Most Popular Q&As

Cindy, I have had a few high drive GSD. Great dogs, except when we are in the home relaxing. I am relaxing but the dog is pacing and whining. He never seems to be able to turn it off. I was not able to ever find his "off" switch. Can you help me with some ideas or make a DVD on how to turn your dog off when you are not working? Think there is a need for us novice dogsters. Thanks

My 3 y/o intact and 18 m/o spayed GSDs are contained in our small recessed fenced yard and exercised elsewhere. Our neighbors own a 4 y/o spayed Newfie and 2 y/o intact Pit Bull who run loose on their larger property. When their dogs run up to our fence, no reward or deterrent is effective to get our dogs to stop their fence fighting which has progressed to the males locking teeth through the chain links. Also, the fence goes up a rocky and now icy hill so that it is difficult to get to the d...

Hello Cindy, I'm not planning on this happening again, but recently I walked past my dog who was lying on the floor. As I walked past him, he popped his head up and my knee clipped his snout. This was accidental, not intentional. It hurt him and he yelped. I felt very bad and went to 'apologize' (pet/reassure) and he growled at me! I told him in a low firm voice, 'no.' Then I left him alone to give him time to forgive me or forget about it. He doesn't growl at me; this is not a pattern. ...

Hello, I found your site while looking for answers for our puppy's on-again/off-again "pudding diarrhea" and I will try the pumpkin you suggest. But my question for you is when can you start feeding a raw diet to puppies? Our cat eats a raw diet and its great for him. But our breeder recommends puppy kibble for the first year and our vet is aghast at the idea of feeding anything other than Science Diet >ick< ( e.coli, salmonella, etc.). We give our cat pancreatic enzymes on his food to ...

Dear Mr. Frawley, I was just reading an article that you wrote on your website and just felt like telling you my story. My name is Nicole, and my husband, Scot, and I recently had our 3 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Rudy) put down for aggression problems. This has been the most painful decision we've ever made, and I am having a very difficult time coming to terms with our decision. We got Rudy from an out of state breeder that we thought was reputable. We had Rudy since he ...

I have read through some of your articles and feedback to relative questions by your audience, yet I still have no idea what to do. I had been with my boyfriend for approximately a year when he came home with a 13 month old shelter pup (German Sheppard mix) which he named Shadow. From the get go it was obvious that this dog had some behavioral problems (he growled & tried to bite the vet at his first check up). [**A little of my history, I have NEVER been fearful of dogs. I have had extre...

Hi, Today my son, daughter in law, and I went to a German Shepherd Rescue by appointment after the application had been accepted. We were there no more than ten minutes when we were literally told to leave and that they would not adopt a dog to my son and his wife. She notice that my son's poodle mix had on a prong collar (which for their dog seems to calm him when he is around other dogs). She said that prong collars have been banned from being use with the AKC and if they ever showed up ...

Dear Mr. Frawley, My boyfriend and I adopted a 13 month old neutered male red Doberman less than a week ago. He's very well mannered and is progressing well with the ground work we've been doing with him. We've been poring over your material and following your suggestions since the second we've gotten him and things have gone well so far. I was reading your e-book on introducing dogs to cats and I noticed you made a comment about not allowing anyone to touch your dog for any reason. Thi...

Cindy, After reading an article about walking a new dog in an area without distraction, I wanted to give a recommendation. I take my 4-yr old GSD for a one to two mile walk each night through an industrial park near my house (too many stupid owners whose dogs 'just want to say hi' in my neighborhood). Yes, we have to get in the car and drive a couple of minutes, but we NEVER see people or dogs. Occasionally a police car will pass by and they might stop and chat for a few minutes, but...

My question is related to a 14 week old German Shepherd Puppy, who has a biting problem. He is constantly chewing on hands, feet, arms, etc., and occasionally nips at the face. I can't figure out if this is an aggression problem or an over stimulated prey drive that needs more of an outlet. Regardless, it needs to stop before he gets uncontrollable. I'm trying everything (e.g., stiff correction, redirection, treats for positive behavior, exercise, putting him in submission, etc.), but all of...

