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Hi, My family is going to buy a dog and we are in feud between and retriever or rottweiler. I like rottweiler but my mother says that they are dangerous especially with children. I would like to know if you agree with her and if you can send me information about rottweiler!! Thank you... ANSWER: It is not my job to convince that Rots are better than GSDs or any other breed. This is a private issue with you family and their own interests.
Mr. Frawley, I purchased a 5 month old male GSD from a breeder in NY. I have had him for a month. Sire is an East German Sch3, mom is a Czech companion titled dog. Problem: This pup skits and bucks when other leashed dogs/puppies approach. He may or may not allow people to pet him as well. No aggression towards people, but he can become very timid and jumpy, or just stand and remain oblivious to people around him. Always acts the same with other dogs. Stares as they approach, growls when they get closer, and tries to pull me with his leash down the block when they get right on top of him. I try getting his attention on to me and away from the dogs, but he locks onto them as they approach. Breeder says he will "grow out of it," that he's still a puppy etc. I don't buy it. He actually seems to be more fearful and skittish than he was when we got him last month. I think he is what he is and will not "grow out of it." (Bad previous experience with an American Show GSD, looks like I made another mistake.) I don't think attempting to train him to act confident is the answer. If he doesn’t got it in him he will not got it in him. Is this breeder correct, he'll "grow out of it," or is it "what I see is what I get." Think I know what you are going to say. (Smells like I need to bring this dog back.) Thank you for your time ANSWER: You did not do a very good job selection testing this pup. I have two articles on my web site on how to do this. The tests are 110% correct – this crap would have shown up in the tests. I cannot tell you what to do - sorry. Maybe sell the dog (or give the dog away) and cut your losses. Hi Ed Neither of these things phase her. She has awesome nerves and monstrous prey drive, but she will only go after the tennis ball on the string. She will not go after the hand towel. I have used the hand towel to play with her before but she really would rather have the ball instead. She will just sit there with the towel and whine for the ball. And then when I bring out the ball she goes crazy. My problem is that I cannot work on her grip or her counter will the ball. Should I stick with the ball? I am a little confused. Could you please help me out? Thanks a lot. ANSWER: Take a small wash cloth (not a towel), put it on a string and attach the string to a broom handle. Then put some life in the wash cloth as it jumps around. This should work. Also - change the ball on a string to a rubber ball and not a tennis ball. I have heard some concerning things about the glue that tennis balls are made from having a reaction with teeth.
I hope you can help me with my new German Shepherd
puppy. When we got him he Tami ANSWER: I strongly suggest you find a new home for this puppy. You do not understand puppy behavior and it is just making things bad for what is probably a very nice puppy. Some people should not have puppies. You would be better off without any dog or going to a dog shelter and getting a nice adult dog. Puppies play using their mouth. Shaking it, hitting his nose (your breeder is dog damn fool) is not what should be done. If you keep this dog - get a dog crate and crate train the dog. He cannot bite if he is in the crate. Odds are you have screwed this poor puppy up. I have no doubt that he shy away from you. What do you think your child would do if you slapped him around every time he played rough - the key word being PLAYING. Because that is how puppies play - with their mouths. Find a new home for this pup.
Sir, I'm writing you today on a recommendation from a friend who trains military working dogs. I have a 11 week old female GSD. My wife and I purchased her at 7 weeks. Every night for the last 4 weeks, I have been up with her multiple times at night, trying to keep her quiet. She has food and water, and is outside with an adult female GSD (they get along quite well). Sometimes I'll bring her in and put her in a playpen with bedding (continues to whine). I've been spanking her consistently with a rolled up news paper whenever she starts up and telling her "NO." That only works for an hour before she begins whining again. We've tried walking her before bed to get her tired...that works initially, but then she wakes up. The vet says she is healthy, so I'm pretty sure she's not in any pain. What do you recommend? One more question...She found a dead bird in my front yard and tried to swallow it whole. I had to open her jaws (quite strong already) and pull it out. I've also noticed that she doesn't chew her food, only the occasional crunch. Is this normal? Any help you can provide will be extremely appreciated. Jason, Honolulu ANSWER: Well you are doing a lot wrong. This is not a puppy problem it's a owner problem. Here is the list: 1- A puppy should not be lowed to run with another dog. This is only going to lead to problems. They need to be kept separated. 2- The pup should not be HIT WITH A NEWSPAPER. That is totally counterproductive and is going to screw your dogs temperament if it has not already done so. I compare this to hitting a baby that cries. 3- Puppies need to be crate trained. Read the article on my web site about house training. Read the Q&A section. 4- You seem to want to learn something about dog training - I assume this because you wrote this email. You need to learn because what you are doing is 100% wrong. I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the video on my web site. 5- If you are not prepared to do these things, find the dog a new home.
Hi Ed, Thank you Answer: You may be right about the softness. I don’t know without seeing the dog. The comments on a bulldog being treated differently is bull shit. Dog training is not breed specific – its temperament and drive specific. The other issues are handler mistakes. If you were doing the right thing your dog would not be pissing on the floor. It would be pissing outside. Use a dog crate – don’t allow the dog to be loose in the house. If you were watching the dog it would not have been chewing on something. The only time a dog is out of the crate in the house is after it comes in from outside, only when you have eyes on it and only for a short period of time. Those things did not happened and you created bigger problems by correcting this dog. There are only two reasons to correct a puppy in the first 8 months of life that is going to do personal protection work. The first is for not coming when called, the second is for not OUTING when told but even then the dog has to go through a learning phase to know what you are telling him to do. I suggest you get the Drive Focus and Grip video I produced – learn how to play with a dog and how to work him in drive. Stop letting him be loose in the house, stop correcting the dog. Soft dogs can be tough dogs. I know of a soft police dog that had over 300 street bites. Start taking this dog EVERYWHERE to overcome this shyness. Use food if you have to get it to go with you. Drive it places and socialize it. Next time selection test your dog better or pick an honest breeder.
Help I have a 5 month old GSD doing great with a Trainer, lost the trainer the dog obeys well with sit ,down,down stay, heel. does well on leash as far as walking and making turns to the right 90 or 180's but that’s it for now. How does one make the dog turn to the left on a leash???? Or make a 180 to the left on a leash??? Maybe I am just dense I would appreciate a response. Thank You in advance. ANSWER: I do not agree with sending 5 month old puppy to a trainer whoever you are using needs a lot more experience. This is really bull shit to be expecting a 5 month old pup to do all of these exercises. Please tell your trainer he or she needs a lot more training themselves if they are doing this shit to a puppy. If you would like to learn more about the principles
of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic
Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not
had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before
it can be considered fully trained.
You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience
classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that tape you will see
that my customers feel the same way.
