Member Questions 6-7-2026

Mary

My husband has health issues.  6 months ago he had a stroke and came home using a walker and a cane.  Then got stronger and didn’t need them.  Recently he had a health emergency which weakened him again. He started using the walker in the morning and the cane later in the day.  Our 3.5 yr old malinois, Captain, is now barking at my husband when he enters the room with his walker.  Captain’s hackles go up and he will run towards my husband barking.  There is no nipping or aggression and he does settle and wag his tail and enjoy some affection.  How should I handle the barking?

Kelly

Hi Robert. I have an eight month old cockapoo who does great with recall when she’s on a leash and with treats In the rare instance when she doesn’t come to me when on a leash and I pop her Leash it doesn’t seem to phase her. She will also at times run from us when called inside as though it is a game.  We do not chase her and try to get her to chase us but she is stubborn. We do try to make us the most fun with excitement, treats and praise. 

Zach

Hi Robert - We are adopting a 1.5-2 year old (they aren't 100% sure) Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd Mix on Saturday she arrives from being transported from Texas to Maryland, she is about 50 lbs and very gentle and sweet. When should we begin training sessions with her? I believe we need to build our bond with her first and have her acclimate to her new home, so I was curious as to your thoughts. I had asked a question last week about running with her and forgot to mention her age, size, and breed! She is crate trained and house trained already, but I would like to begin obedience training with her with come, stay, and leave it soon so she has fun with me and also learns from the get go. Also, I'm not sure if I should be hand feeding since she's much older than a puppy at this point so curious your thoughts there as well.

Oliver

How do I get my dogs to stop barking! I lose my voice from yelling so much! The main barker is about 2 years old, I've had her since she was 6 months old! She was a barker before I dopted her. Some people about a block away moved away and didn't take her! My other dog is about 10. When I adopted him 4 years ago, he never barked. He picked up her bad habit. So how do I get them to stop? I was thinking an e-collar would help?

Oliver C

We raise a 10 month White Shepherd 100% using your philosophy. I try to be the best R. Cabral I can be, so I prevent her to pick things from grass/streets. Worked hard on leave-it & "auss" (amongs many other things). Most often works very well. She started eating bird poop (difficult to spot in grass). If I approach her calm, kneel & calmly say "what u have" or "auss", she jumps & mouths (not bite) my hand making it a wrestle & difficult to take it out of, if not too late. Frustrating, poop carries diseases but I don't want to let her think it is a game, destroy relation or make her possessive. 

Sue C

Hi my Dutch Shepherd whose 3years is not keen on other dogs. I have been doing lots of recalls and thought they were good until yesterday when she saw another dog and she took off before I could stop her. we were just getting out of the car so she was not leashed, the others dogs were not either. No matter what I did she just kept chasing them even with her e collar @15 she did not stop. I am at my wits end as how to get her to ignore dogs, do you have any suggestions. She did not hurt the dogs but she could of done some damage as it was 3 small breeds. she did come back with them barking at her heels.

Shawn

Hi Robert, when we first got our pup, he had Giardia. The first several weeks it was nearly impossible to keep him from accidents in the house, not his fault, but it was very difficult to get any timing structure weeks 9-12. He’s now great in the crate, we have a solid schedule, but several times a week he’ll just stop pee on the floor. Example: we’ll walk out and go potty, come back inside, train, and he’ll just stop to pee again. We never scold for that. He can hold it all night in the crate with no issue, but still has accidents even after taking him out 5 or more times per day. Think this is a leftover from his first few weeks? Ideas? 5mo Border T

Mary S

My 3.5 yr old malinois is unreliable on his “out” command. He loves to play frisbee, but I think he loves “tug” more. I throw the frisbee and he always brings it back. He will drop it at my feet, but if I ask for him to hand it to me, he struggles to let go. I don’t pull on the frisbee when he doesn’t give it up. But sometimes I have to repeat the command and give him more time which is probably a no-no. How do I train the “out”? I probably didn’t focus on it much earlier..

Ed

Where did you find the balls you used with Schmoo?