on dog training I have found, and I appreciate the range of information. It is sad that so many trainers seem to think treat training is the only way to go (especially with a stubborn breed). I have a rescue dog - a purebred Basenji - 4 years old. She came to me basically untrained and out-of-control. I trained her initially with markers and treats to learn basic commands like sit, dow...

Dear Cindy, How can I train an adult dog that it's Ok to leave his property? I have a 5 year old Rottweiler that refuses to leave our property. I have tried enticing him to come with me using food and toys. He'll have none of it! He just panics and bolts for home. When I hold him back he almost strangles himself on his collar. This makes vet appointments almost impossible. Any suggestions? Thank you, Fany

Hi, I have a question for you, in January I bought a female German Shepherd, that I wanted to breed, she will be two years old this coming April 22nd. I usaully buy pups and then raise them and give the obiedence training myself as I am raising them. But for some reason or other this one caught my eye, and there seems to be something I believe is special about her. Her father's side isn't any thing magnificent, but on her mother's side she comes from a line, of German imports and s...

I have 2 dogs how can I walk them both together? 2 leads or a brace lead? Should one be on my right side and one on the left? If this is the best way would the one on the right side still be able to heel? Thank you

Hi, Let me say that I think your website is wonderful and full of great information. I have a problem with my 6-month old female Doberman and wasn't sure which DVDs and items to purchase for correction. My (dog's) problem is this: I have seen subtle signs of what I think is dominance around the house, but by all means not aggressive. We've been training her and she usually does OK - that's why I want to buy your training DVD. She needs correction big-time. She hasn't real...

When entering the house through the doorway, Should My wife let the dog in first? or the Dog to Follow?... same as walking up and down stairs. Bill and Rita

Hi Cindy, Two quick questions..... Just bought two bully sticks from you.....and yes I know what they are and it makes me smile to think of it as I know a few people that might need the same treatment......but that's another story... What do you recommend for a year and a half medium - large size dog (60 pounds) who is a very aggressive chewer. Bones (real or artificial are out) rawhide bones are ok, cheap bully sticks last two seconds, and she guts stuffed animals....

Is it possible to leash train two dogs at the same time? I have a bishon/poodle and a schnauser and I am having difficulty trying to teach both of them at the same time to heel. Is this possible or do I need to train each dog separately??? Thanks

Hello Cindy/Ed I have several of you DVD and products and I find them very useful. I have recently bought a one year old female working lines GSD, she is trained in basic obedience and she has started her protection training. She is trained in German commands and I would like to switch her over to the English commands. How do I do that? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Cindy, I am hoping you can help me. I have a now one year old Plot Hound that I rescued at 8 weeks. Without going into endless repetition, all I can say is that training her has required a lot of patience but with one exception is paying off. She has a strong prey drive but now is easily controlled with birds and squirrels. She responds well to commands, and shows absolutely no signs of aggression to people or dogs. The difficulty stems from her wanting to be with ...

Hi- thanks so much for the great site, I currently am spending money with you guys and will continues to do so to support a great resource. I know you get tons of questions and I have read through hours of the site on multiple occasions. I have a just turned 2 year old GSD male, not perfectly trained by any means but I am working on it hard. I really want to get 1 thing under control and its the pulling on leash. My dog will come when called, stay forever, sit, down all that on command an...