Dear Mr. Frawley, Your web site is a wealth of information on GSD. It is the BEST - like an encyclopedia. Well, I have recently purchased a 6 month old female black/red GSD from a breeder in Palmdale, CA. The GSD has the sweetest temperament I have ever seen. I have had 8 dogs as pets in the past from toy breed to herding breed. This is the first time I have a German Shepherd as a pet. This female GSD is adorable;however, she is friendly to everyone including strangers. Is this good for a GSD to be friendly to strangers as well? I would like her to be a good watchdog as she matures. Her sweet and friendly temperament surprises my friends and strangers. Will she naturally become more unfriendly to strangers as she grows older (she is 6 months old) or do I need to train her to become aggressive to strangers? If yes, how should I train her to be unfriendly (bark) at strangers when unfamiliar faces approach her kennel? Will she be able to be trained as a police dog given her sweet temperament? I noticed she barks at other dogs and growls. She is very loyal and follow my commands. She is very smart - a quick learner. Furthermore, please share your insights regarding the interpretation of her pedigree shown on the AKC dog registration application. Shown on the application is "Sire: Mac Von Neu-Edingen and Dam: Arita Vom Kirschental." I tried to do some research to understand more about her pedigree as well as to verify to see if her pedigree has VA titles as stated by the breeder in Palmdale. I have utilized this web site www.schafer.is/english/search.html and I could not find any information about the Dam, Arita Vom Kirschental. What is the best source to learn more about my GSD's pedigree as well as to learn how to interpret pedigree document? Can you share your insights pertaining to my GSD's pedigree given the above information? Please advise. Thank you very much in advance for sharing your insights to above questions. Much success to your web site! Best regards, ANSWER: Sounds like you have a nice dog. You would not expect your 7 year old boy to protect your home – the same goes with a 6 month old puppy. They look at you as a pack leader and as such it's your job to protect your pack until the dog is an adult. Dogs do not naturally become protection trained anymore than Michael Jordan’s boys naturally become professional basketball players. Your dog may or may not have the genetic for the training. You will have to discuss bloodlines with your breeder – that’s his job not mine. If you would like to start to learn about training I would recommend buying a few of my training videos. I have an 11 month old Akita neutered male. I am a first time Akita owner, I did not get him for protection (or for any status symbol for that matter, unlike some Akita owners) I got him based on a recommendation from a good friend and mostly because with the exception of the same sex dog aggression notable to the breed, I truly love the breed. He is a wonderful dog with a lot of great qualities and from what I can see doesn't seem to have many of the hardcore dominance issues that you speak about on your site. He is not food aggressive, he DOES have a really high prey drive (loves to chase just about anything) although he has made friends with one of our cats (they tend to sleep together at night), I got nowhere with crating him for housebreaking (he hated the confinement to such a small area) but we do gate him in the kitchen at night and when we go out so he doesn't have free roam of the house. I got him at the wrong time (I work full time and started night classes pretty much right after I got him, I know.. NOT SMART) so I haven't been able to attend obedience classes yet, but I see that I need to do something NOW. He knows sit, but he pretty much CHOOSES when that will be. Some of the reasons I feel he DOES have dominance issues are: He REFUSES to allow me, or the vet to trim his nails. Both times they have been done he has had to be heavily sedated, which I HATE. He is also resistant to grooming, which is a royal pain with a dog with a double coat that falls out twice a year. My husband has taken the dog to work since we got him at 10 weeks old. It is a lawn and garden dealership, and we thought that being around the machinery and the constant flow of people would help with his socialization. And it has, with the exception of the barking at only CERTAIN people. And it's almost impossible to get him to stop until he's damn good and ready. I plan on purchasing your Basic Dog Obedience tape, can you tell me if you have any suggestions on working with the nail trimming and the grooming? I had done this myself when he was a young puppy, but lately he will not let me do anything.. and I need him to be more accepting of the handling, especially when he goes to the Vet. He is only 85lbs right now, but I expect him to get to 110 or 120. ANSWER: Get a prong collar with the video. Do the training at home. I would also get the wire basket muzzle we sell. He cannot bite you if he has the muzzle on . If a dog will not allow me to cut his nails then this is an obedience (or lack of obedience issue). The first thing you do is spend 3 or 4 weeks obedience training this dog. Then when he is at the point where he is minding better – go to the grooming. Talk nice when you do it and show him the treat before you start – then put it away and give him a treat after you are done– the sessions should be short in the beginning. Three or four stroked of the brush and then give the treat. If this does not work it will take some serious corrections for him to know that you mean to brush him and not allowing it is not going to work. Sometimes pet owners can not correct to the level it takes. Once you solve the brushing then move on to the nails – The fact is these things should have been taken care of at a young age. Now it is going to require a fight – make sure the dog is muzzled before the fight starts or you will get hurt. Make sure you have backup if you start a fight – the better idea is for your husband to do this.
Hi Mr. Frawley: Sincerely, ANSWER: I don't think it will hurt him - go to the vet during the middle of the day some time and ask if you can look at their dog runs - see how clean it is. Make this an unexpected trip - if they will not let you look - find another vet and another boarding kennel. Then tell the first vet why you did this. To Top
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We have a 12 week old dachshund puppy
that is trained enough to sleep in our bed at night, but needs to
be crated during the day to avoid accidents. It has been weeks and
the dog drools about a cup of drool over a 2 hour period in the crate
and is very nervous when we let him back out. He whines and cries the
entire time. Will he get dehydrated? When we give him water in the
crate he spills it every time. Does he need some sort of medication
to calm his nerves? Any help would be appreciated.
Lynn Daniel
ANSWER:
Handler mistake - handler mistake - handler mistake. No dog should sleep in the bed with the owners. It either creates dominance issues or these kinds of problems.
Get bowls that clip on the side of the crate. All feeding is done in the crate. If it's stressed too much and it will not eat then take the food away for the day - no food that day. Then do it again the next day. The crate needs to be a positive place . Exercise the living devil out of this dog and then put it in the crate.
But no matter what - the dog sleeps in the crate
ALL THE TIME!
Mr. Frawley,
My wife and I own
a 10 month old GSD. We give him plenty of attention in the afternoon
after work.
We take him on a two mile walk, play fetch the ball, tug, hide and
seek, etc. We also bring him in at night and let him interact with
us. However, it's the period that we're not home during the day that
concerns me. We have a fairly large fenced back yard, but I know
he gets bored and lonely by himself. Do you think it would be a good
idea
for us to get another dog so that he would have a companion?
We were thinking about another German shepherd. Is this a good or
bad idea?
If we get another dog, should it be male or female? Thanks in advance
for your response.
ANSWER:
It’s not a good idea to add another dog just so your dog has something to play with when you are at work. In fact it’s a terrible idea.
1- You are spending plenty of time with your dog.
