Anastasia M
We have a 10-month-old German Shepherd who’s been training well in obedience but struggles during walks, a behavior that started four months ago. He becomes unresponsive, runs in circles, bites his leash, and jumps on me. Calm walking exacerbates his biting and jumping, although he eventually settles down. Methods like ignoring him until he calms or distracting him with a toy haven’t been fully effective. Our trainer suggested using a prong collar and commanding him to sit, but this seems to agitate him more. We’re seeking advice on how to handle these episodes better. Thank you!
Alex H
Can this behavior be mitigated? She is 9 weeks old . We are crate training. Taking to puppy kindergarten and have scheduled one on one puppy training, I feed he hand as she sits but she when she is unleashed she is often biting at my legs I am diverting providing diversion with toys and chews I am afraid she potentially a fear biter with poor temperament. I want to provide a good foundation for a calm controlled family member.I am over my head at nine weeks . She does know sit and find it
James
7 month old Malinois female. When guest come in the home she will growl at them and bark. If she gets close to them she’ll sniff but if any moment is towards her she’ll snap at them, sometimes without movement. I don’t want to have to keep her away from people, but it feels like that is where we are at. No one that I have welcomed into my home seems to be welcomed by my girl. When our pool guy is here weekly it’s the same dance, but he attempts to give treats and make her feel comfortable, yet no one can touch her. I had her in group classes and the trainer could not touch her. Please help.
Vivienne
My 6-month-old Havanese is fearful of people. She has learned to bark at people in the house because I didn’t know how to correct her. I’ve been walking her for 2 weeks on a prong collar and it’s going really well. However, when she sees a person immediately her hackles are raised, and she begins to load. I feel like a prisoner to my own dog. We can only walk on the other side of the street from someone. If she is talked to, stared at, or approached, she lunges and barks, then tries to run. Do I correct her once I see she is aroused? Will I ever be able to walk her in crowded places?
Jeanette
2+ year old found in forest when approx. 3 months with siblings – gentle but normally more scared of humans than other dogs. He has just gained more confidence and starting to behave with growling and snapping to some dogs – like “go away” / “I am not afraid of you” – need to nip this in the bud asap so time is of essence, ticking through the material but any pointer to a specific video/s to watch first apart from the “start here” would be helpful. (attending weekly dog club & has friends he loves although mostly chillin in office sofa next to me, I am trying activate him as much as possible)
Erica M
Hi Robert- I have an 8 week old male malinois and wanting to introduce him carefully to our 19 month doberman female (Raven). He growls and snaps at her through partitioned area as we attempt a meet and greet. They have been near each other minding their own business (adjacent but not together) but if there is any close contact, that’s what he does. She seems curious and open to meet him and shows no aggressive behavior. Please advise. Thank you in advance for your guidance.
Richard
Hi Robert. My puppy has struggled to walk past people and dogs so I have started using a slip lead to teach him to walk beside me despite distractions. When pressure is applied it seems to make him more stressed and nervous despite me positively reinforcing with food when he moves towards me to release the pressure. Should I continue with the slip lead or is it not suited to all dogs especially nervous types?
Gina
Hi Robert, I’ve been using a Herm Sprenger choke collar with my dog but it tarnishes his neck, he’s white, so it leaves a black ring around it. Would a slip on padded martingale be the same as far as being able to correct and communicate with him? I feel like he’s most responsive to the prong but that leaves a mark as well and I have to use another collar as a back up so the martingale is the easiest I just don’t know if the correction pop when needed is as effective? Any other collar suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!
Ted A
Izzy is 16 months old and has been with us for 4 months. She remains wary to the point we cannot pet her, put on a leash or gt her into a vehicle. On occasion, on her own she will approach us and and permit affectionate caresses. When called she usually responds well but will remain just out of reach. She will eat treats out of hand but if a
second hand approaches she backs right off. We’ve only been able to leash her when she is in the house and accepts it reluctantly. We’d like to overcome her wariness but after four months we see little or no change.
Pam F
Hi Mr. Cabral, I have a 4 year old mini schnauzer. I have had him since he was 5 months old. This is my 1st dog and have made my share of mistakes along the way. Your program has been very helpful in undoing the problems I have created. My questions is around his meals. He is feed twice a day (kibble). Sometimes he will eat right away and other times he will not touch his morning feeding until evening. He will eat in the morning if I make a game out of it or feed him from my hand. Should I be taking a different approach? Thank you.
Keenan
Hey Robert! I am just wondering how or when you – as a professional trainer decide to tell your client to use a prong collar as we are trying to figure out if it would be the best option. Also do you believe that if a reactive dog is on the prong collar and lunges at another dog that it will associate the prong correction with seeing other dogs and be more aggressive towards dogs in the future because of it?
Katie
Hi, I would like to use a flirt pole with my 35 pound mutt. However, I’m also working really hard on teaching her not to chase our cats. She’s improved with the cats, but I’m afraid the flirt pole will make her more inclined to chase them. Is there a risk of that, and how can I minimize it? Thanks for your help!
Mark G
Looking for methods to promote ball/toy drive as a beginning for fetch required for WDA rating.
Susie U
I have 3 dogs . We recently lost our alpha dog a GSD and since then one of the females has turned 2 yrs old . The other is 7 yrs. Our Irish wolfhound is 11 mos . The 2 females have begun fighting . $500 vet bill first fight . The 7 yr old is the one showing the most
aggression . But the younger one will defend herself and I feel is a little sneaky in starting stuff . It’s so bad that my big puppy is starting to jump In on it . I’ve been watching your helpful Videos but need more advice . Please?
Julie
My 2 yr old female pitbull mix (BlueBelle) screams from her crate when I play with our 1 year old male pitbull mix. We’ve only had him 6 months and he is still learning to play with people. BlueBelle gets priority in everything (food, play, training, time…). Covering the crate and very firm corrections have not worked. Do you think a bark collar might be a good solution? Or something else? Are there any concerns with cross contamination using a bark collar if we are just starting to condition her to an e-collar?
Alan L
Hi Robert, what’s your take on dogs looking out the window when at home? Is it something we should allow or try our best to keep them away from the window?
