Most Popular Q&As
November 7, 2011
I'm interested in biking with my GSD, but I'm worried about him lunging and pulling the bike over when he sees a rabbit, fox, deer, etc. What is your experience with this?
Hi Cindy,
I watched the video with you and Rush and really liked the idea of exercising him with the bike. I have a GSD that weighs 98 pounds, is very fit and has high prey drive. In your experience, do you think this will be a major concern if I were to try this form of exercise? Have any of your dogs lunged and pulled the bike over when they saw a rabbit, fox, deer, etc.?
My dog has done intermediate level obedience, knows "attention heeling" and is generally good on leash but the ani...
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January 3, 2012
Today my dog bit my daughter's friend. What do I do now?
Hi Cindy,
I want to thank you, Ed and Michael for all the valuable services you provide to dog owners everywhere. I used the information and advice you have on your website plus the discussion boards to obedience train my dog. Nothing special, just a well behaved dog at home and in the park. Today something very sad and terrible happened. I did something very stupid that both me and my dog will regret for the rest of our days together. I want to share it with you and ask a question. I am h...
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October 10, 2011
We got a new puppy to help our dog get over the loss of our other dog. She has become aggressive towards the puppy. How can I help my older dog get over the loss of her bestfriend and accept the new puppy?
I need help. I recently lost my German Shepherd to cancer, she was only 5 years old. We also have a 3 year old Malamute that is very depressed because of it. Everyone we know told us to get another dog for our Malamute so we did, but she has become very aggressive towards the puppy and I am afraid she is going to hurt her. How can I help my older dog get over the loss of her best friend and accept the new puppy.
88% (22 out of 25)
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April 19, 2011
My neighbor’s dog barks so much I am thinking about poisoning him. What can I do?
I just read your piece on the Internet about showing the dog lovers out there all the various methods of training their dogs to refuse food.
I am a person who lives next door to a couple of first class ass-holes who have a large dog that barks and barks and barks and barks. It barks at everything and it barks at nothing.
It barks all day long and all night long, and these two idiots tell me that there is nothing they can do about it. I can't afford hiring lawyers and suing p...
88% (22 out of 25)
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May 19, 2011
My sheriff will not allow us to use our dogs for S&R unless it is certified. Where or how can get this done?
I am writing from the north woods of Minnesota where there are less than 5000 residents in a county that is more than 90% public lands. There is not a lot of activity here for Search & Rescue, but when there is, it is naturally traumatic. We have found that when dogs could be of use that it is many hours before a trained and certified professional can arrive. The closest certified unit is 5 hours away. So for over a year now I have been training my Chesapeake for SAR work. We started with air...
88% (21 out of 24)
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April 28, 2011
My dog went through a complete personality change after she was spayed. I am wondering if you think she is a fear biter and should be put to sleep?
I got Patton from a breeder when she was 11 weeks old and she was delightful - friendly to all. She went to stores with me and played at the dog park. She would go to manhattan and stay with my daughter and son in law and I would visit and she was the same - went into restaurants, stores, etc. When she turned 8 months old and was spayed, the world changed. She became very aggressive to all strangers - and she despises children. (She is fine with dogs off the leash still.) We have a very g...
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April 19, 2011
My 10 month old dog almost bit me when he was barking at something he saw in the front yard (through the living room window). Why did he do this?
Our male 10 months old GSD was standing up on our couch barking loud and hard out the window at a white plastic bag which was floating around in the wind. I tried to stop him and pull him down from the couch put he turned on me as if fighting with another dog and just touched me a few times with his teeth but did not bite hard but it was a bit of frenzied attack, he would not come down on command. So I tried to pull him down, and this was a bit of a shock to me because, I thought I had establ...
88% (21 out of 24)
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May 18, 2011
The ears on my 14 week old German Shepherd pup were up. 2 days ago one went back down. Should I be worried?
I have a German Shepherd (not from you), he is 14 weeks old. After 9 weeks both of his ears stood up, not straight up, they actually leaned towards the middle quite a bit. However, a few days ago his left ear just went down and has not gone back up. Does this mean that he has a broke or lame ear now? This has me really worried since both ears were up, but now one won't stand. Is this normal, or did he hurt it some way? Will it ever go back up or not? Thanks for your help, and answers.
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88% (15 out of 17)
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April 28, 2011
What would be the best e-collar for my one year old great dane?
Hi Ed,
I have purchased your dominant dog collar, e-collar, and dominant dog videos and was wanting to know what would be the best e-collar for my great dane of one year.
He has a bad habit of lunging at other dogs on our walk. I have fixed the problem mostly by spraying him with compressed air if he doesn't obey the 'leave it' command', but I think an e-collar might be a better solution with other uses also.
I have attached some pictures of him and my other dog over ...
88% (15 out of 17)
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April 19, 2011
In the last month, our 4-month German Shepherd has been chasing her tail and barking. This is usually displaed when she is excited. Any suggestions?
Cindy,
We have a 4 month old German Shepherd puppy. Over the last 3-4 weeks she has been chasing her tail and barking. We purchased her at 10 weeks old and for the first couple of weeks she didn't demonstrate this behavior. We crate her when we leave the house and during the night, but she is out of the crate and on leash when we are home. We try to exercise her by walking her 2-3 miles per day, but that doesn't always happen. We have been correcting her by voice commands "NO" and ...
