Darya
I moved to a new flat, the neighbors have 2 small dogs, which are barking day and night, driving us both mad, indoors and out. The owners don’t care. they get let out while my 2.5yo Mal is out, they run at the picket fence yapping and chaos ensues. I end up having to grab mine and carry her in. We’ve tried training in the garden with and without the dogs, but as soon as they’re out, she’s off. Is it realistic for me to get my dog to the point that she no longer reacts, what’s the best approach?
Emil
My 3 mo old Malinois lacks food drive, making it harder to train him. Freeze-dried liver or ground beef treats sometimes work during training, but not enough to generate high focus. I was wondering if I must reduce his food intake (currently 3% of adult weight ~2lbs/day) or if this is normal for a puppy. He’s also picky-will not eat most organ meats unless they are cooked and sometimes won’t eat unless cooked rice is added. Don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Food was supposed to be easy for a Mal.
Terri R
After that last encounter. Use a heavy duty crate with door closed. Fortified with 2X4 at bottom. He chews on that. Instead of crate. Open door with Tokyo attached to crate, saves the crate. He does not mind the crate if we are there. He minds being left alone. He will pitch a fit. After awhile he does calm down. It is intermittent. We do not want to give him attention while he is pitching a fit. On hard mouth, husband and I corrected Tokyo when he was mouthy towards me. That helped.
Neal D
I started playing tug with my reactive yr old male Gsd during our walks. Miraculous results! It focuses his mind and all the bad energy and have walked past dogs who were so very close within 5-10ft away from us. Still being charged by the strays almost everyday but I have so much more control of him. He sometimes looks for the tug when we see a dog approaching. I have used it as redirection for the past month. Now I wish to use the tug as reward for him staying calm. How should I go abt it? TY.
Allie
My high drive dutchie has recently started getting slower while we’re working, more laid-back. Do you have any tips for building speed?
Sasha
Hello! My dog has become e-collar savvy. I know this can be a common occurrence but I would appreciate if you could add some insight into why this happens. If she is off her e collar and disobeys, I don’t necessarily want to hunt her down and discipline and maybe inadvertently create the “run away from mom” game, but she knows when it’s on and when it’s off for sure, and my firm “no” means nothing when it’s off. Does this just mean she’ll have to wear it constantly forever?
Angela
Do you have any tip on getting a 5 month old mal/gsd mix to drop mulch or leaves or toilet paper or whatever she got before I could get it away from her? I can get her to drop toys or tugs when we’re playing by using your “two toy” method, but when she gets something small that she knows I don’t want her to eat, she gets super aggressive if I try to get it out of her mouth (definitely drew blood last night, growling, etc) and that bite is strong if she’s mad… thx!
Julie
Hello Robert and Janet – can a dog be breed or color selective? A friend says her dog doesn’t like black dogs and another friend said hers doesn’t like greyhounds. Can dogs make that distinction? Thank you for all the great information-I watch and listen to your teachings everyday!
Hamid
Hello Robert, I have a 5 month old malinois, which does not react to strangers passing by or getting close and is often ok with being around people until they get too close. She usually just barks and walks around them. What is the best way to correct this behavior when a friend comes to your house? I am trying to get her used to people I let in not being a threat. I usually ask people to ignore her and let her sniff them. But she starts randomly barking every now and then. Thank you!
Deb
Tommy 2 yrs spaniel and can react to young males. Given the chance he will chase bark aggresivly. He can pass 100 dogs with nothing but then a young male ( especially black cocker) and he’s an idiot. If I see a young male nearby I will put him on lead and tell him to look at me and reward, if he fails I will correct. Should I correct as soon as he loads so he knows what the correction is for or always give an engagement command first. After initial outburst he can walk beside the same dog usualy
Riggan
With your advice, Lance has come a long way re putting things in his mouth (he wouldn’t take anything initially). He now happily chases a ball and will retrieve a variety of objects. He still will not chew a bone, though. I have tried frozen marrow bones and a variety of chew sticks (not rawhide) with no success. Any advice on teaching him it is OK to gnaw on these? It would help give him something to do in his crate or “hanging out” with us outside as well as help keep his teeth clean. Thanks!
Preston
I joined your site a week ago. Love it already. I tried to train my dog with positive only methods. Your methods, which seem 97% positive make so much more sense to me. Your background resonates with me, as I was an athlete and a trained martial artist and teacher. I just heard you say on your pod that training a dog is the same as training martial arts in terms of reading the other person & paying attention to cues. 100% true. Thanks a million, Preston
Stefan P
9 week old GSD Otis, progressing well with marker, luring, play. Restricted access to areas in the house. The problem we are facing is w/telling him no in a repeated fashion. Whether he is trying to bite clothes or knobs on drawers in the kitchen, I realize that the teething stimulation is natural. But when he gets going on one thing, we tell him no, and pull him away from the situation multiple times it seems to increase his agitation and make him want to escalate these behaviors.
Any tips?
Katie
Hi, My Golden Retriever is still quite nippy at 15 weeks and I”ve noticed that it is worsened by handling in certain ways. For example, if I try to dry his paws off, or if I grab by the collar to move him, control him, etc. Any thoughts on how to help in this area?
