Obedience Q&As

Our dog is a 3 year old Malinois and extremely friendly to people on our walks, and gets very excited when he sees other dogs. I seldom let him interact with people on our walks and never with other animals. When he sees a dog passing us he strains at his leash, gets quite excited, and will sometimes start barking. To date I have been unable to get him to ignore any of the distractions we encounter on our walks. When it is just he and I he is fine, walks properly beside me b...

Hi, I first want to thank you for the extremely informative web site. You guys were recommended to me from "A Better Dog Training" because you had videos and I've been very pleased. We plan on getting some videos very soon but I do have a question that I was hoping you could help me with right now. When taking the dog for a walk does he always need to be in the heel position? He behaves very well when on a loose lease very rarely pulling, 8 month old yellow lab. I pull him close (heel) ...

We were wanting to ask you about something. As I had said in our previous email, we had ordered some things from you (DVDs, toys, treats, bait bags), however, we are unable to receive the food treats due to customs. But we are very disappointed not to be able to get these treats - they appear to work so well and I'm sure our puppies would have loved them so much. We realize it's out of your or our power to do anything about actually getting them in our country (Australia) :-) but we we...

Dear Cindy, I have a 9 month old GSD, 60lbs, and I am interested to know if I am pushing her too much in training. She knows all of the basic commands for obedience and works well with an E-collar, will fetch and bring back the ball and will ?out? when told. I am trying to get her to ?heel? and look at me, but she is not interested even if I have a treat or ball. She is pretty good trying to get the ball away from me, but when she does she holds on and lays down while holding on. H...

Hi. I have a 1 year old Red Setter named Lexee. She is a very gentle dog and does not show any aggression except towards large trucks and buses when we are walking or riding in the car. She also does this with joggers passing us?not walkers. I think she is afraid of the noise from the tires and has developed a habit of lunging and barking at them. There has not been any negative incident in particular to cause this. (That I am aware of). It just started and I have not been able...

Hi Ed. I have a question before purchasing your BASIC DOG TRAINING video. I have trained two Bouviers, a Belgian Tervuren, and a GSD to obtain our CD in obedience. However, I have obtained my first *little* dog who is 8 lbs at 1 year. Can I still use the methods in your BASIC DOG TRAINING? Because I am so used to having BIG dogs all my life, I can't seem to make the same methods work on my little dog, especially with *corrections*. I'm at a loss in my area of even find...

Hi, I have a question regarding a training method I have been thinking about. I have a GS almost 5 months that is highly motivated with food. He does not have a toy drive as yet. I have tried different things to build his toy drive with little success. His interest is very short if any. I'm hoping that someday he will begin to enjoy toys. I have heard and read, that sometimes dogs tend to suddenly enjoy toys later in life. My question is this, can I use a kong filled with tr...

I am a big fan of your web site and training methods. I am currently working with a trainer for my 1 year old labradoodle. I got him as a rescue at 6 months old. He is very fearful and lacks self confidence. My biggest problem is that he has no drive to work. He is very uninterested in working for treats. I have tried not feeding him the day prior to class; I have tried using freshly cooked meat as treats; I have tried feeding him his meals from the training pouch and working at the ...

Hi Mr. Frawley I was wondering if you could tell me how the pronged collar works? I have been taking my yellow lab to obedience classes as he has an issue, which is another story, and they suggested a pronged collar. I tried one and it works well. He no longer pulls on it. Before my hands were so sore after the class. He is 18 months old. He does all the basic commands, but he has a problem with barking at strangers and lounging at them. So far, no bites, but I have been wo...

Hello, I have a question with regards my 17 month old female Rottweiler. Jasmine is spayed, 72 pounds. She came from a reputable breeder of rotties in my area who breeds working rotts for schutzhund. He gave Jas to me rather than selling her as she was the runt of the litter with the stipulation that I have her spayed. I am currently working with Jas with an eye towards competing her in obedience trials. She and I are in a basic obedience class now and she is really doing well....