2- When people buy puppies they should not allow the pup to spend any unsupervised time with an adult dog. To do so hampers the mental development of the pup. The pup ends up looking to the other dog for its companionship and never really bonds well with humans.
3- The only way that people should try and raise a second pup is to keep them totally separated from the first dog with a separate dog crate or dog kennel until the pup is 7 to 10 months old.
4- Your dog is old enough to start some advanced obedience training. This gives the dog something to think about.
5- If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that tape you will see that my customers feel the same way.
Greetings;
I have recently purchased a GSD puppy. I'm keeping him at the kennel
I bought him from one month ago. He's now 5 months old. He's the
alpha male of his litter, and very protective. Whenever any dog comes
about
2 meters from us (him and I), he starts barking uncontrollably. I
haven't trained him yet, since his breeder considers 6 months being
the ideal age to start obedience training. He barks at any dog he
doesn't know, big or small. Another breeder told me his barking reflects
a behavioral abnormality, and that the dog's antisocial. We introduced
him to my sister's newly acquired female GSD: he barked at the puppy,
bit her once, then everything went fine. My dog's breeder favors
his protective behavior, so I'm torn between the two breeders' opinions.
What do you think, and what do you advise me to do?
I hope you can help me. Thank you so much in advance.
Rawan
ANSWER:
Here is the category I have your
breeder in - “Everyone
has an opinion on how to train your dog – just ask your mailman – the
problem is that very few people have the experience to back up their
opinions which results in a lot of bad information being handed out.”
The
dog is NOT PROTECTIVE. If your breeder told you this it's bull shit.
There
is no correlation between animal aggression and people aggression.
I NEVER allow my pups to be around other dogs. Dogs
are pack animals. A strange dog is not part of the pup's pack.
Obedience training begins at 8 weeks and never stops. With very young pups it's all motivation and no corrections. Keeping a dog in the kennel at the breeder's is not the way to raise a dog. Especially when you have a breeder who seems to be clueless.
Your dog is not a dominant dog. No 5 month old pup is dominant. I have bred well over 300 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds.
Read The article I have written titled DEALING
WITH THE DOMINANT DOG You can find this article in the list of
training articles on my web site. I believe you will find the
answers you need in that article or in the Q&A section of my web site. There are simple solutions to these problems. The question
is if you are willing to do the work necessary to make the changes
that will fix the problems.
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Hello Ed.
When is the most appropriate time to start Training a golden retriever basic commands? I have read a lot of your articles on training and don't want to do any damage to her personality.
We
have been working on getting her to walk beside us during short walks
around the block but we were told to invest in a choke collar to
get her to stop pulling on the lease. She she is now 16 weeks is
it to
early for all of this?
Thanks in advance.
Lisa Hanson
ANSWER:
A choke collar is not a training collar. Its an abusive training tool.
There are only three kinds of training collars to be used in dog training:
1- A Flat Collar
2- A Prong Collar
3- A Electric collar
I would recommend you purchase the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 25 years I have bred over 300 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science its simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog. The DVD has 2 ½ hours of training information.
If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience
training a dog, read the
description for my Basic Dog Obedience video.
You will probably find that you have not had a clear understanding
of the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered
fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained
dog to obedience classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that
tape you will see that my customers feel the same way.
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Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner
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My 3 month old GSD eats everything in sight when we go outside. Rocks, mulch, dirt in the yard; shells, sand and rocks at the beach. How can I get her to stop? I'm afraid she is going to swallow something that will give her an internal cut.
Thank you,
Carol O'Brien
ANSWER:
If the dog lives long enough it will outgrow this.
You have two options:
Get a muzzle and make it wear it when it's outside. We sell a number of different kinds and sizes on our website.
Get an electric collar and set the stimulation level VERY, VERY low. You don’t have to say a word when you shock the dog. When it sniffs a rock you shock it. The shock level is just enough to make the dogs head move a little. It does not hurt the dog at all. The pup learns right now that these things are not interesting.
Then when you shock it you can also have a favorite toy and you can play with it. The pup then learns that the things you have are more interesting than the rocks, etc.
I use the DOGTRA 1700NC on my dogs - Check my equipment page.
If it’s a very little dog I would use the Innotek ADV-300 collar instead.
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Ed,
You wrote, "I also NEVER allow a dog to come in contact with another dog unless my dog is 100% solid in obedience under extreme distraction (i.e. another dog is extreme distraction). Also I NEVER allow people to pet my dog." My question is how do you socialize the dog if the dog has never been pet by a stranger. If you don't take your dog around other dogs until he is 100% trained, isn't that a little late in life to begin socialization with other animals?
Thanks,
Vanessa Di Bernardo
ANSWER:
You do not understand socialization of dogs.
1- A dog is socialized when it is exposed to a different environments and different situations that may (or may not) be stressful to the dog. This does not mean meeting strangers. Dogs are pack animals - they do not need to meet people outside of its family pack - they need to learn to be around strange people without being aggressive to them but they do not need to learn to be touched by strangers.
2- The same goes for meeting other dogs. Dogs need to learn to ignore other animals not to be social with them.
Hi,
We have an 8 week old labrador X collie, he is very well behaved and is doing well at house training, he mouths a lot with the children in play which we know he will grow out of when he is older but yesterday I tried hand feeding him a small piece of ham and he snapped at my hand and made it bleed.
I am guessing he had to fight for his food with his siblings so I am putting it down to this and hoping it will not carry on but I am a little worried in case it does, we have 3 children, one being only 3 years old and i am concerned he may do the same to her.
Should I continue to try to hand feed him? he is fine with food in his bowl and will allow us to stroke him and touch his bowl.
Should I scold (I don't mean hit) him or just ignore the behavior?
Regards
Jacky
ANSWER:
I don’t hand feed puppies. There is no reason for this when you have children. In fact it’s a bad idea.
I would recommend you purchase the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 25 years I have bred over 300 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science its simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog. The DVD version has 2 ½ hours of training information.
I would also recommend my Basic Dog Obedience training video. I did my first obedience video in 1982. That tape had a new version released in 1988. Then that version was replaced in Sept 2004 with my current 4 hour DVD that we now sell.
If you go to the URL for this DVD you will be able to read the outline of what's covered. This DVD not only deals with teaching people how to train the basic commands that every pet owner needs, it also tells people how to structure their lives and homes in ways that make living with a dog very easy and trouble free.
Small changes in how you handle a dog result in big differences in how the dog relates to you. The average pet owner does not realize how pack drive and rank within the pack control a domestic dog. The DVD goes into detail on pack drive. Becoming a pack leader is not about bulling a dog but rather becoming the dog's friend and then establishing the rules in how you relate to the dog. When this is not done correctly owners end up with dominance and aggression problems.
