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Jana, Leerburg's Office Assistant, with her Border Collie/Australian Kelpie Cross, Wally.

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Do you have great stories about your dog? Now is the time to enter Leerburg's Story Contest.
Email your story to Cindy about
How Your Dog Changed Your Life
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I had a chocolate lab named BO – Beth’s Olympian for 10 years before he died from cancer. I can truly say that this dog was my Olympian in every way, not just because I picked him up on my way home from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Bo had an enormous personality. He had little to no prey drive or retrieving ability but he was a great companion, and to this day I think, my soul mate. For the first 4 years of Bo’s life I was an in an abusive relationship. It didn’t start off bad, but it progressively got worse. 

Bo was my lifeline when things went bad.  He would come to me, put his head on my leg, touch me with his nose, and nuzzle me to take my mind off of the situation. Whenever I was threatened, it was not a threat to hurt me, but a threat to kill him because my ex knew how much this dog meant to me. Whenever I think of Bo I think of the smile he had on his face when we played together or just chilled on the couch. I remember him barking when he wanted something, he was seriously trying to tell me exactly what he needed, and I think he thought I understood his every bark and tone… which eventually I believe I did. 

During the last few months of my relationship with my ex, things got pretty heated at times. One day I was threatened at gunpoint with a loaded 357 magnum.  At this point in my life I was dejected, humiliated, self-hating and feeling the lowest I have ever felt. When my ex stormed out of the house I picked up the loaded gun and pointed it at my head. It was at the moment when Bo quietly came out of his kennel (his safe place) and stood beside me. He looked at me and pushed me several times with his nose, telling me that I really didn’t want to do what I was thinking. It was at that moment that my life changed. I realized that my dog loved me so unconditionally and completely that I could not do anything to myself and I had to get out of the mess I was in. I had him to live for and my other lab Rip, who is still with me today. 

Bo didn’t just change my life that day; he did on other occasions as well, but none so severely.  Because of this dog, I am a Labrador person. I have three labs now, and would love one day to have my own kennel. Bo, my first true dog that I bought and owned showed me what love and trust and faith was all about.  In the end of his life when he was suffering from brain cancer, I know that he trusted me and had faith that I would take care of him the best I could, and I did, just like he did for me. Beth’s Olympian was a true friend, companion, and Olympian in every way that mattered.

Sincerely,
Beth

Michael Ellis Explains the Belgian Ring Sport

*At checkout, enter coupon code FAB4 into the comments section at checkout to receive savings. An email will be sent after you have placed your order specifying the new total. This special is valid for FOUR DAYS ONLY from Thursday, November 5th to 11:59 P.M. Central Standard Time on Sunday, November 8th. Order must be placed, received, and be dated for November 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th. Orders placed before or after this date will NOT be given the price discount. No Exceptions!
*You must select UPS Ground or Priority Mail shipping methods to be eligible for the special. Not valid for internationally shipped orders. Not valid on second day, next day or express shipping methods. Certain items are not eligible for any shipping specials such as crates, kennel mats, etc. as noted on individual web pages for those items.

Have a Question on Dog Training?

Have you checked the Leerburg Discussion Board? It is one of the most active dog web boards on the internet. The Leerburg Web Board has over 13,275 Members with over 165 forums and 212,000 posts in its archives. The web board also has an excellent search engine that only searches the web board's 212,000 posts.

This Week's Featured
Question & Answers

Our newsletter will always contain several featured customer Q&As from that week.
Have a question for Ed & Cindy? Try the Leerburg Search Engine. This search engine was written specifically for Leerburg by our in house IT manager. Our search engine is specific to Leerburg and only searches leerburg.com and the Leerburg web forum.
If you can't find the answer to your question by using our search engine, you can email Cindy here at Leerburg at cindyr@leerburg.com If you have your spam filter on, make sure you set it to receive our replies!!!

Question: Will the electric collar work on a 2 year old GSD that goes ballistic at the front door whenever anyone knocks?

Hi Cindy,

I got your catalog which shows your DVD about training with the e-collar. My question is do you think this training would work for a 2 year old GSD who goes ballistic whenever anyone comes to the door? He is pretty much out of control with ferocious barking, jumping on the door, ignores me. He is not vicious, though he acts like he is, as he acts like a kitten when I open the door.  This is embarrassing and I know it scares anyone who doesn't know him. I have an e-collar but have not had to use it as he has been very easy to train, he has his Good Citizen Certificate but this one horror is the only thing I cannot train him out of. 

Thanks for your help,
Nancy

Answer:

The ecollar is a great tool but it’s not a magic wand. The behaviors your dog is showing need to be addressed as a lack of respect for your leadership, along with incorporating obedience into the scenario. The collar will certainly help you , but there is foundational work that need to be done first.

I’d recommend changing the way he is set up in your house, so that you have control of him.  If he’s on a leash with you, how can he jump on the door and ignore you? You’ve given this dog freedom in your home that he doesn’t deserve as demonstrated by his behavior.

Start with our groundwork program
Pack Structure for the Family Pet

Then, once you see changes in the problem areas you can start introducing the electric collar to allow him off leash access to the house.  This is a process, that has steps to follow.  You don’t just buckle and electric collar on a dog and start pushing the button to change behaviors. 

Electric Collar Training for the Pet Owner is the video we produced that show the steps for using the collar.

I’ll ask our staff that handles the web board about your issue.

Cindy

For more questions on this topic, see our Q&A on Electric Collars.