Hi, My almost 2 year old dog is very friendly. We are working on competition obedience and I plan on doing our first competition soon. The problem with her being too friendly is that she wants to say hi to everybody she sees. I have been watching "The Power of Training Dogs with Food" and "Focused Heeling." She is doing great when it's just me or when we are working with our trainer, but as soon as there are more people and dogs she looses focus. How many times a day should I be workin...

My daughter has 14 week old Black Lab/Border Collie mix pup that she adopted at 9 weeks from a shelter. He is the runt of the litter, a full 5 pounds smaller than his litter mate, adopted by my son, (separate households). Ruben is a very happy, curious, energetic, smart puppy who likes to please and has done well with the limited training he has had thus far. My question arises because of something said by the teacher of the "puppy socialization class" the pups just entered. When a...

Good day, I searched the site and founds lots of interesting information. My question is about my new 3 1/2 month old Belgian Mal. Understanding that she is not in control of her bladder and bowels yet, I have trouble crating her overnight and leave her outside. If left in the crate she makes a huge mess and acts like she is being tortured. For whatever reason, she is happy going into the crate and sleeps in it outside. But, while in the house, if I place her in a crate or expen, even w...

Hello, I have a quick question. I am taking my 7 month old GSD/Mal mix through your Basic Obedience after completing the traditional classes. She did very well and continues to do very well. The issue I am having is she is very "goosey" (gets behind me, starts jumping around, hair goes up and doesn't really growl, but makes noise to get back) around people when they get within about 3-5 feet of me or her. I tell the people to ignore her, don't come any closer, back up and I put her in eith...

My compliments to you both for such an informative website! I have a 6-month-old high prey drive GS female. I've been doing the marker training since she was 9 weeks old with excellent results. I've purchased several videos including the "Tug" and "Retrieve." I've used the food throwing and rewarding inside and outside with great results. She will bring the tug back promptly inside without a leash, outside on a long leash, but when off leash outside she will stop about 3 to 5 feet and ...

We got a black lab/spaniel mix 10 wks old, although the vet thinks lab/beagle. Puppy biting was pretty extreme. I had bite marks for 3 months--put him in crate for time out when it was really bad. I know puppies bite but he actually went upside down on the floor & snarled. It stopped after 3 mos. Had him spayed at 7 mo. Amazingly intelligent-learns in 1 or 2 sessions, knows 30 different things including picking up toys by name. Follows me everywhere, NEVER away-which I love. 10 mos old now. V...

We have a 12 week old dachshund puppy that is trained enough to sleep in our bed at night, but needs to be crated during the day to avoid accidents. It has been weeks and the dog drools about a cup of drool over a 2 hour period in the crate and is very nervous when we let him back out. He whines and cries the entire time. Will he get dehydrated? When we give him water in the crate he spills it every time. Does he need some sort of medication to calm his nerves? Any help would be appreciated. ...

We have two GSD's (a male and a female) age 9 months. They were spayed & neutered at age 6 months. We have used your training videos and the dogs have performed remarkably. They were house-trained practically overnight after we used the information from one of your videos. The new problem is our neighbors. They are old, cranky, and light sleepers. We have the dogs on a routine to accommodate our work schedule. We take them out between 6 and 7 am every morning to eliminate. Some mor...

Hi, I have an 11month old GSD. She has not yet been spayed? I am waiting for her to go through one heat. She is a bit shy and I spent a lot of time when she was very young having her meet and play with other dogs and I introduced her to lots of people. I would stand out in front of stores and ask folks to pet her and I would take her on walks where I knew there would be lots of people and activity. She is very gentle with my granddaughters and she is very sensitive to a correction....

Hi, I have received the 2 DVD from your site (train with food and play with tug). I just need some quick advice. I was doing the "out" command with my dog, but he was chewing the tug toy. I narrowed and clamped closer to the muzzle, I said no. But he continue to chew, I was holding it really still. Then, he start to chew on my knuckle (hand), I said no and he continue. This happened a few times and finally today (my hand got cut and bled), the chewing got so painful and I grabbed the...