David C
We were given a new English Pointer and he is pretty much crate trained. My wife does not want him to sleep in the crate even though I think it is a must. She leaves him out at night against my wishes and he poops in the house. I am very frustrated and will not continue this behavior. How can I stop this behavior? The people who gave him to us kept in the crate about 10 to 12 hours a day. What can I do? He was 6 months old and we’ve had him about 4 weeks.
Brian
Hello Robert – I have been focusing on walking nicely on a leash with my 2 year old Doberman over the last few months. She’s good when there are no distractions but it’s still a work in progress around distractions. We change direction and vary pace on a longe line for practice. I would like to begin running with her and am looking for advice. Changing direction is more difficult while running. I’m wondering if stopping and applying pressure to the leash until she is standing even with me any time her head is more than a few feet in front of me might work. Thanks in advance.
Michael
Hello Robert,
My 6 months Old malinois is eating everything
He eats a variety of things like rags from the kitchen, socks, or sticks outside. Yesterday he puked out 2 rags and today 1 sock. I’m afraid for his health.
I wonder if it is due to hunger? He is already getting 1300kcal a day and I am thinking about implementing 1600kcal daily food intake.
Im doing obedience training with him and all is going pretty well, he’s learning fast and we have a great time, just this one thing, that he’s eating a lot of stuff.
Can you please share some advice if it’s the amount of food or bad behavior
Doris G
I watch your videos and one thing you say really worries me I am 72 always wanted a GSD I was given one her age was 7 mo. She is now 13mo. You say that the elderly may be at risk do you think for my safety I should remove her . She seems to love me and I love her your input very inspiring to me
Amanda C
What should I do with my high Drive puppy in between little training sessions, crate training and feeding her? I play tug with her and she also plays with my other dog. Is it OK to have some time each day that is not as structured? Even though she is pretty crazy during these times?
Emily
I watched one of your youtube videos and u had mentioned laser chasing. I was unaware this was a negative thing as the pet store sells laser. Can you explain why i shouldn’t have done this? i did it to help my mal get more exercise, i had no idea it was wrong.
Axel
In the Netherlands, the use of stim-based e-collars is a felony. What is your opinion about vibrate-only e-collars as an alternative for off leash obedience?
Nick
Hey Robert, I have a 16 month English Cocker. I’ve been a member for almost 2 years. He just passed his CGC test THANKS to all your training advice (videos, Q & As, etc.)! He’s doing great w obedience too. My question now is how to solve in-house problems such as barking and counter surfing. I’ve seen advertisements for an “Ultrasonic and Anti Barking device” that sells for $30. Would this tool be safe and effective in stopping Archie counter surfing and barking at outside sounds at times? I know it’s probably not as good as a barking collar or e/collar. Please let me know-Thanks!!
oldSAP Charlie
Hi Robert and Janet. I’m currently helping friends train their dogs and I’m certainly not an expert on this. Last session I’ve been nipped by a Mal I’m training because I didn’t read him well and the owner didn’t fully disclose that the dog has some insecurity issues. Would pre-exposure rabies vaccine help in the future? How long is the efficacy? Do I need booster shots every time I get bitten even after I get vaxxed? Doctors from where I am doesn’t seem to have the same opinion on this. I thought you’d have an idea because you work in shelters. Thank you and God bless both of you.
Kelly
Josie is a 2 yr old Mal. She is off leash trained until the fedex truck came up my driveway. Her collar was off and we were in the house. I opened the door to get something off the porch and she ran out after the truck before I could even give her a command she was at the truck trying to bite the tire. Driver had no way of seeing her and she broke her leg. I’m afraid now that she is healed to trust her again. Any advice on curbing her fixation on moving things? Sometimes she reacts and tries to bite the tires on my tractor also. I’ve basically corrected that but nervous now w off leash.
Sarah
I’ve a 2.5yr working Mali – Should I neuter? He has a great nature, bu has (seemingly) clear hormonal fluctuations. He will have days/weeks where he is more likely to seek out pee to lick it excessively, gets more fixated on other dogs, is more likely to have other dogs react to him and days where he is more interested in going for himself or licking my other dogs (female) genitals. He becomes clearly more distracted/less focussed, then he calms down again for a few weeks. Found no other correlation to these behaviours (exercise, stimulation etc). Also do mondio with him, but not seriously.
Tristan
Hey Robert, my 2 y/o Mal, Loki is the perfect dog minus his problem with fear aggression. I’m not sure what the root cause is because my girlfriend and I have never done anything to provoke fear, but he is sometimes aversive to touch (particularly at night). This morning he was having a bad dream and my girlfriend pet him to comfort him and scared him, resulting in a bad finger bite. I’m determined to solve this. He is otherwise healthy. Any general tips for desensitizing him a bit? Planned to slowly increase touch while rewarding high value treats for appropriate neutral responses from him.
Lisa
An elderly female boxer died recently. The younger, male Doberman in the home is now acting as if it’s depressed. Owner is giving Doberman extra attention. Will the extra attention reinforce the depressed behavior? What does the dog need from its owner? Thank you.
Lois H
Hi Janet and Robert, I may be over-thinking this, but Jack and I are still having an issue with walking Maggie on leash. She is always way ahead and still lunges towards dogs. She now ignores humans though. Today in the desert I realized she never walks near me and stays way ahead and always on alert. Could she simply be in protection mode when we walk her on leash like she is with me alone in the desert? Is there anyway to adjust this? Thank You.
Jamie
Allie is a 2 year old, female GSD/Belgian Malinois, she is wonderful. Echo 1.5 year old, male GSD, super sweet. Every day I get home from work they seem to be overly excited, jumping, growling, playing rough with one another and jumping on me when I waltk through the door. How can I get them to calm down once I enter the house. Also sometimes when I give Echo a comand to go outside, Echo will try to mouth my hand or when we tell him “Off” the couch he will try to mouth at us when we remove him from the couch. He has never bit anyone but I expect for them to listen to commands. Any advice?
David C
Recently asked about a new pet, he IA an English short hair pointer. I lost my black German Shepherd about 2 months ago due to a tumor threw in his stomach and punctured several organs. He was 10 months old. The breeder has another Black GSD I will be picking up January 3rd. Are these 2 going to get along when I properly introduce them into my home?
Andy R
Do you have 2 commands for “heel”? I’ve noticed Goofy does his competition heel when you say “Fuss”. Do you have a separate command for just a standard heel? Thanks!
Amir
I unfortunately taught my mal pup to sit before going down before I discovered your videos. Now he struggles to go straight down and has a very sloppy down where his legs are out to one side. I’ve tried fixing this with luring but he automatically rolls over as soon as his forearms his the ground. How can I fix this? Could you please consider making a short video on how to fix a dog’s sloppy down? Thanks for always being in our corner!
Jack
Howdy, Robert & Janet!
Our 5 month-old Border Terrier is doing fairly well at home with basic commands in a low distraction environment. We’ve started taking a basic obedience class in a loud indoor hall with 8 other dogs of various ages and temperaments. In this environment, she is highly distracted. She tends to whine and offer non-specific behaviors to commands she knows, e.g. a down for a sit.
We think the exposure to other people and dogs is helpful, but are concerned that we are undoing some of her training. Is such a class more harm than help?
Thanks, Jack!