Occasionally I buy an adult dog to introduce into our breeding program here at the kennel. Even if the dog is already trained I run it through my obedience program. I never assume the previous training was correct. I never assume the previous owner had a good relationship with the dog or that the dog enjoyed training. So I teach the dog what I expect and it learns through our work that I am always fair, that I am always consistent, and that I make training fun. This is the foundation of the relationship that I have for the rest of this dog"s life.
I have been doing training tapes for almost 24
years - I feel this is the best tape I have done.
HER RESPONSE TO HAND FEEDING:
Well we tried hand feeding the pup because it was recommended by another web site, there may be no reason for it as far as your concerned but when you have children around dogs and them children are likely to be walking around with food in their hands and possibly feeding the dog then the dog should take the food gently from their hands!
I agree totally with the pack and the ranking of dogs within a family, all the more reason for our puppy to learn its place within our family and not grab food out of peoples hands drawing blood, if it is allowed to continue then it will be taking food from the children’s hands when not offered to the pup and I think there is every reason to stop this behavior now.
I will ask someone more knowledgeable than yourself but thanks for your effort of advice anyway.
ED'S RESPONSE TO WHY HAND FEEDING IS A BAD IDEA:
Go for it – I am always impressed with a smart mouth.
The fact is that feeding from the hand is exactly the opposite thing to teach your dog when you have kids. It teaches them that its OK to come up and take food from the hand. Then when it comes up to a child with food and the child rears back and screams because the dog is going for the food – the dog strikes out and bites.
The way to control this is with correct obedience training. Then the dog learns the meaning of the word “NO.”
So go find someone who knows more than I do.
I have this saying:
You need to be careful about who you
listen to on training your dog. “Everyone
has an opinion on how to train your dog – just ask your mailman,
your neighbor, your hair dresser or barber, or your best friend – the
problem is that very few people have the experience to back up their
opinions which results in a lot of bad information being handed out.”
But when your kids get bit you can always refer back to my web site because I am going to put your stupid response on my site.
Mr. Frawley,
I am in the process of training our 6 month old GSD with the use of
positive reinforcement, prong collar and your training videos. In addition,
we are attending an obedience class each Saturday. At the end of each session, anywhere from 10-20 dogs are allowed to run freely in a confined, secure
area providing them with "dog socialization". I recently
read the material on your site relating to dog parks and the injuries that may occur.
My feeling is that I should not let our puppy engage with the other dogs
in this situation. Please advise as to whether or not you see this as acceptable practice. Please note that our trainer is very experienced,
with 7 well-trained, titled Shepherds. I recently read on your site that
we should avoid this type of situation and instead spend the time with
him
alone. Please advise.
Thank you for the information that you provide to dog owners. We are fortunate to own a sweet, sociable, well-behaved dog who is on his
way to being well-trained.
Lisa
ANSWER:
I would not be doing this - the risk is of another dog getting too aggressive with your puppy. Once a dog has been attacked by other dogs - most become dog aggressive for the rest of their life.
A better solution is to find an older dog that is 100% totally indifferent to puppies. This teaches the pup that other dogs have nothing to offer and all fun things come from the handler.
Good Morning Ed,
Just a quick note to say how very much we enjoyed your 8 weeks to 8 months puppy DVD. After having read your website from top to bottom, we did not agree with some of the more conventional issues, but your DVD gone a long way to make us understand these.
I have a question though. Our puppy who is 12 weeks now, seem to scratch excessively, also bites his thighs, various vets have seen him and
agreed that he does not have any fleas or skin problem and explained it as
a habitual scratching. They also mentioned that he may need steroids
(but
won't say why). He has been prescribed antihistamines and also eardrops (?), which
made it
slightly better, but he seem to still scratch a lot and whines when
doing so, so obviously he is in some discomfort. Do you have any advise on what we should do?
Also we would love to keep him as a house pet, we would to make the most of his intelligence, what other DVDs from the website are suitable for further obedience training later on, without turning him into a protection dog?
Many thanks and kind regards,
Edit
ANSWER TO QUESTION ON PUPPIES:
I can almost 100% guarantee that what you are seeing in your dog are allergies due to vaccinations. You can read about Vaccinosis on my web site.
If you want to learn what I would do - go to my list of articles and
read what I do for allergies.
Get the dog off commercial kibble and on an all-natural diet.
Also DO NOT EVER VACCINATE THIS DOG AGAIN!! Never - you will have to vaccinate for Rabies but nothing else. If you doubt or question what I say - do your dog a favor and buy the book we sell titled "Shock to the System."
You will also want to get my Basic Dog Obedience video.
And finally:
I recommend that you direct your questions to my web discussion board. It has over 6,0000 registered members. There are some talented people on my board. You will need to register before you can post questions but you can read the board and its EXTENSIVE archives without registering.
The registration process can take a couple of days to get approved. We make people use their real name on the board – not a pseudo name. This eliminates perverts and pukes from posting obscene information on our board. In my opinion this is one of the reasons my web board is so good because there is accountability for peoples' posts when they have their name associated with their post.
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Hi Ed,
I'm a long time follower of your site and I think it's good that you offer blunt/matter of fact advise.
I have a 6 mos old female GSD from German working lines and so far she's been a wonderful dog. I do have a couple of concerns though;
I came home the other night and had forgotten my keys in the house. I have a 3 year old son and a 7 mos old daughter and I knew they would both be asleep so I tapped gently on the door trying to get my wife's attention and not wake the kids. The first few taps were in vain as my wife was watching TV in our bedroom so I gradually tapped a little louder when all of a sudden I heard Lucy start barking her head off. My wife came down the stairs to the door to let me in and Lucy was right there beside her and she had a bit of her hackles raised. Apparently as soon as my wife opened the baby gate at the top of the stairs she ran down and continued barking at the door but it wasn't a happy bark, she sounded pissed off to me as I've heard her play bark a lot. Upon seeing me she went into dopey/lovey mode immediately, but I remember reading on your site about how a puppy shouldn't have these drives yet and that she probably is thin nerved. There have also been a couple of times where she's barked at strangers coming onto our driveway from our front porch or looking out the living room window.
The other concern is a last week we were all out in the front yard (I live in a regular subdivision) and a new neighbor stopped to chat with my wife and I. Our kids were out front and so was Lucy. Lucy went up to him wagging her tail (the usual routine) and was quite affectionate. So we're all there chatting for a min. or two and my son Joey comes around from the side of the house and when my neighbor approached Joey to say hi Lucy started barking and trying to get to my neighbor. I had her on her lead at the time so she didn't get far but she was definitely not happy about this guy approaching our son. After I corrected her she seemed fine and went back to normal and my neighbor came over to her and petted her again. But her initial reaction bothered me. Is this a bad sign? I'm worried she feels that my son may be omega to her and she feels obligated to protect him and I don't want to worry about the safety of the kids in my neighborhood (or adults for that matter). My neighbor didn't really move abruptly towards Joey but he did walk about 15 ft. from us in Joey's direction without either my wife or I joining him to help with the introductions.
