MEMBER QUESTIONS 11-12-21

Lupe

I have a 14 month old dog. We walk and run on the greenbelt. The width of the path is about 10’. I have a 6’ long leash. We do a loose leash walk or run. When an oncoming dog approaches he no longer hears what I’m saying, his stride increases, his tail is up and he’s evaluating the other dog. He does not bark. Once we’ve passed he falls back towards my side with minimal correction. Sometimes, he even starts walking on the unpaved portion of the green belt until the dog has passes. Pls help. 🙂

Rawad

Hello Robert , please can you advise how I can get an online dog trainer certification? And is the ISCDT a good choice for it? Waiting for your kind reply.

Michelle

Hi Robert. I met with a trainer last week to work with Kai, my 8 month old GSD on some dog reactivity and fine tuning some obedience work. She mentioned that she thinks Kai could be a good candidate for protection work, due to his drives, temperament and eagerness to learn. I never really considered protection work much before. He’s my first GSD and this would definitely be my first protection training. We also have a 6 year old son at home. Any thoughts or suggestions as I consider this?

Andrew

My German Shepherd’s reactivity has significantly improved, however she is still reactive to dogs that are within about a 10 foot radius of her. I’m having trouble closing this gap, and I don’t have a decoy dog where I can work with her in a controlled environment. Her reactivity also gets worse when the other dog is also reacting towards her. How can I fix this?

Christina W

I just moved into an area where some owners walk dogs off leash. I’ve worked with my Bandog, APBT and Amstaff extensively on leash-training and I only walk two at a time. Recently a dog ran up to us growling but I was able to deter the dog. On walks I’m always on high alert to the point where it’s completely unenjoyable. I’m an experienced handler but I’m worried about a dog approaching us and I can’t de-escalate the situation in time. Any advice on how I can make walks less stressful? Thank you!

Amanda

Getting out of the car today a neighbor’s dog ran up to my 1.5 year old Boerboel and attacked her. The owner was unable to control her dog so I stepped in, grabbed the dog by its scruff and subdued it and got my dog into obedience, which she did immediately. Once I was sure the neighbor had a good hold of her (unleashed) mutt I got my girl to safety. She wasn’t badly hurt the other dog made a big mistake! When we got home I played tug, praised her and gave her a treat. Did I do that right?

Nick

Hey Robert, I have a question in training my 15 month English Cocker. He is so motivated to do sit, stay, come, down and the place command, when he sees that I have treats to give him once he executes the command. He’ll do almost anything for food. However, now I’m trying to get him to execute the commands without treats with the same energy and attention. Any suggestions on how to wean him off the treats to execute commands. Thanks so much!!

Anita

My 7 mth Giant Schnauzer always pees when someone touches him. He doesn’t do it with me or 7 yr daughter but does it with husband and 18 yr old son only when they come home after being away all day. I instruct them to ignore pup upon arrival which has worked. I thought my pup would outgrow this excited pee but he hasn’t. I don’t let my dog near other dogs or people but sometimes people come up uninvited and ask to pet him. He pees out of excitement not fear or submission. How do I stop this?

Yelena

Dear Robert, is this a normal GSD behavior?

He is often lying in front of the entrance door inside the house where you can look into the garden but not see everything exactly because the door has a privacy screen – as soon as he notices that something unknown is moving or enter our garden he barks very worriedly. When he realizes that it is a familiar person, he stops. If he is lying in the garden and people walk past the fence, he more or less doesn’t care (except for dogs, postman, etc.)

Grace

Hi Robert. As I am waiting for GSD puppy in February 2022, I have started to train my current dog Jack Russell female 3 years old with crate, recall, heel. My Jack Russell has never been very active, very social but very content and happy dog with people she knows & dogs she knows. But at home, she only listens to my husband and almost never want to do anything with rest of family members. Question is what training can I do to change this? Grace from France

Kirsten

What is the best collar? I have a rescue 3 year old staffi and I was using the martingale but the silver is discolouring her white chest and I have a suspicion it makes her scratch – any recommendations? As well, best leash for training?

Scott

Hi Robert, I have an issue walking my 6 year old Catahoula when he spots other dogs, primarily small breeds. I immediately turn to walk in a different direction but he will ignore me, pull on the leash and get in front of me when I’m doubling him away. I always look out for other dogs and walk him on the other side of the street if I spot one, to maintain distance, but if he sees it first he starts barking, stops focusing on me, and starts lunging. What is the best way to handle this? Thanks!

PJ

How can I tell people that come over that my pup doesn’t need their interaction yet? I give him plenty of excercise and he was responding really well when in training mode but is a nuisance when people come over. He is perfectly happy to sit in his crate. They say it is cruel and urge me to bring him out. They say, “He’s just a puppy ” (My dog has better manners than my family )

Jake O

Hi Robert, We are currently going through a bad time in our training. My 22 month old GSD is not preforming to how I know he can at all. He’s not active, he’s slow, and his ears are down when working for food/meal. We’ve gone through times before and I would usually put him away and not feed him until his next meal. I know he’s not sick because he goes for a walk and plays ball normally. Do you have any other tips or do I need to just stay consistent with training? Thank you

Jon T

I have 2 dogs, Lobo a 1 year old Airedale Terrier and Sniffy a 6 Month old Australian Cattledog/Treeing Walker mix. Recently Lobo has started growling and nipping at Sniffy when he approaches his food. He gets so caught up that he won’t even eat it; he just guards it. To date there has been no aggression towards people. I do not want it to progress. I have currently reverted back to only feeding in the Crates or out of my hand. Does this need to be the new normal or is there a solution? Thanks!

Michael G

Hi. Robert, I have a Akc 6 month old German Shepherd. Ive put her in early training classes at 3 1/2 months old but haven’t since. Seems like she’s forgotten most training. Should I start from the beginning in retraining?

Kyle

In the next few months I will be acquiring a new puppy which is a working line Aussie. The dogs from this kennel are on raw at 8 weeks old already. I am familiar with raw as I feed it to my older dogs however I have not had a puppy on raw before.

My question is whether or not I should keep the dog on the raw diet or switch it to kibble for the first few months. I enjoy the ease of kibble for training purposes and don’t want to pump the dog full of high calorie treats.

I am looking for some advice on the above or suggestions about what to use if kept on the raw diet.

Real Members – Real Success

OVER

0 +
happy dogs and owners