Dear Adam: While working on our dog obedience training, I wanted to make sure I understood how to correct your dog? I’ve tightened the pinch collar to make it fit snugly, but it really doesn’t seem to affect the dog. You said that the ring that the leash or tab is attached to should be down, but it keeps swinging around to the back of the dog’s neck. Can you go over how to correct your dog with the pinch collar, once again? Its almost as if he doesn’t even mind the collar pinching him and Read more [...]
Using The Right Dog Training Techniques
November 29, 2012 by
Imagine using the right dog training techniques and being able to take your dog with you, anywhere you go… and know that he’ll listen and obey! Imagine being able to take him to a picnic and tell him to lay down… even if there are 30 children running around, dropping pieces of hot dogs and burgers. Using the Right Dog Training Techniques Makes For A Happier Dog Yet your dog is so well trained that he just lays there with a lazy smile on his face! Or perhaps you decide to take your dog with Read more [...]
Should I Socialize My Puppy To Other Dogs
July 4, 2011 by
Dear Adam: I am becoming more and more frustrated with puppy training and trying to socialize my young German Shepherd dog (7 months) to other dogs (and bitches) and he is a good natured little fella but almost every dog he meets wants to fight him. To his credit he has responded in a totally bewildered non aggressive manner but I am getting worried that when his testicles drop he’s going to click all of a sudden and get his nasty head on. These other dogs seem fine until they meet him. All Read more [...]
Her Dog Sleeps On Her Bed And Growls At Her: Is This A Problem
July 4, 2011 by
Hi Adam! I have a two-year old Siberian Husky. I have had him since he was a puppy, and will be the first to admit I have been a LAZY dog owner. I would like to remedy that and was wondering if it will be too much of a problem if I start using a whistle with training him. I am an elephant keeper at the Kansas City Zoo and am getting more and more training experience and would like to start implementing that in my relationship with my dog. He knows a few basic commands, like sit and shake. I Read more [...]
Recommendations For Buying A Remote Electronic Training Collar
July 4, 2011 by
At the link below, you’ll find the remote electronic training collars that I recommend. It is important that a remote electronic training collar (an “e-collar” for short) have at least the following features: – Seven levels of stimulation. You must have the flexibility to adapt the motivation of the stimulation to MATCH your dog’s temperament. Three levels of stimulation is usually not enough. – A range that is practical for off-leash training. If the e-collar you’re using only claims to have Read more [...]
My Dog Forgets About Me When He Sees Another Dog
July 4, 2011 by
Dear Adam, Since reading your dog obedience training book (I’m actually still reading it) my year old German Shepherd and I are making great strides towards being well-trained (both of us). He has been my constant companion since he was 8-weeks old and is a funny, loving, sweet, devoted boy who is actually fun to train. I have combined come/sit/stay/down/heed into a play session using his favorite tennis ball (i.e., having him sit/say, I throw the ball, I walk away, have him go down from afar, Read more [...]
More Thoughts On Dominance Scuffles
July 4, 2011 by
An individual sent me an e-mail last week that was titled, “Dominance Scuffles.” And although I’ve already covered this subject fairly extensively as an aspect of dog aggression, I thought it was a good idea to explain it to this fellow through another metaphor. [In response to a prior e-mail:] “Thank’s Adam. I think I found the answer. ‘We determine who will be the alpha dog.’ Correct? ” My reply: “No, no no! You cannot do this! It’s impossible!!! The dogs’ temperaments are inherent. Only Read more [...]
Dog Keeps Pacing, And You Think He’s Under-Exercised
July 4, 2011 by
An anonymous writer comments, in response to prior dog training tips: “If physical exhaustion is the only answer, then why don’t I just keep him ‘chained up’ and save ME the trouble. I’m sorry I’m having trouble buying into this lack of exercise/boredom theory. About Max [the dog] …..He’s a mixed breed, part hound, part long-haired terrier, has the frame of a 15-inch beagle, as a matter of fact, he looks like a long-haired beagle (if there was a such breed). We saved him from a horrible death Read more [...]