My intention with Lucy was to get involved with Ring Sport or Schutzhund and I'm worried she may not have the nerves for it if this is the case. She has a ton of prey drive and is very eager to please and to date has proven to be extremely social with anybody she meets. She's somewhat wary about new people at the door but she's quick to wag her tail and seek a pet on the head from them once I've let them in the house. She doesn't bark at them, nor has any hackle show going on mind you, she just seems a little wary. Should I be concerned?
Thanks in advance.
Sincerely,
Grant
ANSWER:
Grant,
I guess I am confused here.
This dog, in my opinion, is acting exactly like it should act. This is what people like me breed dogs to do.
1- I don’t particularly like a 6 month old puppy that barks like crazy at a stranger on a walk or something like that. But barking at night when someone is at the door – GOOD FOR HER!!
2- I also think the second issue in the front yard is not this big of a deal. Good for the dog. For one thing you now know your dog is going to be protective. This means you are going to have to either build a dog kennel, use a dog crate and/or train this dog and not allow it to be around strangers or kids it does not know. Basically you need to be a responsible pet owner. If you wanted a golden retriever that would wag its tail to everyone on the block – well a GSD is not the dog. But with this said it sounds to me like you have a nice dog. In this situation – you did the right thing. You are teaching the dog that this kind of aggression is not warranted and will be corrected. You are teaching her the manners you want her to live by.
3- These issues are not nerve issues. Work the dog in prey drive. Do the work in the DVD Building Drive and Focus and PREPARING YOUR DOG FOR THE HELPER.
4- You should probably study the work in HOW TO RAISE A WORKING PUPPY.
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Mr. Frawley,
17 week old Weimaraner
House with family of two adults and three children
Adult Bichon Frise (three years old)
Two adult cats (four & five years old)
Very large fenced in back yard
My wife and I recently purchased an 8 week old female Weimaraner back on May 19, 2005. During the first 2 weeks we had the puppy I purchased the Leerburg training video 120-D "Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months" and
have been using most of your training techniques. I really have appreciate your training video as it has helped greatly in our puppies development and I plan on buying more of your training videos.
I have noticed since she arrived that she has a tendency to eat rather fast when feed. We increased her diet slightly from 3/4 cup to 1 cup three times per day (7am/12pm/5pm). We've been feeding the puppy Old Mother Hubbard's Wellness brand Super5 Mix Puppy food. Increasing the amount feed
didn't slow down her eating fast any. So I placed a few balls in her food dish to physically slow her eating down. However this doesn't slow down her desire to eat fast it just makes it more difficult for her to reach the food in her dish.
So my first question is how do I slow down her eating?
She isn't a possessive eater "YET" as I have been petting her and putting my hands in her food dish while she eats since she arrived our house and she has not growled or nipped at me when doing so. I can see her ribs somewhat and can feel them but I don't feel she is too thin. I've heard and
read that it can be a bad thing to overfeed puppies, especially large breed dogs as it can cause too rapid of growth, which can lead to health issues down the road.
Any recommendations on feeding the 17 week old puppy?
Just yesterday the puppy showed her first sign of aggression towards people. The puppy was attempting to get at the trash bags beside the garage while my wife and kids were outside near by doing some yard work. My daughter told the puppy to stop and move away from the trash bags and the puppy growled at her. So my daughter told my wife what happened and my wife then told the puppy to get out of the trash and when my wife went to gently encourage her physically to get out of the area the puppy growled at my wife and bit her hand but didn't break the skin. My wife picked up the puppy and looked into the puppies face and shouted "NO BITE" and then put the
puppy into her crate. We have not physically disciplined the puppy by striking her, as I want to avoid creating a timid and flinching dog as I want the puppy to become a family pet that can provide some degree of protection around the house but at the same time I want the dog to fully understand what the pecking order is in our family (pack).
How do you suggest we work on breaking the development of aggressive behavior especially towards people?
As I simply will not tolerate it, especially with children around. We have not any rough housing or wrestling with her from day one as we don't want her to develop any aggressive behavior. We have not seen the puppy react to the older dog in the house in any aggressive manner other than playing for toys once in a while but by no means has it ever been aggressive with any growling or serious biting.
Thank you very much for your help,
Donovan
ANSWER:
Take a full days food and divide it into three feedings. Feed the dog several times a day.
Your wife did the right thing. Any unwarranted signs of aggression need to be dealt with instantly sternly. This needs to be done within 1 1/2 seconds of when it happened or the dog will not understand.
It's time to make some changes in how you live with the dog. You may want to read the article I wrote on GROUND WORK BEFORE OBEDIENCE TRAINING.
I would be testing the dog to look for aggressive issues. With this said it is 100% wrong to put food down and then take it away or put food down and stick you hand in the bowl. Pack leaders are fair and feeding the dog and then screwing with his food is not a FAIR thing to do. It only causes stress.
First of all, I really love your advice!! It's put simply, and it's very reliable! I have used used your web site for most of my dog training needs, and it has worked fantastically well! But there is one question I still have. I haven't found any mention of this on your site. (If it is on your site, then my apologies, I must not have looked hard enough) My 12 week old puppy refuses to go anywhere with me, or anyone in our family. We try to take her on walks, but she always pulls the other way and whines and cries extremely loudly. We really don't know how to get her to come on walks with us. Is she scared? Or is she stubborn? We tried a prong collar but she pulled and squealed even louder, and still did not come with us. Please help me!
ANSWER:
The dog needs to be on a line - what I like are the 20 foot light weight cotton lines that we sell - when the pup does this we put pressure on the line. Some pups give in to simple pressure - others need to be popped, popped, popped until they understand that it's easier to come than act stupid.
I would recommend you purchase the DVD I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months.
I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 30 years I have bred over 340 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup.
Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science, it's simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog. The DVD has 2 ½ hours of training information.
You should also consider my 4 hour DVD on Basic Dog Obedience - The fact is you have way more to learn than your dog. I always recommend the handlers start studying this DVD right away even though you wont train a lot of the work until the pup is 4 to 6 months old.
I also recommend that you go to my web site and read the article I wrote on my philosophy of dog training. I think you will get some good ideas there.
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We have an 11 week old cockapoo that we picked up when he was 7 weeks. Early on he was showing signs of aggressive behavior, we didn't really think anything of it, just a playful puppy. Early this week the pup found a balloon and when my wife tried to get it out of his mouth he growled and bit her pretty hard, viciously. The next day he found a napkin on the floor. I tried to do the same and he really went after me and bit me very hard also.
