Member Questions 3-25-22

GUY

How important is bite training for a Malinois to build confidence and a well balanced dog. My 10 month male has a weak bite. He latches solid but re-grips on the front. The advice is to get his teeth checked, just to rule out any issues. He is a family dog and has completed level 1 obedience, and started protection work. He is awesome! loves all in my house, even the cat. I want him to have that same composure with other dogs, people and new environments. Is bite training needed to achieve this?

Alexandra

Do you have any recommendations for tug balls? The ones I’ve used so far are either bad quality or rough on the hands. I’ve seen you use some in your videos so just wondering if they’re any better! Thank you

Rob

Hi Robert, I have a 4-year-old Mal, who has been unpredictable in social settings these past few months. As Covid restrictions have eased, my wife and I have been looking for ways to resocialize our Mal but have found her to be skittish with people of all shapes/ages/size as well as other dogs. Is this something you are seeing also with other dog owners or your own experience? IF so, what can we be doing to get her reacclimated with society, people, and dogs again?

Amanda

I adopted a 1 year old dog from the shelter on 2/21/22. 

We have a small house but, she has access to the living room only while home. She has been doing great with potty training & crate training. She will just go & lay in the crate when she wants to during the day. She goes all night sleeping in the crate without making a noise.  

I have been feeding her and giving enrichment toys in the crate. 

The issue is when we are both gone for a short period or a couple hours she poops in her cage.

Stacey Levin

Hi Robert- I have an 18 month old male English Labrador retriever. I have been training him using your system since he was eight weeks old. He is very good at basic obedience. We walk 5 to 7 miles a day on Hilton head South Carolina. He wants to chase deer. He is so strong I cannot hold him back so I let go of the leash when I call him he comes running right back to me very happy so all I can do is praise him. I use a prong collar and your Garmin E collar- I don’t know how to stop this.

Emil

Thanks for your advice. Following up on a prior question (3mo old Malinois): 

1. What is the min amount of time after barking stops to release the dog from the crate to avoid association with barking? 

2. Any good techniques to stop the pup from barking (esp in the crate), other than a bark collar? 

3. Are there any good reasons for not playing tug when the puppy is teething? 

Love your straightforward answers and how Janet brings to life the sometimes dry-ly typed, 500 character questions.

Scott

Hi Robert, I am planning on redoing our yard and was wondering if there was any type of artificial lawn that would not be too hot or abrasive to our dog. As always, thanks for your input.

Kyle L

Hi Robert. I rescued a roughly 2 year old Belgian Malinois about 5 months ago. I didn’t so much as hear him bark or react for the first 3 months, but around that time he bit my 13 year old boy while he was playing with his teeth, and has since nipped at my Dad and another friend. I worry he is overprotective of me and now have my boy feed him to form trust. Other than basic obedience and training, how do I re-socialize my dog (Scooby) to my dad and others he has had reactive behavior towards?

Andre

Hey Robert, first things first, my 10 month old dog has recently started to lunge at other dogs. My problem is she has an extremely high prey drive since it is a encouraged hunting dog. I have trouble getting her focus back because on a walk I only have about 6-8 foot of distance between me and the other dog on a patz, if the other dog’s response is aggressive or growling she seems so escalate with no bite Intention. my others have no trouble, they will simply focus on me, her drive is Extreme

Greg

I adopted an imported 8-week old female AKC VA1 GSD offspring who is now 6-months old. She has a very strong will and we have a great bond with reasonable training every day. Sometimes, she gets too excited and wants to wrestle. Correcting only makes her more determined as it seems she prefers any interaction versus none. Ignoring her results in me becoming a human tug toy. What are your thoughts on Alpha Rolling her when there is no other way (crate, etc.) to settle her down ?

Allie

Hi! Any tips on not getting frustrated? Recently training has not been going as well as I would like. My one year-old dutchie is starting to exhibit a lot of non-desirable behaviors when working that I am trying to work through this, but some days my frustration with her is so much that I have to just put her right back in her kennel and wait a couple of hours because I am at my wits end. Has this happened to you with your dogs? What would you recommend so I don’t hinder my relationship with her

Ashley

Hi Robert, here is a little background. Ghost is my 14 week old Belgian Malinois. He is in obedience and also doing basic beginner protection work. He is amazing and we have no issues at home. Went to the vet today to get a basic health check and his rabies vaccine. I had been doing all his vaccines before then. As they were holding him to give it he growled. The Vet tech immediately said I need to talk to my trainer about his aggression. Does this sound aggressive really?

Fatem k

Which treadmills is best for dog the manual or electric one!?

Cody

My 8 mo old hound mix is highly reactive to dogs. It is such an issue now that the vet clears the lobby before I bring him inside. He has never tried attacking but will bark and lunge. I do not have anyone with well behaved dog to train around to teach him to ignore. What is the best way to teach him to ignore the presence of other dogs without any good ones to use to train the behavior? Should I train more focus with him while home so he understands to look at me instead of the dogs? Thank you!

Sasha

Hello! This is a minor thing that bothers me but I also want an opinion. When I take my dog out of her kennel she will briefly greet me and then immediately nose to the ground start searching for toys that we had played with in the vicinities earlier. I never let her play with toys by herself and they are always out of sight however it bothers me that her initial reaction is to bolt towards where she saw the toys last. What if immediately when she comes out I pull a toy from my person to play?

PJ

Greetings Robert and Janet, I work 24 hrs a wk. Luke, 10mth GSD is home with my retired husband. When he is not in a room with me, I crate him ( Luke not my hubby) Outside, thanks to your lessons his progress is impressive as is our bond. My husband gives him free range & cant control Luke. He doesn’t realize GSD pups are constantly testing us. Is hubby undoing my work & confusing pup? Should I ban him from letting pup out of crate? Training Luke is easy but teaching a grown man is harder.

Didi Y

Hi, 8 month old female GSD, what do i do when she pulls leash while she sees other dogs? she was pulling leash so hard when she saw her friend playing balls, i had to use all my strength grabbing her collar /controlling her. I finally made her sit/down/wait, but it took me a good 10 min. is there a better way to control her when she pulls other than using prong collar? any tips/suggestions re dog reactive?

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