What To Do If Your Dog Won’t Use His Dog House
July 4, 2011 by
Justin writes: “My dog won’t stay in his dog house for more than 5 seconds. What can I do? I have his favorite blanket in there. Any suggestions? Thanks” Adam replies: For some reason, I find that most dogs do not like traditional dog houses. They do, however, prefer the Tupperware-type “Igloos.” In any case, here’s what you can start doing: Feed the dog his dinner in the dog house. What you’re doing when you feed him his dinner in the dog house is that you’re associating something positive Read more [...]
Cooking Your Own Dog Food
July 4, 2011 by
Ellen writes: “I am considering making my own dog food and not using commercial dog food. Any information you could give me would be helpful. I’m looking for recipes as well as the pro’s and con’s of doing this. Thanks for any advice you can give me. ” Adam responds: I hate to tell you this, but… EVERY single one of my clients who has tried to create their own dog food has ended up– after several weeks– with a dog that looked malnourished and had health problems. Once they went back Read more [...]
Y2K Compliant Dog Ownership
July 4, 2011 by
Be Aware: The big ONE is just about upon us. That means GUN SHOTS and FIREWORKS and LOUD PARTY POPPERS and all kinds of other things that can cause your dog to go absolutely bonkers. Here’s my advice: Keep your dog confined inside the house. And preferably inside his crate, if he’s crate trained. This will give him a sense of confidence and well-being. In the same room as his crate, leave your stereo on– fairly loud! Put some soft music on the CD player… like Yanni, or John Tesh, or.. G-d-Forbid… Read more [...]
How A Dog Owner With Arthritis Will Get 100% Reliability From Her Golden Retriever Puppy
July 4, 2011 by
Ann– a visitor to our web site– writes me to ask, “I have been reading this column and researching other parts of the web, but I have not been able to answer a few questions: I have a Golden Retriever puppy that is almost 4 months old. He is already over 30 pounds and is most likely going to weigh near 100#. (I wanted one that was large.) We live on a 5-acre country lot. The dog gets lots of exercise and I want him to be able to go for country walks with me and go down to the lake with me for Read more [...]
Dog Owner Needs Motivation To Train Her Dog The Right Way
July 4, 2011 by
“Dear Adam: I’ve been going back and forth, trying to decide what dog obedience training method to go with to train my 5 month old Boxer. I have been taking her to a positive Motivation class. I agree with a lot that she says but I also question a lot of her methods. She says it will take 2 years to train her and you need to constantly be feeding it dog snacks. My dog is becoming obsessed with getting goodies. Plus, I work full time and have a 10 year old and 2 year old. I don’t have the time Read more [...]
Living With A Dog That Kills Cats
July 4, 2011 by
“Dear Adam: I have a German Shepherd female, age 2yr, 7 mo who attacked my Sheltie and nearly killed her. This concerned a bone. Then one month later, she repeated the dog aggression. We also have a yellow Lab who interacts with the Shepherd with no problems. They play together every day. After the attack on the Sheltie, the Shepherd killed a stray cat and has grabbed and bitten another cat. We live on a 16 acre farm and have 10 cats, all well cared for, current on shots and all fixed. They Read more [...]
Training The Release Command and Why You Must Use It For Perimeter Training
July 4, 2011 by
Dog owner Jenny P. wrote to me this week and asks: “A little background before the question. We live on one acre bordered by a field, woods and the street (a caul-de-sac) which has no sidewalks. I purchased an electronic collar and intend to train my Lab mix to stay within a defined border, several feet from the natural border I have described. ( I plan to set up flags as if there was an invisible fence – only I will be the one administering the correction) My question!!! How do I communicate Read more [...]
More Details On The Dog “Jumping Up” Problem
July 4, 2011 by
[ROSE REPLIES:] Thanks. That was so much more visually descriptive. Save that email and incorporate it into your e-zine. Lately, the dog has been getting so excited when we begin our walk that he keeps juming up on me as we walk. Do I pop the leash down toward the ground and make him drop to stop this, i.e., the correction is just the opposite? [ADAM RESPONDS:] It doesn’t matter really, for the jumping up. As long as it’s a negative, and it happens RIGHT when the dog does it, and it’s motivational… Read more [...]
How to Prevent a “Fly By” On The Dog Training Recall Exercise
July 4, 2011 by
Beth J. asks, “I am in the process of training my 13 month old Pit/Lab to “recall” and “random recall”. My problem (or his problem, I should say) is that instead of running TO me – he runs right PAST me! Any suggestions? Thanks! ” Dear Beth J.: It’s a very common behavior for dogs that are first learning the exercise. What you need to do is: Leave the long line on the dog. As the dog shoots by you, call it’s name once more and immediately step forward on the line. This will make the dog Read more [...]