We called a trainer referred to us by our Vet. He gave the puppy a temperament test, he picked him up cuddled him and then put pressure between the paws, the dog growled and tried to bite him. He told us this was not normal for an 11 week old puppy, that he had inherited problems and that we should either put him down or return him to the breeder. He said this type of behavior is not trainable, and we have young kids.
We would just like a second opinion, what are your thoughts?
Thanks
ANSWER:
I recommend that you go to my web site and read the article I wrote on my Philosophy of Dog Training. I think you will get some good ideas there.
I have a saying that I tell people – it goes like this” Everyone has an opinion on how to train a dog – just ask you barber, your mailman and your neighbor” The problem is very few people have the experience to back up their opinions. This results in a lot of bad information being passed out So people like yourself need to figure out who has the experience to warrant listening to.
The trainer you talked to falls into this category.
I am writing a book right now on dealing with dominant and aggressive dogs. It will be out in a few months.
I have bred police dogs for 30 years – I have occasionally seen a puppy that needs to be taken down a notch – when they are this age this is not difficult to do. What it requires is to move foreword the dogs training – by that I mean start to do training that would normally not be done until the dog was older.
We start with marker training – you can read the article I wrote title TRAINING WITH MARKERS. This is only the beginning – the foundation really - it gives the dog some focus. This only takes a couple of days. In fact we have a new Corgi pup that’s doing a lot of what you are talking about and we have done this for 3 days.
In the beginning we will try and re-direct the pup when it gets guardy of an object. We will redirect to a different toy or a different place. If this does not work we will take the dog with two hands and grab both sides of the neck and jaws (se he cannot turn his head and bite) – we will pick him up so his feet are only a few inches off the ground. We will hold him there – look him directly in the eyes and say NO !! until he calms down. This establishes yourself as this dogs pack leader. Being a pack leader is key to getting a grip.
If this does not work I will move to the next step and use a dominant dog collar and a drag line. I have an article on the product page on how to use it.
Once the dog understands that every incident of aggression will result in a correction – with all this said you and your wife need to learn what prey drive is and this should not be considered aggression.
I would recommend you purchase the DVD I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months.
I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 30 years I have bred over 340 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup.
Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science its simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog. The DVD has 2 ½ hours of training information.
You should also consider my 4 hour DVD on Basic Dog Obedience - The fact is you have way more to learn than your dog. I always recommend the handlers start studying this DVD right away even though you wont train a lot of the work until the pup is 4 to 6 months old.
This is all I can offer other than what’s on my web site. It's 5,000 pages.
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I HAVE AN 11 MONTH OLD SCHNOODLE. I’M A FIRST TIME DOG OWNER. I LOVE MY DOG, BUT I REALLY DON’T ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO WALK HER. I REALLY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO ‘LET HER OUT’ AND SHE WOULD WALK IN THE BACKYARD AND GO TO THE BATHROOM. THEREFORE I HAD THE INVISIBLE FENCE INSTALLED. I SHOULD MENTION THAT BEFORE I INSTALLED THE FENCE, I WOULD TAKE HER OUT 3 TIMES A DAY…IN THE MORNING, AFTER WORK AND BEFORE BED. I WOULD WALK W/ HER AFTER WORK AND THE OTHER TIMES TAKE HER IN THE BACKYARD OR TO THE CURB.
NOW THAT I INSTALLED THE FENCE A WEEK AGO, SHE IS TRAMATIZED. SHE HAS TO BE DRAGED TO THE BACKYARD OR THE FRONT, AND DOESN’T GO TO THE BATHROOM THERE. (ONLY IF SHE IS REALLY DESPERATE) SHE ALREADY HAD 2 ACCIDENTS INSID THE HOUSE.
I AM SO SORRY I DID THIS FENCE. SHE IS AFRAID TO GO OUTSIDE, EVEN W/OUT THE SPECIAL COLLAR. I HAVE TO CARRY HER OVER THE FLAGS AND FAR FROM THE PROPERTY TO GET HER TO GO. I FIND MYSELF CONFINING HER TO A SMALL AREA IN MY HOUSE SO SHE WON’T HAVE AN ACCIDENT. I AM AFRAID I DID MORE HARM THAN GOOD.
I HAVE TRIED TAKING HER OUT W/ THE LEASH AND DRAGING HER AROUND THE PROPERTY SO SHE CAN SEE WHERE IT IS OK TO GO, BUT SHE IS NOT FEELING COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO RELAX AND MAYBE TO PEE... ETC. I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS SEVERAL TIMES A DAY SINC I HA IT INSTALLED A WEEK AGO…SHE IS STILL NOT GOOD WITH IT. I USED TO LEAVE HER ON A LEASH IN THE BACKYARD AND SHE WOULD GO, NOW SHE DOESN’T….WHAT DID I DO? WAS THIS A HUGE MISTAKE?
HOW / IF POSSIBLE CAN I GET TO THE SITUATION WHERE I OPEN THE DOOR AND SHE GOES OUT TO DO HER BUSINESS?
PLEASE HELP.
MICHELE
NY
ANSWER:
When dogs are first introduced to the fence they will do this. Its normal. What you need to do is still continue to walk your dog – just like you used to. Only now the walks need to be on the street. You should have one spot that she leaves the fence – maybe it has to be in a car – then walk her and put her in the dog crate (if you are no using a dog crate – well that’s second mistake.
Read the article I wrote on house training. Also the Q&A on house training.
Back to the fencer. For a period of time – no
one knows how long. The dog is going to sit on the back step. Leave
her there. Sooner
or later she will get bored and venture out.
Bottom line is your dealer
should have gone through all of this.
I have read a few of your articles on dominance in dogs, but I did not see one on dominance in puppies. My female is 4 months old. She is very high drive and has, over the last few weeks , become extremely dominant over her litter mates ( I know you do not like the idea of raising more than one puppy at a time but everyone is afraid to buy the remaining puppies because they are afraid that they are "mean").
I do not kennel them together, but I have allowed them (there are 4 total) to play together during the day. The smallest female (who is not afraid of anything or anyone) now attacks the puppies when they come close to her. She will grab their back or neck and take them down to the ground growling. She will then stand over them until they submit. When my husband tried to pull her away so we could put her up, she tried to bite him.
We are working them all with obedience, but I am considering sending her to a trainer. The only problem is that I am not sure if she should be corrected at this young of an age. She wears a prong during walks (this is self correction to stop her from pulling and it has worked). I do not want her to be messed up by anyone.
I now do not allow her with the other puppies at all, but I also am concerned about taking her for walks where there will be other puppies. So far, this behavior has not reached beyond puppies (she does not act this way with the adult dog I have).
Any suggestions?
ANSWER:
I recommend that you go to my web site and read the article I wrote on my philosophy of dog training. I think you will get some good ideas there.
