Obedience Q&As

Cindy, I have been reviewing your Heeling toolbox, but have one concern. I have a small 10.5 pound Bichon. To me, dealing with a small dog is very different. Does your course address that? I am ready to compete with this exceptionally hard driving little descendant of JR except for the fact that her healing can somewhat weave in and out from me. She forges on the inside Figure 8 and left turns and stops, but is right on with all else. She also rat-ta-tatts with her little feet when we stop...

Hello. Sure love the information you all provide. It has helped me establish a solid relationship with my German Shepherd dogs. I have a question about having 2 German Shepherds at home. My 45 lb. spayed female is scared of our 90 lb. intact (but soon to be neutered) male. She hides and barks when he is out. As a result only one dog can be out at a time. Any tips for settling the female down? Thanks

I have a 9 month old Hovawart female, spayed, we have been through basic puppy class. I want to know what class to pick for her. She is extremely smart, very food and toy oriented (tennis balls). I have just enrolled her in agility. I don't need the basic sit, wait, down course I would like something at the next level, I also want to do some tracking with her in the spring. Thanks for your advice.

From playing tug to attacking another dog: I have 1.8 border collie who hardly ever shows any aggression towards other dogs. I've been working on playing tug with him outside, with distractions, and this morning we had a great start to the session, with him running after me from sit-stay and grabbing the tug with energy. But then a dog passed on the road near our yard (whose door was open to let in more distractions) and when I told him to 'get it' he ran past me and to the dog (who by this t...

I recently bought Michael's DVD on teaching the retrieve. She's all about retrieving, but she chews on the dumbbell. I switched to the pvc pipe like Michael suggested in the DVD. I've been working with her for two weeks using the pvc pipe and I'm not seeing any change in the chewing. I've tried reinforcing the hold by giving the command again and using my hand under her chin to hold her head up. She still continues to move it around in her mouth. Also, she's a maniac when she runs out to...

I have a 15 pound terrier mix (probably Cairn/Lassa) who is really hard to train, especially to come when called. I've tried treats, toys (he likes tugs), long lines, etc. Even the Chihuahua is more consistent at coming when called. What kind of toy would hold his interest longer than a rope tug? It lasts about 3 minutes.

I began feeding my skinny boxer a raw diet about 3 months ago. Within 3 weeks, he was looking better. Now, he's at a perfect weight. He does get raw chicken parts with bones, but I also grind some of his food. Instead of trying to remember to feed liver and muscle meat a certain number of times weekly, I grind everything together. I might have 1 pound of liver and heart mixed with 10-15 pounds of chicken quarters, plus 10-15 pounds of beef. Those amounts are approximate, as I'm not a stickler...

My question concerns my rescued Malinois. I have no info regarding his breeding or origins. He came into rescue after being treated for a broken leg (right femur shattered - his previous owner did not treat, and it healed on its own). He was crated continuously for 24 hours and given one walk per day. He was not fed properly, and was wormy when rescued. He has been neutered within the past month. He is approximately 1 year old. Given what he has been through, he is a good boy. He has some ...

If we are feeding Natural and Raw diet, we would like to know if we feed chicken and our pup/dog should happen to get his teeth into one of our free range chickens on the same day, would he associate what he ate in the bowl to what he just tasted that was alive. We understand that he needs to be trained to ignore them and plan on doing that, just curious if he would associate the food bowl chicken with the live chicken if he tastes both during the same day. The pup is a GSD.

Hi, My almost 2 year old dog is very friendly. We are working on competition obedience and I plan on doing our first competition soon. The problem with her being too friendly is that she wants to say hi to everybody she sees. I have been watching "The Power of Training Dogs with Food" and "Focused Heeling." She is doing great when it's just me or when we are working with our trainer, but as soon as there are more people and dogs she looses focus. How many times a day should I be workin...

I have a 130lb Great Dane who is dog aggressive after being attacked. It is not with every dog, but everyday he does do it. I have tried every option but he is intent on getting to the other side. He doesn't listen and it is very quick before he's in red zone. It's a battle to restrain him, nothing will snap him out of it. Could an electric collar work? If so, which one do you suggest? Also, have you ever known a dog not to respond to an electric collar? I am worried if this does not work tha...

Hi Cindy, I've a few questions regarding the training my 2 1/2 year old Sheltie. I've recently started agility classes despite not having attended any other formal dog training. We have been following your 8 Weeks to 8 Months, Food, and Tug DVD since she was a puppy. We hardly train outdoors, we have very few dog friendly places to go to. The only time we go outdoors are for walks around the neighborhood. Recalls Whenever we arrive at the agility field, my Sheltie gets super excite...

Hi. When I order your Nosework Scent Kit and I run out of the pre-prepared swabs, how do I prepare new ones? I've heard to put a drop of the scent directly on each swab or put a drop on a cotton ball and put the cotton ball and new swabs in a container for 24 hours. Which method do you think is best? Thanks.

Hello, I have a two year old Belgian Malinois that I'm currently in the process of training. My only problem is that I literally can't keep him unsupervised without him getting into trouble. My yard is fenced in and I have to make sure there is nothing he can destroy when he goes outside. A table, chairs, etc. Because of this, I have to keep him in a crate when I'm not home or even when I leave the house just for a few minutes which makes me feel like a bad pet owner. So far, nothi...

I have a 9 week old male Belgian Malinois and have had him for 10 days. We have purchased the Leerburg DVD Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. That DVD recommends that young puppies are on lead with a harness (not a no pull) instead of a control collar. We are having a problem with this. The puppy, Eli, has learned to lie down in order to avoid following the lead and given the chance, he will grab the leash in his mouth without ever getting up. As a result, we are having a difficult time co...

I have purchased the "The Foundation of Nosework with Andrew Ramsey DVD" and have been working my 5 month Malinois on it for a few weeks now. He has been doing great on the first few steps. 1.Using 3 drawers open using nose to find food. 2.Then using the second step of letting him self reward after the drawers are closed and the scent has been added. *Note: He will quickly find the target drawer and begin to scratch, usually only one time then I pop it open for him to self reward. *no...

Ed, Almost a year ago you provide some suggestions on me dealing with my leash reactive dog while on walks showing signs of whining/stress when seeing other dogs. I watched your "Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs" DVD, and could say that my dog is dominant and aggressive to some degree. Yet very trainable, and good at obedient skills. In your DVD, you have a session in which you provided strong corrections to a dog you are walking near a fence with other dogs (high distraction). T...

I have a two year old Havanese. I have a few titles on him, but have problems with him staying with me off lead in the ring. Suggestions and when we are out side, he will not come to me. I need to put a leash on him at all times. Help!!! Thank you

I recently bought Michael's DVD on teaching the retrieve. She's all about retrieving, but she chews on the dumbbell. I switched to the PVC pipe like Michael suggested in the DVD. I've been working with her for two weeks using the PVC pipe and I'm not seeing any change in the chewing. I've tried reinforcing the hold by giving the command again and using my hand under her chin to hold her head up. She still continues to move it around in her mouth. Also, she's a maniac when she runs out to retr...

Hello, I have a question regarding marker training and feral dogs. Do you think marker training can be used in rehabilitating extremely afraid feral dogs? Thank you!?