How To Teach Your Dog Boundary Training In The House
July 4, 2011 by
NATALIE asks, “I have a silk rug from Turkey that I wish to train my dogs (black lab and welsh corgi) to not lay on. They are both smart dogs but I am not communicating what I want them to do effectively. I appreciate any guidance. Thank you, – Natalie” Dear Natalie, It’s a good question. And the technique for training this behavior is really cool. It’s the same approach we use to teach dogs to stay out of the street, or off the furniture. First, the dogs should be wearing pinch collars and Read more [...]
The Problem With Using ONLY Positive Dog Training Techniques
July 4, 2011 by
BETHANY asks: “I would like any advice you could give me regarding the use of positive training techniques. By this I mean training w/out choke chains, pinch collars or shock collars and without physical corrections of any kind. I am not against these methods per se but I am not comfortable using them and do not think they would work well on my very sensitive rescue dog. Thanks for any advice! – Beth ” Dear Bethany: The concept of Motivation is such that, once you understand it, it will work Read more [...]
Are Two Puppies Better Than One
July 4, 2011 by
The following issue about puppy training came up on our discussion forum. The major issue to recognize is that: Most people get two puppies because they’re worried about one dog being lonely. So they buy two puppies so that they’ll keep each other company. And while this logic sounds good from a human perspective, it is often fraught with problems. What happens is that the two pups end up spending the vast majority of their time bonding to each other… rather than to humans. And this ends Read more [...]
How To Teach Your Dog Hand Signals
July 4, 2011 by
It’s funny how so many people think that because a dog knows hand signals, that it’s a “really advanced” dog obedience training exercise for the dog to know. But in reality, it’s much more impressive for a dog to respond to vocal commands than it is for a dog to respond to hand signals. Here’s why: When a dog has to respond to voice commands, he must do so… regardless of whether he’s looking at you. And because the dominant thing in a dog’s mind is WHATEVER he happens to be looking at, the ability Read more [...]
How To Train Your Dog To Find Mushrooms? The Hunt For Tuffles?
July 4, 2011 by
Hi Adam! Your book is fantastic! And when I follow your advice, it works to a tee. I have a dog that is about 16 months old. She loves to fetch and find the ball. Even when I throw it in the brush, she just does a search pattern and finds it. I would like to train her to find a certain “mushroom.” Yes, I said mushroom… which seem to grow in our area. Can you give me some help on training her to sniff out this mushroom? Thank you, Bob Dear Bob: Thanks for the kind words. You’ve got exactly Read more [...]
On Not Being Intimidated By An Aggressive Irish Setter
July 4, 2011 by
Dear Adam: I have a six month old Irish Setter named Indy. She is very smart and seems to be a quick learner except in one area. I have read through your book and your dog problems advice column but have not found a suitable solution to my dog aggression problem and was wondering if you could offer some useful advice. Whenever Indy is out of her crate, she will snatch any item that is not hers, most often from the countertops but lately includes book bags, clothes etc. When we try to remove Read more [...]
Temperament Problems And Poor Nerves In An Akita Pup
July 4, 2011 by
Dear Adam: I recently purchased an Akita pup from a reputable breeder. This is my second Akita. My first Akita was a wonderful dog, thoroughly dedicated to my family died a few months ago. The problem I had with the old Akita was his tendency to be “on guard” all the time. While I felt I had him under control, I felt much like I was walking down the street with a loaded gun! Anyway, I chose a new pup that was definitely NOT the most dog aggressive Akita in the litter. In fact, he was often Read more [...]
Off Leash Dog Training – Figuring Out What You Want To Achieve With Your Dog Training Skill
July 4, 2011 by
Imagine being able to take your dog to a park or playground… off-leash… and know without the shadow of a doubt that he won’t run away. And that he will listen to every command! Now imagine that you take a tennis ball out of your pocket, and wave it in front of your dog’s field of vision. Your dog goes nuts at the thought of being able to chase his ball… which is his reason for existence!!! But instead of just throwing the ball, you speak the command, “Down!” and your dog immediately drops Read more [...]