Hi Ed, My wife and I acquired a black lab / beagle mix (Shadow) from the humane society about six months ago. Shadow will turn two next month. We thank you for so much info on your site, and we've purchased the puppy DVD, basic dog obedience, and all of us have been learning a lot. It helps that Shadow is the smartest, most engaged dog I've ever had. His sit / down / sit&down stay / heel, and come have been great. We've even been doing some agility training with h...

Hi, Thanks for all your helpful articles, DVDs, nice leather leashes, etc. I have a question regarding my second male labrador retriever. He is currently about 7 months old. About a month ago, I was trying to introduce the Dogtra Electric Collar into some training to advance things a bit. I used the collar one time for a short period (5-10 min) but after watching your Electric Collar Training DVD again, I believe I used it incorrectly. Instead of "Command," "No" and Quic...

Hi Ed; I am from southern Alberta Canada. Weather is a major factor in winter for walking and training dogs here...And I am an outdoor person! I wanted your opinion on this particular dog I rescued last year. Zing, is shep/dobi and very intelligent. He learns fast,and hopefully this year he will be trained for tracking, as he seems to have the qualifications for it. I am a firm believer in Ceaser's (Dog Whisperer) and your type of training, and have been for many years. My issue...

Hi, We're doing really well with the training guides online and with the eBook. Our pup usually pees and poops when asked and when taken to the area we designated for this; however, two of our cats love more than anything to roll, tumble, wrestle and play with Jinx. When they are around, training is out the window! I have been just carrying Jinx back into the house to his crate and then trying peeing and pooping time again in about 20 minutes. Walks are hard too. The cats ha...

Ed, I have a 1 1/2 year old working male Bouvier who is defiant about taking the platz/down command. He knows it, but is giving me the finger. Any ideas? 1. Use the e-collar and MAKE him 2. Use his dinner as the food reward 3. Prong the piss out of him 4. Wait until he gets through this stage... I respect your knowledge of working dogs and this is why I am writing you. Thank you. Sincerely, Howard

I have a springer spaniel/black lab mix who is approximately 4 years old. He is a great dog in all aspects expect strong prey drive and aggression toward other dogs especially. I have bought two of your videos ...Basic Dog Obedience and Dealing with Dominant Aggressive Dogs. They have both helped tremendously but I can't seem to get him to walk behind me or stay at my side during a walk. I say no..and 99 times out of 100 he will come back to position but it seems i'm saying no every 5 seconds...

I have disciplined my rott to the point that she is scared of me. When I walk towards her she turns the other direction, if she knows I'm after her she will pee. When she is next to me, any sudden moves by me causes her to jump. My cousin said I broke her spirit, is this true? And is it correctable? We also have a toy poodle/yorkie mixed and she likes to eat her pooh, how do you stop that? The main reason we got her was to protection.

Dear Mr. Frawley, We have 5 of your videos and just received 5 of your leashes. Thank you for the quality products that you offer. We have been teaching our 14 week old puppy using the marker training outlined in your videos with GREAT success. The puppy minds 95% of the time in the house. However, every time I take him out in public, he gets very distracted and does not mind, doesn't seem to even hear me or my commands, requiring that I go to great lengths to get his attent...

Hi My mother got a white German Shepard.She is 73 years old and lives alone.She wanted the dog for protection to let her know when someone comes up.She has a problem with the dog jumping on her and skinning her arms up. and nipping at her shoes. When she walks.She wants the dog but I don't think she can handle him.He's a smart dog. I thought about getting a shock collar. I have seen some from 90.00 to 450.00.I don't know which one would be best for her. She is on a fixed income. any help woul...

My 8 month German Shepherd accidentaly fell in my swimming and I had difficult time pulling him out of the pool. Can German Shepherds swimming and I had difficulty time pulling him out of the pool. Can German Shepherds swim naturally or must they be taught to swim. Thank you. Joe