Puppy Training Q&As

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?

Hi Cindy. Thanks for your videos. Exceptional! I have two questions: I'm trying to determine if there is any distinction between a "leave it" command versus a "yuck" command. I've done some cursory research, but there is divergent information from sources that do not adhere to marker-based reward training. I trained my last Shepherd with "leave it" as a universal command to, well, leave it. So, is there a difference? Also, I was watching your video training Maru to swim, and I noticed ...

My puppy just turned 9 weeks old and she has recently started barking and trying to bite at my legs. I can't decide what it is she's is wanting. It can happen at times when we are doing something she doesn't want to do, like walking away from something she was trying to eat. (which is everything outside). My response is to stand and tell her nope and if she continues I will put her either in her crate or expen. I've also been trying to direct her to playing tug, which she will do some but not...

Thank you so much for taking the time to help, there is so much information I feel like I'm drinking from a fire hydrant. What is the best way to travel with the dog? We have van so a crate would fit just fine in the back of it. I've also seen straps that buckle to the seat belt and clip to the dog's collar but I was kinda of leary about that, maybe when the dog is much older? Also, do you suggest a harness or a collar to start with? I'm leaning towards the slip collar you sell to start.

I have had my rotty male puppy for 1 week now. He is 9 weeks old. His puppy biting is getting more vigorous and when you try and calm him down he comes back even harder. To me he is showing a lot of prey drive but how do you think I should control this biting. Will most probably do Schutzhund with him. Over the years I have purchased dog tugs, etc from Leerburg which I still have. At night around 6 pm is when he gets out of hand. I redirect which works but then he gets fixated on bare hands a...

Hi Cindy, I have a 4 month Rhodesian Ridgeback (45 lb) who wants to sniff everything on leash walks, on public sidewalks and on my own acreage. I walk him 3x per day (10 min) before meals, in addition to various potty breaks. He eliminates on his own property (not on walks) and I would like walks to be steady. I try to redirect him to me, mark and move, followed by a high value reward. Often times he is not pushing for the reward and prefers his nose to the ground but will otherwise redire...

Hi Cindy, we have spoken before. We are getting a Malinois puppy probably the first part of March. I am interested in ring sports, mainly mondioring. What characteristics should I look for when being first introduced to this or all puppies? Not all dogs are suited for this type of sport, thus my question.

Hi Cindy, I don't mean to keep bothering you but I am having some problem with my pup. 1) I use a comfort flex collar and British slip lead at night when I take him to the bathroom. He pulls so hard on the leash that he chokes himself, I can't get him to stop pulling. He's 11 weeks should I use a pinch collar now or wait? This dog is very head strong and determined to go and get whatever wants. 2) I have problems with him peeing in his pen. He's great at night and no issues in the...