Member Questions – 6/18/21

Lennart

Do we allow our 8 month Groenendaeler to sniff a little bit while walking or not at all? We are working on his focus on us while walking but when he starts to sniff it is immediately lost. I can’t seem to prevent him from sniffing. How can we handle it?

John D

Hey Robert my German Shepherd Hank whose now about 11 months old is digging holes in our back yard. I realize it’s normal dog behavior, however it’s not a good look. I’m curious to know how you would solve this problem. He only does it when nobody is in the yard with him. Our yard is completely fenced in so and at times we will let him out in the backyard unattended. Maybe that’s the answer huh? Lol..

Asim S

Hello, I have an extremely high drive Labrador retriever. He is now almost two years old. He recently matured a bit but still has a lot of puppy in him. In the past, he has chewed through a lot of things around our property, fortunately he doesn’t do that anymore. He gets really excited around new places or when I take him to the city town center and gets hard to control. Your training videos have really helped with timed corrections. He jumps on people and doesn’t listen often with come. Help.

Michelle

How do you suggest working with a puppy to be tolerant of children being near them when they have a treat or high value item in their possession? My 4 month old GSD pup does great with handling and no resource guarding with me, however, has nipped my 5 year old in one instance when my son tried to pet the pup’s paw when he had a treat. I have spoken with my son to respect the dog’s space and not pet the dogs when they have treats. Any suggestions on what to do moving forward?

Cy

Hi Robert, not a question but wanted to say thank you. An off-leash male dog tried to attack my 1 y/o GSD x border collie when we were sitting at a park bench (my dog on leash). I got in between the dogs, kept my dog back and when the other dog didn’t back down I shoved it hard. The owner caught up and started screaming at me. When I explained her dog attacked mine, she said ‘he would never do that’. She then started threatening me. Thanks for all you do and teaching me to stand up for my dog

Scott

Hi Robert, Is it too late to start my six year old Catahoula on scentwork? He likes to play “search and find ” games and is good at it. I was intending to get a scent kit but wanted to wait for your opinion. As an aside, I bought a Garmin e-collar through your site, did the modification, and it seems much more comfortable than the other one I was using. I don’t use it often but it makes the corrections so much easier, when needed. Thanks for the tips!

Jamie S

When luring my 4.5, male, German Shepherd into a sit, he automatically offers a “Lay”. After he “Lays” there’s, what seems to be years that go by while he stares into my soul, refusing to go back to the “Sit” command. I am still working with just luring him & I have yet placed names on the commands except when I telling my 13 mo, GS (Allie) to Sit, Stay, Lay. What is the next step, while he’s “Laying”, I don’t want to repeat myself but he won’t follow the lure any more, he just stares.

Walid

Hi Robert, what are the precautions you take to prevent bloat? (slow feeder, no exercise 30 mins after..etc) do elevated food bowls increase or reduce the risk of bloat? Thanks a lot!

Christy

My heeler mix whines in the crate. Adopted at 14 mos, had never been crated before. Began crate training immediately. He sleeps in a crate next to my bed. I take water away 1 hr before bedtime. Still having trouble making it through the night, needs to pee once or twice at night, but sometimes whines maybe because he’s bored? If I leave him outside he barks/whines to get back in. He whines a lot throughout the day too. I’ve had him for 1.5 years so I’m not sure we can change him. Suggestions?

Anita

9week Giant schnauzer transitioning off raw food. Now at 80% wet kibble. Food drive is flat when I train him without the 20% raw food. He doesn’t like cheese or hot dogs or any treats. Food drive is insane with the 20% raw. Any tips on how to get him off raw to dry kibble faster and build his drive for kibble? Currently feeding 3x a day. I bring his food with me on walks but if I don’t add raw food, he is totally disengaged and distracted all the time. With raw he will recall, platz, sitz,fuss

Neal

I have ended up teaching my 5.5 month old GSD puppy a really sloppy, flops to one side down. I have tried to rectify it but he becomes frustrated when I say ‘NO’ to the sloppy down because in his mind he has done what I asked. Luring the down is a problem as teething is in full swing and he ends up chewing up my hand. I am not entering any contests but it just looks so sloppy and switching to a stand becomes a struggle too as a result. What do I do before the sloppy down becomes permanent? Thanks

Les S

Robert – I got my doberman from a rescue at 5 months. She was extremely dog reactive and a nightmare to take in public. I actually dreaded going outside with her. After 1 year of training her 3 times a day for 15 minutes, she is a completely different dog. Your website and content have been so valuable and have helped me build an incredible relationship with my dog. I can now take her to a park full of dogs and have the greatest time with her. Thank you for all you do!

David

Hi, I have a 5 months old malinois. I started her training as soon as I got her when she was 2 months old, I have used your master the basics videos to start her up. I have however run into the problem of her doing her positions very nicely in the position box, but when move to the floor (ground, grass etc) she continues to do lazy sits and downs (hip to the side) any suggestions on how to correct this?

P.S. thanks for this awesome site

Wendy A

I just got a Rottweiler puppy .4 months old, and she plays with the King Charles, but king lets Roxie ( the puppy) get on top of her. Which we breakup that behavior. The king (cooper) let’s her do it. The king is not intact, the puppy is. Well cooper now goes after the 6 ft. Lab/ Great Dane and growls at him. What can I do to mend the relationship with the 6 ft. Lab? The roadie is almost always in her separate place do to potty training.

Karina

Can you recommend a good muzzle for a breed standard 90lb German Shepherd? My dog has been reactive to small dogs in the past, has pinned them down with his mouth, no skin broken/no big injuries. I’m working with a personal trainer, it IS improving a great deal. I’d like to start conditioning to a muzzle as we start proofing him more around small dogs, just to be safe. I bought a cheap one at PetSmart, he gets it off in a minute. Can you recommend a good muzzle for that snout/head shape?

William D

In the e-collar videos with Maya, what are the command words being used? My hearing is bad and I’m not sure if I am understanding them correctly.

Jun V

Our GSD just had four puppies. We decided as a family that we will keep two and re-home in this case the other two. I read about the litter mate syndrome, but I would like to get your opinion on this. There is already talk in the family in keeping all four. Hope you can guide us on what’s best..

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