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Question: Our 15 month old puppy barks at us for attention.  We will pet her to calm her down when she does this, but when we stop she starts barking again.  What can we do??

Hi Cindy,

Our puppy Lucy is 15 months old, she is a very smart dog we are of course still in the process of training her.  One thing that really bugs us is she will start to bark and bark it seems for attention especially if we have guests over.  She seems to be doing it for attention because we are just conversing with one another and she'll bark and sometimes jump on our leg, it seems to get our attention.  How do we break her of this bad habit?  We do say no bark to her in a firm voice however she keeps it up and it gets so annoying when someone is trying to talk.  We will try to give her some attention by petting her, to calm her down she is then ok and when you stop she'll start up again.   She will also do this when we sitting down at the dinner table(we never feed her table food or never give her anything when we are having dinner) or also when just our family members are having a conversation standing around in the kitchen.  Help it is very frustrating!!

Thanks,
Margo

Answer:

Lucy has you trained to pay attention to her. She barks persistently and you pet her and pay attention to her.  You need to change the way Lucy interacts with you to get the attention she wants.  This will entail teaching her that YOU are in charge and YOU decide when and where she gets attention and petting, not her.

Start with our groundwork program.  If you don’t have a crate for her, now is the time to get one.

I’d recommend this video, Pack Structure for the Family Pet.

Lucy is behaving like a spoiled little kid that wants to control all the grown ups free time, and you can expect that her behavior may get worse before it gets better.  She’s had over a year of “training” your family and if you change the rules now she’s going to try everything she knows to get things back to her way.  You’ll need to expect this and stay on track with the plan.  If you don’t get a grip on her now, you can expect her to become more bossy and dominant as she matures.

Learn to use the search function (located in the left hand corner of every page on our website) Simply type in your search terms or key words and you will be directed to articles, question & answers, free streaming videos and posts on our forum.

I hope this helps.

Cindy

For more questions on this topic, see our Q&A on Barking.

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Question: My Search & Rescue dog has been skunked twice now, will she ever learn to avoid these critters?

Cindy,

I have an operational SAR air scent golden retriever in the state of Virginia. I spent hours in the wilderness both training and on SAR missions.

My dog has been skunked twice in her life so far. The first time was at 6 months and most recently at 4 years of age. I'm always prepared and have the necessary recipe on hand to deal with removing the skunk oil and odor. My question is: Will she ever learn to avoid these critters? She lives with three cats at home and I often wonder if I have done her a disservice by socializing her with animals other than K9s. She does not chase deer or squirrels. Both skunk incidences have occurred at night out of my sight. I can only assume both times her curiosity took her in too close.

Thanks,
Dymond

Answer:

If the experience of being skunked is unpleasant enough for her, MAYBE she'll learn. I know that some of my friends have dogs that have been quilled by porcupines time after time and skunked repeatedly, so I'm not sure that most dogs put 2 and 2 together about this.

I have hand raised baby skunks in the past and I know they are slow moving, and you DO NOT want to startle them. I'm sure that your dog probably happened upon a skunk and it reacted instinctively. You don't have to get all that close to a skunk to be hit by their spray, unlike a porcupine where the dogs have to almost make contact with the animal.

The only way I would know how to create avoidance of skunks permanently would be to pair the skunks scent with an aversive like an ecollar. You would basically teach the dog when she got the slightest whiff of skunk to avoid the area. I believe it would carry over to running across a skunk on a search.

I hope this helps. Cindy

For more questions on this topic, see our Q&A on Search & Rescue.

*If you have a training question – write Cindy here at Leerburg at cindyr@leerburg.com

*If you have your spam filter on, make sure you set it to receive our replies!!!

*Our newsletter is a big success and we would like to send out a huge THANKS to our wonderful customers! Since beginning this newsletter our volume of email has greatly increased and you may have a longer than usual wait for a reply to your question.  We will answer; it just may take us a bit longer than you are accustomed to. In order to speed up this process, please condense your questions to a paragraph or two. This will make it MUCH easier for us to answer in a timely fashion. Your questions are important to us and we always appreciate receiving them.  If you have a medical issue or emergency, please consult with a health care professional right away. We can’t diagnose or treat sick dogs via email. Also, try using the search function on our site - it now searches the site AND the web board. Thank you. Ed & Cindy

Testimonials

Just want the Leerburg crew to know, that I really appreciate the care and love that goes into all you guys/gals do for not just your dogs but your clients care as well. It is very comforting to have such a volume of knowledge to draw from and the amazing feedback on answering all the emails.... I am praying hard that the door opens to attend Michael's school soon, until then I am so glad for the videos you are producing, it has been very motivating and been building my own drive as a work in progress dog trainer...

Thanks.
Paul

Leerburg's Affiliate Program
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Learn how to become a Leerburg Affiliate!

Upcoming Michael Ellis Seminar
Check out the pictures from the recent Michael Ellis Seminar
and the upcoming seminar dates!

ANNOUNCING
The Michael Ellis School for Dog Training

More details on courses, course content and dates available on the website.

http://michaelellisschool.com

SPORT CLINIC

This course is the classic competitive sport seminar that Michael has been giving for nearly ten years.  While there will be some lecture, this course focuses on hands on problem solving and the development of training plans for competitive protection sport trainers (IPO and ringsports).  The clinics cover both obedience and protection each day. These clinics are for trainers actively competing, or planning to compete in the protection sports. Handlers must have attended at least one of our seminars or taken our Obedience Intensive 1. 

Cost $250 | November 6th, 7th, 8th, 2009

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