With this said – we NEVER allow pups to play together after about 10 weeks. Not ever. It is a huge mistake. By 4 months I want our dogs to be looking at us as the center of their universe. I want them to look to us for their games and leadership.
There is nothing wrong with correcting a puppy for inappropriate pack behavior towards humans. There is a difference between correcting for formal obedience and correcting for inappropriate pack behavior. Dogs instinctually know pack behavior
You have your work cut out for you.
Ed Frawley's Philosophy on Dog Training
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COMMENT ON USE OF PUPPY PRONG COLLAR:
Mr. Frawley,
I wrote you last week about my 3 mo. old GS puppy, Abby, who did nothing but bite every time I touched her ...petting, putting the leash on or off. etc. I tried everything you suggested and it didn't help at all....she just would not listen to NO or NO BITE and any kind of correction would not stop the biting or jumping on the couch and grabbing the sofa pillows. You said I should get the puppy prong collar and it came in late yesterday. I started using it this morning and I can't believe the difference it has already made. I can pet her and put the leash on, and lo and behold! no bites...just licks my hands. If she acts like she wants to bite I say NO BITE and she doesn't! I have only corrected her twice with the prong collar ...maybe level 4... and she's already like a different puppy. She even minds when I tell her NO when she starts to jump on the couch and I haven't corrected with the prong collar for that yet...just the biting. I can't thank you enough for your help ...I think I'm on my way to having a very good pet. I have your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months DVD and have ordered your Basic Dog Training DVD. I plan to train Abby as well as I possibly can (with your training techniques) to be a well mannered, obedient, loving and happy dog. Thank you again for your help and guidance.
Jean
Ed,
Received your DVD 8 weeks to 8 months, really enjoying it. Two questions: 1) I have half cocker spaniel and Chihuahua that is 14 weeks old. I've had him now for 6 days and started crate training him, he is doing quite good with the exception of peeing on himself when he sees me, I know he is excited. Any thoughts? He does potty and pee when I take him outside. He only pooped once in the crate and the pee is fresh from excitement. 2) My puppy is very moody about eating, sometimes he eats the whole bowl and other times there is at least half left, I feed the rest by hand. I really don't want to spoil him. Your suggestions?
Thanks again.
ANSWER:
The dog will outgrow this excitement peeing. What we recommend is to not greet the dog until 20 minutes after you come home.
You may want to read the article I wrote titled The Ground Work to Becoming a Pack Leader. This is the protocol we use in our home when we raise a puppy for ourselves.
Do not hand feed the dog. Put the food down for 10 minutes and pick it up.
I can’t tell you how important the all-natural diet is. It will be the most important decision you make for your dog if you put him on it.
I have written several articles on the all-natural diet. If you go to my list of training articles you can find the links.
If you would like to get additional information go to my web board and learn to use the archives of the board. There is a great deal of information there. Over 90,000 posts on living with dogs. My board is very active and a number of members feed all-natural. Use the board search function to find what you need.
ALSO read the article I wrote on Vaccinosis.
You have way more to learn than your dog. Get the 4 hour Basic Dog Obedience DVD now and study.
Good luck
Ground Work to Becoming a Pack Leader
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Dear Ed,
I am a first time dog owner who recently purchased a toy poodle puppy at 8 weeks old. She is now 12 weeks. I got a toy breed because I live in an apartment and because this is my first dog. I chose a breed in which I thought would be easy to train and be a good house pet. Even from 8 weeks, I started doing basic training at home, and she very quickly learned to sit, down, stay, and come (although she really only comes consistently when she knows I have food). She seemed like a normal puppy--very active, playful, and mouthy--although I have noticed that she nips and bites and jumps a lot when she gets excited. Unlike my friend's toy poodle, who immediately stops biting or chewing when told a firm no, my puppy seems to think I am playing when I tell her no and hold her mouth together (advise from some books that I have read). I have also tried to immediately cease all playing and ignore her when she gets overexcited and starts to nip, but she doesn't seem to get that either. She will go on to try to do something else but immediately when you resume play time she will start to bite again.
Since she is so tiny, (only 2.64 pounds!), and so young, I did not correct her firmly, until tonight....
I love very much, and she is a very lovable puppy. But out of the blue tonight, when I was playing with her, i threw a blanket (the one that came with her from the breeder) over her head, so she can go fetch, and she started to growl at me. We play fetch all the time, it's a game that she loves. I told her a firm no, and then she started barking at me! I was really caught off-guard ...I have read your web site a lot, so I know about the instincts to challenge for the leader position, but when she growled at me, I was totally confused--unsure of whether she was playing, I again told her a firm no and then turned to ignore her (again, many trainers say to just ignore bad behavior and award good ones). My dog didn't seem to care, and just went on to play with her toys. About 3 minutes later, she tried to chew some electric wires under my desk, and I told her a firm no, and she backed off. Then, she tried to chew my magazine resting on a low books shelf. I told her no again, and then SHE GROWLED AT ME AGAIN. This time, since we were NOT playing, I knew that she was challenging me. I immediately got up, scolded her, she tried to run away but I grabbed the scruff of her neck and shook her until she yelped, then I let her go immediately. She was shocked, since I had never really physically punished her before, and then she went on to chew her toy quietly on her snuggle puppy toy. Since she calmed down, I then went over to pet her and praise her for being a good girl.
After that, I felt her behavior towards me was not the same. She seemed uncertain, a bit fearful. When I put her in her crate to take a shower, she yelped and barked and whined LOUD and consistently, which she hadn't done since her first week. She stopped making noise once I came back into the room, and then I waited a bit, asked her to sit, and then let her out. Since her first week. she makes NO NOISE in her crate and generally seems okay to be there until we let her out. The weirdest thing is that, just 15 minutes before the whole growling incident we were doing training together--I would have her stay, walk away to the other end of the room, and then tell her to come--when she did, I gave her a treat and praised her. She listens always when she sees that I have a treat. When she sees that I don't, it often takes a few tries for her to sit or down for me. She is so young though--I thought she was doing well enough for her age.
Like I said, this is my first dog and I have no idea what I did was right or wrong. I am so afraid that I turned a perfectly good puppy into a fearful one by perhaps over-correcting her--and that this will do irreversible damage to her, or terrible damage to our bond. I have read so much conflicting materials about how to raise a puppy ....which explains my inconsistency in my behavior towards her. But is it normal for such a young puppy to growl and bark at the owner when they tell them to back off from something?? But what should I have done? Was she challenging me or was she just being a puppy? What should I do going forward??
For context, I make her sit or down every time before she eats or gets let out of the cage, or before I pet her when she wants to be petted. She sleeps in her crate and not our bed, although she is allowed into the bedroom when we are there. Other times, we shut the bedroom door so she has no access. It is not always possible for us to eat before she does, as my husband gets home quite late sometimes and we usually have very late dinners. So, I usually feed her before us. We crated the first few weeks while we ate, but now we give her a chewy treat so she chews besides us while we eat.
