We have two smart dogs. The oldest one is lab and blue heeler female about 5 years old. Her name is Twiggy. She actually can say a word or two. I was so impressed I put up a web site in her honor just for dogs that can talk to humans. Her comprehension vocabulary is really large. I can embed words she knows into a sentence of words she doesn't quite get and she picks them out. She talks volumes with her body language.

My first comment is "its really hard to treat a dog as a dog when your pet acts like a small child with a speech impediment" One thing I've noticed is she craves to know "what's going to happen next." I think most dogs that can't communicate on a human level like a daily routine so they know what's coming next. My brother says his horses act the same way. Its a kind of security. Since Twiggy communicates on a human level I give her choices. I say a list of things and she barks once "yes" when I say the thing or things she wants. Raise the left paw means "I want a snack" If its a carrot she says "carrot" (tries) if its something else we do the list. We gets a big charge out of this. Its like I unchained her or something. If we are going to go in the car I say "we are going for a ride" She hears the word ride and shes at the door ready to go. Let her choose and know what's coming and she's in dog heaven for the rest of the day.

Anyway, where I'm going with this, we recently got a second dog. This new one is part border collie and part blue heeler. His name is Stetson. Twiggy adopted him at 13 weeks. She's been a good mom (showed him how to dig holes, spars with him, etc).

We have had to be very assertive though. She can be overbearing at times. She goes nuts whenever he passes though any door but especially if he rushes through (which he usually does). She cries and yelps (like as if I was robbing a nest) until I put Stetson outside or he runs under the coffee table to get away from her.

We are not afraid of our dogs in the least and set limits. We let her know with consistent words and hand what she's doing is not desirable behavior but until she's sure we have Stetson under control she wants to go herd him. Its an instinct she hasn't been able to control yet but its improving slowly.

The other thing she does we don't like is she goes off on a barking binge if she sees a deer outside or UPS shows up to deliver a package. I've grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and pushed her down with a firm "NO". The barking stops for about a second and then starts up again on the floor. She can't help herself. I've seen your show on this that recommends a choker chain collar. We use choker collars a fair amount for training but she pulls these barking binges faster than I can get to her. Again its an instinct we have difficulty helping her control. She knows we don't like it. She just can't seem to control herself in these two cases but tries. I can see and hear her trying. Please make suggestions if the mood strikes.

Stetson doesn't have these issues at all but he isn't nearly as vocal or high strung as Twiggy either... yet.

One final comment. I think if you raise a dog with no discipline you get a monster. If you raise a child with no discipline you get exactly the same thing. Humans aren't so different. After watching many of your shows I've concluded many of your problem dogs are the product of overly permissive homes. As a society we seems to have issues with discipline across the board right now.

You shows have caused a lot of discussion in our family about how best to handle discipline issues. Hope you find my comments useful in some way. Keep up the good work.

You need to put a Halti or a Gentle Leader on that sniffing beagle. When you put it on, make sure you also clip it to your dog's regular collar, which should be a flat clip collar, not a choke chain. By using the Halti or Gentle Leader you will reduce the pull power of your pup by about 70%. And where the nose is led, the dog will follow. I recommend this for many of my clients who have difficulty keeping their pet at heel.

I have a 7 yr od chihuahua Lupita, who I treated like a baby for too Long, she isnt very social. She growls and snaps at everyone including me especially when I take her leash on and off her collar. I recently got a second dog, a 11mo yellow lab,Louie he is very docile and submissive. she growls and bites at him even when he lays on the floor bedside her. she also has a bad habit of going potty in the house when Louie is in the house. usually in my room. any suggestions treating the bad behavior Lupita is a good dog when she wants to be.