Puppy Training Q&As

Hi Cindy, I hope you are well. I cannot find anything that specifically addresses this question, so I am reaching out. Puppy socialization classes: specifically, a local trainer has classes where puppies, grouped roughly by age, are placed together to "socialize." Do you/Leerburg recommend this sort of class? Thank you!

Hi, I purchased the Power of Playing Tug DVD and it has helped me a lot especially on the out as I didn’t have one prior to watching. My dog has a high drive for the tug, bites well in any position, outs ( most of the time !! ), will do obedience and heel work for it, brings it straight back when I throw it but if I let him have it from tugging without throwing he gets possessive….. any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated. Thank you

Hi Cindy, Our trainer recommended we use a prong collar on our 4-month-old German Shepherd puppy. In her assessment, she said the puppy did not respond to leash pressure with neither a flat collar or a martingale collar. So a prong collar will make sure we get her attention during our walk outside. We are concerned that it might be too early to introduce it to her that it would shut her down in her decision-making. We tried walking our puppy with a flat collar with some success when the...

Hey Cindy, hope you are doing well. I have a (almost) 11 week old GSD pup and wanted to know when to implement the recall training in Michael Ellis's "Raising Your Puppy" videos. We have house and crate training taken care of and I am playing tug with her, that she enjoys. I just wanted to get an idea of when we should start the recall training. Thanks Cindy!

Why is it that my pup will follow me willingly without a leash or long line? Once I attached a line or leash he’ll stop in his tracks. I’ve owned many dogs over the years, and this seems to be the case with all. At least until formal training begins Thank you in advance for your response.

Hi Cindy, we will be bringing an 8-week old Boxer puppy into our family (pet dog) in about a month. We’ve started ordering supplies-crates, toys, equipment-but have a question about the actual trip, which will be a 3-4-hour drive. My understanding is that the safest transport would be in an airline-style crate (which we will have) but it’s a full size-we just plan on putting a large box or something to prevent it from being a pee station until the puppy is bigger. What’s your advice for...

Hi Cindy - I'm rewatching Ed's DVD on your puppy 8 weeks to 12 months - and have a question on how far I should be walking our 10 week old German Shepherd puppy. She loves to walk but I see we shouldn't over do it. Just a general idea - a couple of blocks, 1/2 mile? Thanks in advance

I have pick of the litter male German Shepherd. Using your training techniques with streaming. Still having bad habits and getting worse. Daily training by me, leashed but free time, no responses to No, Come, and runs, bites, etc. Basically incorrigible and I’m pretty firm and had breed in the past. Is he too young for E-Collar? I’ve been watching your free videos on the collars. Advice?

Hi. Will the information in the Puppy bitework dvd apply to non-protection breed/sport puppies? I just want to learn how to properly start playing tug with puppies.

Hi Leerburg. I have watched Leerburg videos on Youtube and also bought the DVD Raising your puppy with Michael Ellis. I get my German Shepherd puppy home in about 4 weeks. I have a question about when Michael talks about not letting the puppy be too focused on something that happens in the surroundings, Like other dogs, or a cat, or people. But the puppy must be allowed to be curious and at the same time be allowed to look. Where should you set the limit? I understand that I should not le...

Hi Cindy, I have a 5 mo. old German Shepard puppy I've had since he was 8 weeks old. I have an 8 lb Yorkipoo & a labradoodle. I haven't been able to introduce him to my Yorkipoo because all he wants to do is paw her and mouth her to play and she's too little so we keep them apart. My question is how do I introduce them? He really wants to get to know her but he's too rough. Thank you

Hello, I want to start off by saying I thank you all so much for all the training content you all give to dog enthusiasts like myself. I went to college at UW Eau Claire and heard about your website through the grapevine and have been hooked ever since. I have a quick question regarding raising a puppy. My wife and I are both teachers and work full days. We are getting a puppy mid July and will be starting school come September. I was wondering at what point (with diligent crate traini...

Hi Cindy, I have an 8month old female Belgian Malinois. When I take her out of her crate to go outside, as I go to put on her harness or lead she jumps around and sometimes mouths my hands. I would like your advice on how to best handle this situation and if I need to put a slip collar on before she gets out of her crate? Thank you in advance :)

Good Evening, I have a 10-week-old GSD that is a bit nervy with car rides. He has exhibited very solid nerves with most other things, so I am thinking it is because he experienced a traumatic experience when he got severely car sick on the two hour ride home (crated) from when I picked him up at 8-weeks. He will get in the car but it is with slight hesitation and he only starts to relax when he is laying on my someone's lap. I have not tried using a crate again as I felt it would makes ...

Hi Cindy, Hope you are well. Our 11 month German shepherd has been doing great w/Schutzhund and practically every area of life. However, when we go to our family’s houses (my parents/my wife’s parents) he gets really whiney and excited, and kind of begs for petting from them. We don’t like this behavior, and want to discourage it. How can we work on this? We do not let anyone pet him except close family (i.e. parents/siblings), but are considering asking them to stop as well, and ig...

I’m trying to get my 12-week-old Aussie puppy to focus on me using Michael Ellis’ methods. I want us to have a good relationship. The problem is, she is tepid about me but she ADORES my older Aussie. I started keeping them separate at all times (which is hard) but whenever she’s out of her crate, the puppy goes straight for the big one. And when they are together in person, they are relentless players. The puppy shows ten times the enthusiasm for the old dog and she does for me despite ...

Hi Cindy, I have an 8 week old purebred German Shepherd puppy. We've had the puppy for almost a week now and he is pretty OK to spend time playing in his ex-pen when he is inside and not on leash (this is usually after we have been playing outside for a while trying to blow off some steam). Usually for a minute or two when he is first put in the ex-pen he will have a bit of a short tantrum before flopping down and taking a nap or chewing one of his toys. We try to ignore him and not give him...

Hello! I love your videos and guidance. I do have a question though. My 14 week old Boston Terrier puppy ONLY jumps on my two year old nephew, and in her excitement, she scratches. It is hard to train her out of this because we see my nephew only every few weeks. I know we don’t use positive punishments, but in the moment she’s jumping, what can I do? I don’t want to put her on a leash and pull the leash and make her leash shy (we rarely use the leash and so she doesn’t have enough po...

Hi Cindy, I have a 5 mo. old German shepherd puppy I've had since he was 8 weeks old. I have an 8 lb yorkipoo & a labradoodle. I haven't been able to introduce him to my Yorkipoo because all he wants to do is paw her and mouth her to play and she's too little so we keep them apart. My question is how do I introduce them? He really wants to get to know her but he's too rough. Thank you

when training my puppy what are some of the best training treats?