Obviously when you're the primary trainer (and the one carrying treats around all the time), the puppy is going to see you as the one in charge. So what about the spouse who wants to have a good relationship with said puppy, and wants to be able to be a part of it's life, AND wants to be able to have to the puppy 'leave it' when the puppy chomps down on his foot?

If you aren't the primary trainer, especially with marker training, then can there be a secondary person who the puppy will also 'obey' without them having to spend a lot of time training? My husband is at work all day and only sees Lundy for a few hours a day and weekends. I've heard Ed and Cindy in one of their videos, say that they don't let anyone else train their dog - only one trainer per dog. So how does Ed get Cindy's dog to listen to him?

One trainer per dog but once the dog is trained then the spouse or whom ever should be guided by the first one to train.

That works for ME and MY family.

None of my dogs have ever had issues obeying my wife or kids but I don't think it would work as well for them to handle any of the dogs in competition.

Competition is a whole different level from basic manners commands and expectations although both my daughters were showing in the breed ring by the time they were 10-12 yrs old.

My now 12 1/2 yr old, retired competition dog responds better to my 10 yr old grandson then anyone but me.

Grandson has been doggy since he was in diapers and just seemed to take command while following me around in the yard and taking dog walks in the parks.

So for instance, tonight it was 8pm and not quite the time we put Lundy to bed for the night. Lundy and I are in the kitchen playing and he's on the excitable side cause it's the end of the day - Dan walks into the room and Lundy immediately starts jumping on him and biting his feet. Should I be the one who deals with Lundy, or Dan? Dan admittedly yells 'hey' and 'leave it' in more of a complaining voice than a command voice, and Lundy doesn't pay any attention. If i tell him to leave it and have him sit, he will usually do it. But I'm not always around.

So what does the spouse do when the 12 week old puppy won't listen and I'm not there? Maybe just leave the room? or try to deal with it? (Dan sees me training and knows a tad - like he'll take treats and do Lundy come with him, but he's not really training).

Any pup will quickly figure out who and what they can get away with pretty quickly.

Can you talk with hubby and get him to understand what the pup needs in order to respond?

Hopefully convince hubby o use a command voice and not a complaining voice.

His Lundy "come" will eventually become a bibe WITH HUBBY, not you.



One thing I see is hubby walks in the room "but I'm not always around.

This pup is way to young to be allowed to be in the house unsupervised.

IF you at home then tether Lundy to you or crate him If you can't always be there to supervise.

No, the pup is NEVER unsupervised outside the crate. It can happen that he can be in the kitchen and I leave to go shower or something and just leave Lundy there because I know Dan is going to enter the room and watch Him while I'm busy. We always make sure one of us is with him when he's in the kitchen.

Hi Lori, I had similar problems like you in the beginning and sometimes even now.

My husband doesn't train
our dogs and so it happens, that they don't respect the commands he gives, even if he uses the same ones as I. He also has then the tendency to shout at them.

Interestingly they obey, when he uses a command consistently. For example: Our dogs are not allowed to enter the house (My husband suffers from an allergy). When they were puppies, they of course tried quite often to enter.

But then when he was around he gave them immediately the command to go outside as I of course did too. Today they obey him to this command (almost) perfectly.In fact in between they don't even try to enter, even when the door is wide open.

While you're taking a shower and Dan is with the dog, Lundy is not really supervised, as long as the dog has not been able to learn, that Dan's command will come with certainty.

Dogs are very smart and I think Lundy would even obey, if Dan used a different command, but with the same firmness and consequence as you.

In other situations our dogs don't listen to my husbands commands, because they know sometimes he reacts like this, sometimes like this.

By the way, I'd follow Bob's advices. If I remember correctly, it was him who gave them to me too.

If I did not say it earlier, thanks a lot Bob! You know exactly about what you are speaking and helped me so much with your knowledge.

Consistency, firmness and fairness!

Convince hubby to think about these three things and things can go much better.

Even if he's not a trainer just a few commands and the above three words can build into well mannered dog.

Christina, that's what this form is all about.

We learn from one another.

Thanks Bob,for all the time and effort you put into this forum for others! Tonight was a lot better with hubby and Lundy. We talked when he got home and he put those things into action and Lundy listened a lot more. One of hubby's problems is that he gets up at 5 and goes to work all day so when he gets home he's tired - puppies sense easy prey! But Lundy has been here a month now and I've been working with him every day and he's come really far for 12 weeks - he loves marker training and is willing to learn anything.

We owe it all to this forum and the teaching of others for the past 8 years!

" puppies sense easy prey!"

Gotta love it!

Congrats Lori! Often a good talk at the right moment can change so much.

Bob, absolutely, that's what this form is all about. That's why I'm here quite regularly. We get advices, mental support, frank but motivating critics. It is a treasure vault without exaggeration!