When she growled at me, I all of a sudden felt like she was a different dog, like she has another personality or something.
I understand that you are busy, and answering a question about a toy poodle puppy might not be your priority. But, like you said, just because she is small doesn't mean that I want her to get away with inappropriate behavior ....I would really appreciate your help.
ANSWER:
This is 100% an OWNER problem and not a dog problem. It’s a lack of education issue. Don’t feel bad -- this is VERY COMMON.
The way your pup is acting is normal puppy behavior. It’s your job to learn how to manage this behavior WITHOUT squishing the pups temperament (personality).
I recommend that you go to my web site and read the article I wrote on my philosophy of dog training. I think you will get some good ideas there.
You may want to read the article I wrote titled The Ground Work to Becoming a Pack Leader.. This is the protocol we use in our home when we raise a puppy for ourselves.
I would recommend you purchase the DVD I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months.
I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 30 years I have bred over 350 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup.
Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science it's simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog, The DVD has 2 ½ hours of training information.
You should also consider my 4 hour DVD on Basic Dog Obedience - The fact is you have way more to learn than your dog. I always recommend the handlers start studying this DVD right away even though you won't train a lot of the work until the pup is 4 to 6 months old.
You are always going to be exposed to people who offer advise on how to fix your dog's behavioral issues. The problem is that most of these people don’t have the experience to offer sound advise. I have a pre-written script I send people to make it easier to place some faith in my advice. It goes like this:
"Everyone has an opinion on how to train a dog – just ask you barber, your mailman and your neighbor."
The problem is very few people have the experience to back up their opinions. This results in a lot of bad information being passed out on how to deal with behavioral problems.
Pet owners like yourself need to figure out who has the experience to warrant listening to. Dog training for me is not a hobby. It’s a way of life. I have been training dogs for over 45 years. I have bred over 350 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds, I was a police K9 handler on a drug task force for 10 years and I have produced over 120 videos on dog training. Many of them directed towards professional dog trainers.
If my web site were printed out it would be over 10,000 pages. It has over 300 training article and the web board has over 90,000 posts with 8,000 plus registered members. It’s the largest dog training web site on the Internet.
Learn to use my web site search function.
I have a 9 month old Doberman. I am training her to run the house while I am away. She gets on the bed and chews the blankets. She does not touch anything else in the house and she knows it is bad. She truly does nothing else wrong, no trash, furniture, shoes, nothing. My last dobe did the same thing with our bedding for almost a year and a half before finally quitting. They sleep on the bed, so they are not jealous. She gets a treat every time she is good. Do you have any ideas. Thanks
ANSWER:
This is not a dumb dog problem – it’s a stupid owner problem.
Would you leave a 3 year old child loose in the house while you went someplace? I think not. We don’t even think about leaving a dog loose in the house when we are gone until it's 2 ½ to 3 years old.
Mr. Frawley,
The breeder from whom we purchased our dog, suggested we check out your site or contact you about a problem we are encountering with our pup, Jake. I have been a reader of your site and have gotten a lot of wonderful info from it.
Background. Jake's dad is from a Czech line. We obtained Jake when he was 11 weeks old. We were unable to make the trip until then and the breeder agreed to keep him for us. When we went to pick him up he seemed a little shy but not much. He warmed up almost immediately. He was living around other younger pups and several older dogs but no longer in the same crate. His litter mates had already gone. When we got him home he was fine with our grown Shepherd and seemed normal until a friend came. He completely freaked out. Was scared to death of her. He went to any lengths to get at least 20 feet away. We have tried to have him around people but have not allowed people to try to pet him. He has to at least be manageable for vet visits. He has gotten only a little better but now has added dog aggression to his problems. He is afraid of even small dogs or puppies. His tail is between his legs but he lunges, snarls and barks then jumps behind me. That I have seen, he has not actually made contact with his teeth. He is still very good with our other shepherd. They play without problems. Jake is now 4 1/2 months.
He was easily crate trained, house broken. Have been teaching basic obedience which he learns quickly but going easily because I don't want to make him afraid of me. He is well behaved but we do crate him when we cannot watch him. I really have no issues with him other than his fear and subsequent aggression.
My question is do you have any suggestions? We consulted a couple of behaviorists. One suggested we take delicious treats, stand near the pet store at a distance he could tolerate, start feeding him treats when we see a dog and as time goes on get closer to dogs, still feeding him treats.
The other suggested we find people who had dogs with good dog social skills and let him associate with the dogs. That is really not feasible because most people do not want a snarling dog around their dogs.
As an aside, our older shepherd is obedience trained, well behaved with no social problems.
I hope this has all made sense and hope I have included all the info you need.
I would appreciate any suggestions you could make.
Thank you very much,
Ruby
ANSWER:
This is a genetic issue. You are not going to socialize it out of your dog – your goal should be to control it. This is not an uncommon thin with Czech bloodlines – many of them are very sharp dogs – which translates into puppies that act like yours and grow up to be aggressive.
The advice from both of these people is standard advice but probably will not work.
All I can recommend is to continue to train this dog with markers training – train him in drive.
I would not allow other dogs near my dog. Not ever. There is no need for this – dogs are pack animals and strange dogs are not part of your dog's pack – you manifest his fears because he EXPECTS YOU as his pack leader to keep him safe from other dogs and strange people. In not doing this you make him neurotic. In other words – in his dog language – you are failing as a pack leader. This is a common mistake. People expect dogs to learn our language when in fact most people make very little effort to learn dog language
This dog will make an excellent personal protection dog when it is an adult. It will not be a social dog – teach it the place command – I recently added a podcast on teaching the place command.
QUESTION on Puppy Eating Rocks:
My family has just received 5 of your videos and the heavy-duty nail clipper. We're thankful for the info that your videos offer. We haven't worked through all of them yet, but we will shortly.
My urgent question today concerns our 11-week old Shiloh Shepherd puppy Toby eating rocks, mulch chips, and other dangerous items every time he's outdoors. His focus is entirely on the ground and on lunging, pulling, and otherwise getting to those novelty items. Forget about walking nicely on leash. At this point, we'd be lucky to get him to adulthood. His full brother from the same litter, Teddy, owned by another family, has just had a near-death experience with ingested rocks cutting up his intestines. We're fearful that Toby will meet with the same or even worse fate unless this habit is stopped right away.
We read your puppy FAQ on this issue, recommending a muzzle or e-collar to stop the pup from trying to eat inappropriate items. But the breeder is dead set against this because "puppies like to explore the world using their mouths," they should be gently guided towards appropriate things to do, and these methods are too "harsh" for a 3 month old puppy. Believe me, we don't