88% (15 out of 17)
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February 7, 2014
I am an obedience instructor and have a very large Cane Corso in my class. I'm unsure of what type of training collar to use.
I am an obedience instructor for my training club and I have a question about training collars for large breed, protective dogs. I currently have a 120 lb Cane Corso in my class and I'm unsure what type training collar I should use. The dog seems very mellow, but it was only the first class. I have experience with prongs and use them quite often with success. Since this breed of dog is known for aggression and because of the size and power, I really need help. Currently, the owner is using a ...
88% (14 out of 16)
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September 27, 2012
We have chosen not to get our female spayed. How do you handle a female in heat?
Hi,
Can you point me to any articles or eBooks, or give me some advice on how to handle a young female in heat. This is her third heat and we've handled it so far, but we just got turned on to your videos and methods and philosophies and we would like to learn how to handle this right. We have chosen not to have her spayed, as we plan on getting one litter out of her, probably this time next year, when she'll be two and a half years old.
Thank you for your time, and thank you for the gr...
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June 25, 2012
Will a muzzle help my aggressive dog realize that the group we walk with won’t cause her harm?
We have a rescued SCWT who, after a year of walking with the same group, is still agressive toward the others. I'm wondering if I try her with a muzzle, will that help her interact and realize that they will not harm her? Any thoughts or advice would be welcomed.
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November 21, 2011
Is a dog ever too young or too old to start training using the methods shown in The Power of Training Dogs with Food and The Power of Playing Tug with your Dog?
I have a 3 year old black lab mix (who does AKC obedience and rally) and an 8 month old GSD.
Is a dog ever too young to start Michael's training program, for example the power of food and tug. I have both of them. Is my black lab to old to start it? And what should I do differently?
88% (14 out of 16)
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August 16, 2019
Is it a bad idea to give my puppy beef bones with baby teeth?
I have a 13 1/2 week old puppy that I feed a raw meat and bone diet to. For the last few days I would give her a raw, meaty shank bone to chew on while she?s in the expen. Just today I noticed two of her small front teeth missing and one is loose. It seems too early for her to be teething (but maybe not). Is it a bad idea to give her beef bones with baby teeth? And is there any potential problem with her teeth missing early? Thank you.
88% (14 out of 16)
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May 20, 2011
My husband and I have a pup, who shows real signs of separation anxiety. Every single day she urinates and defecates in her crate, without fail. Is there anything I can do differently?
My husband and I have a 14 week old black lab named Marla. She has been with us for 6 weeks. She shows real signs of separation anxiety and appears to be a clingy puppy. She doesn't like to be left alone and when she is out of her crate she follows me and my husband everywhere we go. During the day we put her in her crate while we work, which has been reduced in size so that she just fits and can just stand and move to lay down. Every single day she urinates and defecates in her crate, w...
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May 18, 2011
My 4 month old puppy is very unruly in puppy class. I've tried a prong collar, a choke collar and a nylon collar and nothing works. Would a dominant dog collar help?
Thank you Ed and Cindy for all the information on the Leerburg website. I just purchased 3 DVDs - puppy, basic obedience, and pack structure and am anxiously awaiting their arrival.
I have a 4 month GSD hard puppy. He has strong prey drive and is learning quickly with markers and food (at home, no to low distractions).
At weekly obedience school (outdoor, at least 50 other dogs around, super high distraction), he is very unruly. I've used a standard choke chain, a snug prong...
88% (14 out of 16)
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April 12, 2011
My dog awakens from a dead sleep snarling, baring teeth and barking when no one is around him, in or out of his crate. What do you think could be wrong with him?
First let me say thank you for putting together such an amazing web site. I also purchased your video on dog aggression and have learned a tremendous amount. I have two Dobermans, male and female littermates, now 8 months old. They have had few nasty fights, but through tips from your video and training and working with them separately, we have made amazing progress.
I am still stuck on one issue... Ruger, the male, is the sweetest boy. However, he awakens from a dead sleep snarlin...
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July 7, 2023
My trained explosive detection and tracking dog shows no aggression in day to day life but when he has any type of painful experience he becomes HIGHLY aggressive only towards me. Can you help me?
I have a pretty well-trained Belgian Malinois. He does explosive detection and tracking very well. He is also very obedient. He has no aggression toward dogs, territory, toys, people, etc. But for some reason when my dog has any sort of pain whatsoever, he becomes highly aggressive only toward me. I have been reading and have been familiarized with a lot of your training methods at Leerburg since I left K-9 handler school. But even in your literature or the schools, I can’t find anything th...
88% (7 out of 8)
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October 20, 2014
My terrier mix is really hard to train and he won't come when called! He likes toys, what kind of tug will hold his interest?
I have a 15 pound terrier mix (probably Cairn/Lassa) who is really hard to train, especially to come when called. I've tried treats, toys (he likes tugs), long lines, etc. Even the Chihuahua is more consistent at coming when called. What kind of toy would hold his interest longer than a rope tug? It lasts about 3 minutes.
88% (7 out of 8)
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