Puppy Training Q&As

Hi Cindy, I have many of your videos including "playing tug." My 3 1/2 month pup and I are playing tug. This has went along pretty good at first, but now he wants to lay down as we play. To counter this I move the tug toward him and up as to not push the tug back into his mouth. The forward pressure gets him back on his feet, but when I start pulling away from him he will lay back down and try to hold onto the tug. Is this a problem at this stage and if so what should I do. Thank you

Hi Ed and Cindy, I read your article on why not to get two puppies. Very informative. Unfortunately I have done this. I got one puppy first, waited until he (male) was 6 months, and then adopted an almost 3 month old puppy (female). They are both maltese/yorkshire terrier mixes. Almost everyone I talked to said this would be a good idea. I was wondering if you had any extra tips as they are not the exact age and not from the same litter or parents. You mentioned in the article to never lea...

Hi Cindy, Trust you are doing well. I need your help, Cindy. I attached a video of a puppy. This is the puppy the breeder selected for me. He is 8 weeks old in this video. Can you give me your honest opinion? This really is a big step for me and this will be the first Dutch Shepherd in my country. According to me, the dog shows a lack of drive or interest in the bite work. The breeder reckons he is independent and will be a slow maturer. Whatever that means. Maybe his prey drive has...

I have a 3 month old professionally bred working line GSD. She is high drive with a tenacity to learn. I have both 8 weeks to 8 months and Working Puppy. While both videos are extremely helpful I still have 2 questions. 1. We have "conquered" ankle and pant leg biting and work relentlessly on redirecting with hand biting. Little progress has been made there - but it is the lunging at the face that concerns me most. Once she begins the lunging it does not quit until I leave. She wears a lea...

Hi Cindy, When I am sure my puppy knows a command and he does it 99 times when I tell him, but refuse to the 100th time, do I give a negative marker(NO) or do I just repeat the command and lure him into a sit? This puppy of mine knows exactly what a sit is but sometimes he looks at me with those "what are you talking about" eyes. Thanks

Hi Cindy, I just brought home an 8 week old F Belgian Malinois. I have 2 other dogs. A 3.5 year old F Rottweiler and a 5.5 year old M Boston Terrier, and so I'm pretty familiar with how to raise a pup. But it seems that the Malinois pup is a bit more challenging when it comes to the crate. I've had her for 2 days and 2 nights. She goes in voluntarily and comfortably in and out of the crate, when the door is left open, but once it closes, she goes on a high pitch barking/whining/crying t...

I have a question regarding training your pup to walk on a leash. I have an 11 week old Boston Terrier who as he gets comfortable and settles in (almost 2 weeks now), his stubbornness is starting to shine more and more. There are many mixed ideas on puppies who refuse to walk on the lead. (Not pulling on the lead but digging in as best he can and pulling back, refusing to walk forward). From treat coaxing (doesn't work with my guy) to running with him (also does not work) to just pullin...

I have a 9 week old black lab male. I've had him for about 17 days. He's being crate trained and has been doing great. I've had several people tell me he's far too young to take out for walks, and that I should wait until he's at least 12 weeks old. And even then, no more than 15 minutes at a time. Do you agree with this?

I have a 13 week puppy, mom was a golden doodle, dad was husky. He sleeps in a crate all night and has been better about being able to hold it from 10pm-7am, sometimes will bark between 2-4 to poop. I put him in his crate a couple of times a day just so he knows it's not a bad place to be. From the beginning we taught him to ring the bell to go out. Sometimes, like tonight he will ring the bell, I take him out, he goes poop. Sometimes he will poop or pee right in front of me, I yell "No! not ...

Hi, I have a 4 month old GS puppy that since 8 weeks, has been eating his poop. We follow him and clean up, but sometimes he gets some we didnt find. I feed him Blue Buffalo, and give him GNC brand No Poop pills. He seems to have a sensitive stomach, as I changed high value treats to your red barn and he gets diarrhea. For this reason, I am hesitant to change food. Thanks, Melissa

Hi Cindy, I love your training principles, eBooks, podcasts and videos. I have encountered a couple of contradictions in the material. Mostly with meeting people and playing with toys. Are the rules less strict for non-working, non-agressive dogs? I'm trying to develop a training plan for a medium family dog (30-40 lbs) and I just want to make sure I'm doing a good job without overdoing it. Thanks Cindy, Matt

I have an eleven month old German Shepherd female that chews everything imaginable in our yard and now has an obstruction. What kind of muzzle can I get to stop her from chewing?

I will be bringing home a puppy at the end of April. She is a merle Great Dane. I want to crate train as we did our last dog (Rott / Mastiff). However, I have a bit of a concern that I might not always be able to break up the day with a trip home to break up his period in the crate. Do you have suggestions? I will do everything I can to make it home to give him a 4/5 hour window in the crate, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Robert

I have a 15 week Chihuahua/Jack Russell. I have tried consistenly to paper train. I place him on the paper every time I catch him toileting over my floors. I love him and don't want to let him go but I have had 8 weeks of almost hell. Please, can you help?

I currently have a 1 year old Dachshund mix that I just adopted about 2 weeks ago. She knows to go outside and pee and when she pees or poops I praise her and say good job and she gets a treat when she comes in. The problem I am having is, it seems like she will hold her pee until the next time to go out if she has to pee but if she has to poop she just goes. The vet checked her out and said she is healthy and everything seems fine. I can?t make her understand that potty is for outside only. ...

I have a 3.8 pound Morkie. She will be 7 months on the 23rd. She is a good dog. Lot's of personality but...the housebreaking has been a nightmare. I started crate training her and she was peeing in the kennel at night even though I walked her during the night. Then she stopped doing this and recently started again. She was kept in the crate during the day and walked once sometimes twice a day until I got home at 3:30. But she has always had accidents in the house no matter how many times I wa...

My 9-month-old Cavalier King Charles has been eliminating outside successfully for the past two months. He rings the doggie bells we have on our door or barks when he needs to eliminate and he generally defecates at the same time (morning and before bed) everyday. Recently, after we took him outside to play, when he came back into the house, he defecated on our carpet (this was mid-afternoon, and we had not changed his feeding schedule). He gave no signal that he had to go out - no bell ringi...

I have an 8 month gsp. I trained him fully on papers. He holds it in all night. I am frustrated and I walk him, he refuses to make outside... any tips? Should I not put down the papers... Your Q&A page was not working properly. I need some help so the gsp can be fully housebroken to go outside. I am one step into sending him to a foster home for adoption. My gsp has the makes on a good family dog. Need help. Thanks, Anna

Hello, I've recently adopted an adult male rescue dog (4-yr old-Dachshund) who I'm told was turned in most likely by a local breeder. I currently have a 3.5-yr-old female Dachshund. The new addition is very sweet and submissive, but seems to have had no housebreaking (or anything else) taught to him. He pees everywhere in the house, and will occasionally poop in the house as well. I've read about your isolation method, which appeals to me. Is this the right path, and if so, what's next...

Our new dashound mix 7 month old puppy will bite my husband's legs when we put the kids to bed. Only when it's his turn to tuck them in, he does this. Will not do it to me. Why and how can I fix this? Trying to search the web for answers, but not coming up with anything for this. Thanks a bunch if you can help.