Most Popular Q&As

I've signed up for your message board, but as it takes a few days I wondered if you could get me started in the right direction. Our European bred Shepherd will be five months old on the 14th. We got her at 3-1/2 months. We are doing well socializing her with people, but when she sees another dog, she strains and lunges with all of her strength to get over to them while barking VERY loudly and aggressively. Our trainer (who uses many of your techniques similar to your puppy ...

Hi Cindy, My name is Annette. I recently got a 8 week old ( now 14 weeks ) Doberman pup. I plan on doing schutzhund with her. I am brand new to schutzhund. I became interested in the sport after watching a few trials and seeing a couple videos of her mother doing protection work. The breeder had the pups evacuated before she sent them to their new homes, to make sure the right pup would be going to the right homes, as some new owners wanted ob and two of us wanted working pu...

I have a cocker poo that we love dearly (weights 28 lbs) that eats paper and clothes. We have tried everything-behavior training, lemon juice, etc. If you leave something down for a second he is off and running. I use a walker so it is difficult to get to him. He is also bad when he goes with his dog walker trying to grab paper in the street etc. I even had a nutritional study done but he was fine. I am terrified that he will get ill. Recently a friend left her denim jacket on the couch for a...

I hope you can help me with my new German Shepherd puppy. When we got him he was 7.5 weeks and a he's a very aggressive chewer and biter. I've had a german shepherd before and do not allow puppies to bite and chew on anything but their own chew toys. I have never let him bite me or chew on me because he is "cute and little." We constantly were correcting him and telling him "no." One night my husband and I were playing with him rolling a ball around while he chased it. He went to the door...

Where do I start. Maxx is a Black Cocker Spaniel that I rescued when he was 6 months (now he is 23 months). I rescued him from being put down. Maxx is very aggressive and I don't know what to do. It seems like he doesn't want to be around anyone by me. He is very selfish and doesn't even want anyone or another dog to touch him. Examples: When I put Maxx out to go to the bathroom (he is very Obsessive Compulsive) he always goes to the bathroom in the same place in the yard which is a good ...

My 80 year old aunt adopted a baby Rottweiler. When he got to be about five months she couldn’t handle him anymore (Da). I thought I was doing her a favor and I took him in but he had already developed bad habits and I think he is dominant. I’ve taken him to two trainers and finished basic obedience. Things are going pretty well. The other day I took him to the vet to get neutered and he attacked the vet and all the staff. I’m sure he was just scared and they were trying to tell them w...

Hi Cindy, I have a 4 1/2 year old GSD that I got as a 2 1/2 year old. She absolutely goes nuts over the vacuum cleaner. thought she was afraid of it until I read on the site that her behavior is likely due to prey drive. That makes sense because she has a very strong prey drive as evidenced in play and her interest in chasing squirrels (which she doesn't get to do because she isn't off leash anyplace we might encounter them). Do you have any suggestions on how to train her to know the vacu...

Hi Cindy, Any time my dog gets approached by an off leash dog during our walks, he wants to run away. Whether it's a small poodle or a large dog, my 1.5 year old male German Shepherd with no training always wants to run away from off leash dogs. How can I teach him to hold his ground? It's so embarrassing, and I don't want to hit other dogs.

Hi Cindy, About a year ago we adopted a 1 year old Plott/Sheppard mix. We decided at the time to raw feed and bought an assortment of books. Since we raise our own poultry, chicken was the natural choice for protein. We would grind the chicken along with the bones, and add some carrot or other vegetable, a touch of molasses and a little vinegar. After 2 or 3 months (it was March) on the diet we noticed Zoe shedding a lot. Since she was new to us we weren't sure if the shedding was natural ...

I just listened to Ed's video about your advice to the lady whose veterinarian recommended to neuter her GSD at 10 months as it stopped growing. I only agreed with Ed on one thing -- that this Vet was a moron. He said that vets should stick to what they know -- i.e., medical related areas -- this is no true -- many don't even know their medical stuff. I strongly disagree that you and him recommend to neuter a dog after it matured. The research on this matter is clear - there is no hea...

Hi Cindy - I have 2 German Shepherd dogs - a 20 month old recently neutered male that we got as a pup, and an 18 month old intact female we have had since September. Both get daily obedience training and play at home, and professional training (obedience and scent work). Plenty of exercise - between 3-6 miles of walking daily. Both are attentive, eager to please and have pleasant demeanors. Male is more boisterous. Dogs ride in back of our SUV in a 2 dog crate with a divider. The male l...

Hi Cindy, I have many of your videos including "playing tug." My 3 1/2 month pup and I are playing tug. This has went along pretty good at first, but now he wants to lay down as we play. To counter this I move the tug toward him and up as to not push the tug back into his mouth. The forward pressure gets him back on his feet, but when I start pulling away from him he will lay back down and try to hold onto the tug. Is this a problem at this stage and if so what should I do. Thank you

Hello, Can I use the pager/vibrate feature on your ecollars as a clicker? Thank you in advance.

I have a 4 year old dog (Buster) who has always showed aggression over food, mainly anyone besides myself and my husband who enters the kitchen when I am in there. I have no problem taking away his food or holding his bowl when he is eating. Last week my friend came over to visit and her girls stayed overnight. I was in the kitchen when one of the girls who is eleven came in, I immediately knew by the look on his face he was going to growl so I said NO!!!! He then jumped at her and...

I’m sending my 3 yr old GSD to training at a training facility next week for three weeks. I am told that they use e collars and prong collars which I have no problem w/. Just wondering since I have not tried a harness and I see you have quite an array. Maybe this question is premature but do you have a suggestion from your line of products? He’s super athletic and very strong and goes nuts when he sees another dog on walks. I feel much safer walking w/ him than by myself but to what end? ;)

Hi Cindy, I would like to purchase some of your training videos for my young GSD. He is quite a handful. I am concerned because I am fearful I may have set him back in training because my trainer here has had me be pretty stern with corrections, even in the beggining phases when he was a puppy. Neither do we train with treats. I notice now that he is older, he no longer wants to "come" and is starting to run from me. Have I RUINED OUR RELATIONSHIP with my training? If I purchase s...

I have an 11 month old GSD that hasn?t been socialized much. He is a rescue; I got him at about 4 months old and have had him out in public, but he needs obedience training. He is non-reactive to other dogs, cats, children etc. I want to try and train him to be a service dog (I suffer from PTSD) as he appears to have a very good temperament. I purchased the Michael Ellis self study Training with Food. He is too old for the puppy video you have and was wondering is it too late to train him for...

I have a one year old Belgian Malinois that I want to work with for protection training and bite work. I am fairly new to dog training and would like to know which courses and/or DVDs I should watch, and in what order should I take them to develop a good protection dog. Thank you!

We rescued a Black lab about 2 or 3 years old, when we rescued her she was brought in with another female dog. We have introduced her to other dogs and she is very aggressive, always growling, showing her teeth, and this one time went after the dog. She is very dominate and other dogs are scared to death around her. We are not sure of her past or know what has happened, but we need to find out a way to snap this behavior fast. Is there anything you can recommend? we need her to be able to be ...

I learned the "European methods" of working dog training in my early years, and now reading the articles and seeing the videos of your methods of dog training, I need help in how to fix the bond damage caused by them. I had learned from trainers I observed to use the leash end as a whip. If the dog doesn't respond to a command, you issue a "correction" lash to their behind and then repeat the command. I respected these trainers and they had great dogs, and even though I didn't like this metho...