Wesley E
As a new dog trainer, infrequent dog sitter and having read the recent article on the young girl who was almost fatally mauled you shared on facebook, how do you access when it is safe to go into a house with one or more dogs. Even after you qualify the dogs and owners by screening questions, etc. Do you meet with/without owner and dog? Please advise. Thanks for all your wonderful content, I am making my way through it and just ordered some Sprenger collars off your site. Thanks, Wesley
Ben
In the dog’s mind, is there a different mentality between a sport dog biting a decoy and a police dog biting a criminal?
Amir
Hi Robert, Just for the knowledge if a reactive dog starts to load towards another dog and I make a change of direction or cross the street I do not actually reward him for the reactivity? How do I correct the dog for reactivity on walks so that he will connect the correction to the bad behavior and not to me? If I correct without a marker (“no”) then it is not better? Thanks
Andy
We have two malinois. We rehomed one of them when she was nine months old. Both are pandemic puppies and will be two years old this summer. I need some tips on socializing they’re very aggressive in the car and on a leash or is it too late??
QualityMike
Just watched a lesson with Buster, great info. 2+ yo Shelter dog show line Shepherd Nico. Very anxious. Very nervous. Sets all the dogs off when walking to and from kennel. Other than normal engagement training, any other tips. He is always looking over his shoulder, like he is going to be attacked. Behind any fence, seems very aggressive to other dogs. Thanks.–Mike
Kelly M
Hi Robert & Janet! I have a 3Mo GSD. Great in crate at night, because it’s in my room. I’ve been crating her for short periods during day for her to learn to be alone. I have been letting her cry it out, but was wondering if I should wait for her to fully settle or reward her for short periods of quiet? For example, she will be quiet for short periods (10-15 min) and then cry again so I have been continuing to wait until she stops, which can be a lot of these quiet/cry cycles.
Noah M
(2 year old male labradoodle) I have been doing e collar training for the past few months and it is going well. I’m trying to teach him heel with the goal of maintaining the heel off leash for long periods of time. I also want to be able have my dog off leash to heel when I’m biking. My dog rarely forges ahead, rather when I say heel he starts to fall behind. I believe that I have unintentionally created a negative association with being close to me. What should I do to advance our heeling?
Nick
In an obedience class, my 18th month English Cocker started training with off-leash heeling. He does fine on leash with heeling, Sit-stays, & down-stays from a distance. But as soon as I disconnect the leash, he once ran off to go potty on a grassy area a distance away. My dog knows immediately when I disconnect the leash that he’s able to run off, but if I use a long-line he knows he’s still on leash. Please suggest a way to train him not to run away when the leash is disconnected -thanks!
Woland
I’m a great fan of yours and Goofy 🙂 I’ve got a 12 weeks old Belgian malinois. How to teach young puppy to spit out thing from mouth? For example rocks or danger garbage from the street that I’ve no time to notice before he runs for it. We have already trying to learn “los” – something like “let it go”, but it wont work in minor frustration or with something tasty (but dangerous) from ground… Thanks for your help!
Grace G
Hi Robert, my JR Daisy ate something in the park and got very very sick. X-ray & blood test all done and she was on medication. she is better now. Due to this incident, I stopped the training. Malinois puppy is arriving and Daisy is not ready. how bad is this? What should I do?
Jaime G
Hi Robert , I just want to know if I will used gentle leader on my Amstaff on everyday walk because every time he is on gentle leader I can walk him confidently but once I take off the gentle leader he’s 0n 50/50 reactive. Is gentle leader has no side effect later on.
Pamela A
My 150 lb Cane Corso, Azai has been resource guarding his food since around 8 months old. It started with his father, who he bit over the food. I’ve had three different people to support me by coming in to feed/let him out due to my work schedule, he was resource guarding with them, no bite. He growled at me for the first time a couple days ago over the food. Prior to that I’ve always fed him with no problem. He now eats outside. I’m a single female in the home with him. I no longer trust.
Stacey
My dog has developed reactivity towards GSDs, she goes into a full on snarling frenzy even when GSD does nothing. She feels very threatened by them even when they ignore her. All different GSDs too. Never a bad interaction with one and she used to love them. She has one GSD friend she’s super playful with. Also, she is not dog reactive in general. She gets along well with all other dogs so I’m wondering if you have other insight or have heard of dogs being reactive towards specific breeds.
Lauren K
Hi Robert, I listened to your recent podcast with Tasha Mesina (good stuff!), and wanted you to expand on her opinion that Malinois aren’t great in a kennel — they thrive in family. I am currently in an IGP club that encourages lots of crating. I crate my 10 month Malinois every day for a minimum of 4 hours (even when I’m home), but she only just tolerates it. It is clear she would rather be with me, and she is supremely well behaved when supervised. What is your advice on a crate regiment for Mals?
Sabine
Hi Robert, Going back to my comment about having the e-collar purely as a safety belt on my dog now that she recalls well I’m wondering if dogs will remember how to respond correctly when the e-collar hasn’t been used for weeks/months? I’m incredibly happy that I don’t need to use the e-collar routinely but I’m worried that she might forget in an emergency if she does chase something in future and won’t recall to whistle alone? Or do they generally remember once taught? Thank you.
