Remember: these dogs are highly intelligent!  and a mannerly, trained dog is a loved dog. Remember to be your pup's leader, teach them good things like manners / take them to obedience school, ...they look up to you for that leadership, they need someone to respect, it's in their nature. This respect is NOT earned with abuse or heavy handed tactics, it's simply a matter of simple, firm, consistent and direct "teachings". A good leader is a good TEACHER. There are several online avenues for learning how to teach your dog, and many trainers can teach a dog, so if there is a tough issue, it's probably in how you're reacting or not reacting to it. In most cases, it's the HUMAN that fails the dog when a persistent problem is at hand.

Training horses has the same problems.... A trainer can bring the knowledge to the animal and have huge success with them, but then when the animal goes home and the old ways of the owner are again upon the animal, it can undo all the work the trainer put in! Because this is a very common problem, it tells us these problems are NOT set in the animals, it's in the human errors. So YOU need to maintain their training, keep up the progress a trainer started, and remember, if your trainer seems to give up on a problem or is not getting the results you want, find another trainer! Every dog will have some kind of problem area, and a good trainer will not get stumped by a common problem.

Many of the common problems for new owners are: leash aggression, soiling in the house, puppy biting, barking, and jumping. A good trainer will have the tools (knowledge) to help stop these issues, can help you earn the respect from the pup but not break it's spirit. There is a huge difference between good healthy discipline/correction and  just being a mean bully. A trainer will need to help you through this and to understand the difference. A pup that doesn't respect you can actually challenge you later on, or can bully your you and your family. But a "beat down" pup can turn on you because there is no level of admiration, love, or  desire to please you. 

 An issue that is not properly dealt with in the beginning, can get worse, so please see a trainer if you're struggling with something. (Our pups no longer jump on nor nip at the kids once they're about  4 months old, usually before that even because I teach them not to.) BOTH the pup AND the kids need to be taught, a family pet should not think they can "get after" or 'discipline' for ANYTHING the kids do, (that is a set up for disaster!), but the kids should NEVER think they can tease and be mean to the dog either! Teach them BOTH, it's your responsibility.

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So be strict, but loving... and above all be a great teacher, but pay attention to what you are teaching. For instance, by using a "divert" tactic that so many promote today, are you teaching your pup that bad behavior can earn them playtime with you? Many owners get into that trap and don't understand what went wrong, their dog is getting more and more belligerent in it's disruptive behavior, and the owners don't get any peace when the dog wants something. The 'divert' is a must have tool, but can easily be misused as well. Sometimes that owner will escalate the problem without even knowing they're doing it. 

Obedience training is an excellent place to start when they're young, and can most often be done at home, by the owner.  But if you have an issue you're not making progress in, PLEASE see a good trainer, it can make a difference between training success and blaming the pup or even the breed. That blame makes things even worse then, it is counterproductive and often results in frustration and anger for you, and may even place fear on the pup (they ARE babies after all) because it reads your emotions, and the end result is usually the "dumping" of him/her. So be a good pup parent and seek training help with any "stuck issues", it's only fair to the pup to make sure you know and learn as much as you can in order to be the best pet parent you can be.

They're dogs, not 4 legged humans! Many problems can come up when "human thinking" is expected of the dogs. The 'human thinking' style of training fails over and over, and over again, yet so many seem intent on sticking with it, and that is causing more and more dogs to be "given up on" by their owners. Did you know that most dogs that are 'owner relinquished' to shelters, are usually given up on due to 'behavioral issues'? That's just sad. Dogs do NOT think like people do, (yet humans tend to insist that they do) and good training can fix most all problems, the human just needs to be willing to open their mind, be willing to get down to the basic 'dog level' of thinking, and understand the dogs' language. The owner needs to WANT to keep their fur baby enough to do this for them.

Facts show that most dogs' problems reflect on who is currently at the end of the leash.

For instance: Watch a 'problem' dog with their owner and watch the problems arise. No matter how many times the owner tries to "correct", the dog ignores them.

Then watch the same dog with a trainer who knows what they're doing, and within a few short minutes (if the issue isn't a serious one), they have the dog listening and behaving! Amazing? Well no it's just that the trainer has a different attitude with the dog.....Then watch the dog again with their owner and watch the dog in a short time start to ignore all the work the trainer JUST put in. Same dog / HUGE difference. ....This tells us it's the owner that isn't "getting it", not the dog! 

In my own home, mine are quick to follow my commands but slower to follow the kids' same commands. Another proof is that a "rescued" dog from a shelter, given up for behavioral issues, CAN be an amazing dog with the right training! In fact it's such a big business there are even shows on that topic. Here is a link to a great channel that helps a lot of new pet owners with basic care and even training problems: http://fidotvchannel.com/#  Another one of my favorites on that channel was 'Tibor to the Rescue' (although now I cannot find an online link to those episodes). His information for training is there, but not the actual episodes.  "At the End of my Leash"  deals with unusual or extreme problems that often cause bigger problems in the family unit,  and "Tibor to the Rescue", also deals with training issues, but  features rescued adoptions. You might get some good training tips from these two, but more importantly they show how even the most disruptive behaviors can be corrected with the right teacher.

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......So choose your training carefully, if one trainer isn't getting the results you are looking for, you need to find out why, or choose another trainer/method that fits you and your pup. If you're PAYING a trainer, that trainer SHOULD be able to get the results you desire IF they're a true and educated trainer. There are many "just the basics" type trainers out there, so if you come up against a real problem and your trainer doesn't know what to do about it, you need to find a more 'in depth' trainer or the problem could escalate. Be responsible, ask the trainer questions, a good, experienced trainer will not be stumped with a common behavior problem such as leash aggression, dominance issue, disobedience problems, etc. 9 times out of 10 it is caused by something the owner is doing or not doing, and once that is discovered and "fixed" things settle right down. Know  what you want and work towards that goal from the very beginning.

 If you want a family guard, then please don't stop the "alerting" behavior when they're puppies. Many people train it right out of them without even realizing it. Example: If they are alerting to someone coming up the drive, let them bark the alert! If they hear something outside, investigate it with them, and praise them for "letting you know it was there". Once you have investigated the alert, they can be told to settle down, their job was done well, and now it's time to quit barking and behave. The leader (you) has taken control of "the situation".

.....You need to be encouraging of the good behaviors and not tolerant of the bad. Try not to encourage the bad behavior, (and that seems to be particularly difficult, especially with puppies because they can be so darn cute when they're doing it) but bad behavior should never be rewarded with positive attention, treat, or praise. ** I had one family call with a problem of the dog's (about 9 mo old by then) constant interruption when she got on the phone. Now, she worked out of the home office so this was becoming a real problem! It turned out that she would "divert with a toy" as some trainers had suggested, so then the dog had learned that the "phone time" was a perfect time to get some playtime in with her. She would play tug of war to keep him from barking or disrupting her while on the phone. A better solution was to put him out or in a down stay if he wanted to act up like that. Once I pointed that out (he actually started it as soon as we were on the phone) she noticed it. He stopped as soon as she stopped catering to it. 

So be careful to not remove the behaviors you want to keep, but to curb the behaviors you don't want. They will catch on to the difference. For instance, nuisance barking is a "no no" around here, but a valid reason for barking is good.... Mine know the difference!

ALL dogs can be good dogs, it just depends on HOW they are being taught.

Be responsible, ALWAYS be the good leader, and be consistent