I fly a canard every week. Yes, up elevator moves the elevator on the canard wing down. The landing gear should be adjusted so plane sits level or slightly nose down. I assume engine is mounted at rear and uses a pusher prop. Engine will overheat on the ground. My rule is to be in the air within 30 seconds from startup. If engine needs a lot of adjustment, change the prop to a std prop of the same dia, pitch, and make, and do all of the engine tuning, then put the pusher back on, quickly confirm the tuning and take off. In the air it is very normal. Mine is great in high winds. Make sure you have the CG correct. It is usually just in front of the main wing. There are methods posted at this website for calculating the canard CG. Search for it. Keep it nose heavy for the first few flights. Keep the first few landings on the hot side. If you have more questions I can help you, but you will have to give a much more detailed description of the plane. ( size, weight, wing span, canard span, wing sweep, etc) Post some pictures.