Melissa G
I adopted a 2 yr old lab mix! The foster parents let me know there are concerns w/vision at night. During the night the dog growls if someone enters the room & it is scary. If foster got up to use the restroom at night, she growls. I am taking my new dog to the vet next week to get her checked out. I’m assuming she had some type of incident in the past that has caused this fear/anxious growling. Do you have any suggestions for how to get through the night with an anxious dog like that?
Carrie B.
My 2 year old Mal gets SOOO excited to go to the pool to dive he LOSES his mind. I have tried everything I know to calm him down but have not been successful. He has slowed about 10% using his prong collar just to get in the door but it’s absolute chaos until I get him up on the dock and it’s exhausting not to mention embarrassing. All of his knowledge leaves his brain. I want to look at herding but cannot with him in that state. 🙁
Tod W
First Thank you so much. You are awesome. My Mal is 8 months old and doing GREAT in obedience. I have had 5 personal professional lessons. I am about to start level one of personal obedience training. The training even offered to take her with him to a camp he goes to in Utah and it is for trainers, I first clients dog they ever offered to take. The question, what age should I start her at. I didn’t let them take her. I want it to be about the dog and not the trainer, didn’t want her pushed to impress.
Julia
Hi, my dog is scared of small spaces, I can’t make her even enter the bathroom. In 2 month she must fly in cargo. I can’t imagine how she is gonna survive being in the crate. I removed the top part, so it is just a bottom half, and place her every day in it for half a minute. She freezes and doesn’t want to take treats or sit down or even come out. I placed her meat inside and she chose to starve for days. She won’t take food from near the crate either. Please help me, give me some ideas.
Julie
Hello-my friend has 2 golden doodles. Chewy 2yo and Copper 1yo. They get along great. In the last 2 wks Chewy will be asleep and if Copper happens to walk by and wakes him, he will snarl. He has also done this to his girlfriend. If Chewy falls asleep on her lap and she moves he has growled. If my friend wakes Chewy he sees it’s him and doesn’t growl. When the 2 dogs play there is no issues. If Copper is asleep Chewy will lay with him but won’t let the reverse happen. Any ideas to correct this?
Lois H
Maggie, my 1 1/2 yo GSD and I hike the desert every morning for a little over an hour. She is off leash and loves to smell things, like coyote droppings or carcass, trash from hikers, etc. Is there a way I could hide things for her to seek out as a challenge? Not food since the desert critters would find it overnight. If I was younger and we lived in the city I would definitely sign her up for Search and Rescue. If possible I’d like to do something similar with what we have available.
Karim S
Hello Robert, do you have any recommendations for teeth replacements on dogs? I have a Dutch Shepherd mix and I have to get her teeth clean and some replaced. I need help. 2 clinics just wanted my money. Long story. Hope to get her teeth cleaned and some replaced. She chipped some. Thank you.
Alex
Hello! I have asked about this topic before and you have given me helpful advice, so thank you! I have a hard time getting my 1 year-old dutchie to engage with me, she has a particularly hard shell. Something that was recommended to me was to keep her in her crate throughout the day and take her out for feedings/trainings and immediately put her back into her crate once that is finished so that she starts associating EVERYTHING she does with me. I’m hesitant, but is this a good approach?
Theo
Hi Robert, we will soon be bringing home a new beauceron pup, my dad has a 9 year old staffy who’s reactive to other dogs, which is the best way to introduce them? She is very good with puppies that she knows but it’s been a while since she interacted with one. We were thinking of bringing our pup to their house in a crate a couple of times a week just to let them get used to each other’s presence before introducing them, is this a good idea?
Mitch
Hi Robert, I have been training my Malinois outside the park where he is very distracted and is reactive to other dogs when he sees them. I’m trying to do basic obedience while other dogs are around the park which reward is best in this situation should be a toy or treat? And which correction tool is effective e-collar or choke chain? He’s background why he is reactive, its because while walking outside house couple of times dogs tries to run at him when he was a puppy that’s why he is reactive now
Didi Y
Hi Robert, my 7 month female GSD, at beginning of our walk, she likes to walk behind me, trying to walk in between my legs, and sometimes coming inside my coat, – does she try to stop the walk?? If I stop, she stops and sits besides me. Thanks!
Rich
Ellee is an almost 2 yr old lab/cane corso mix ( we think- she’s a Craigslist mutt, so who knows). She is great with people, kids, but recently has been aggressive when meeting new dogs on a leash. She seems to react to dogs her size(80 lbs) or bigger……..As a pup she was relatively submissive, but I’m afraid she is transitioning into a more aggressive dog and I don’t like it……..otherwise she is a great companion…..how do I correct this?
Sam B
My Ace is incredibly smart and has a basic understanding of sit, stay etc. From your videos I’ve learned that he’s very good with tug. He loves it. It came with him. But he doesn’t just use his mouth, he will plant his front feet on my chest hard. He does the same with his sleeve. I would like to have someone assess him, how do I find someone?
