Most Popular Q&As

Ed, You have been most helpful in the past. I read an article on your web site regarding 'tail chasing' where you indicated that the dog is just 'nuts'. We have a beautiful year old bitch Gretchen. She is walked miles every day, heels like second nature; has plenty of space to run; plays aggressively all the time with our male GS. She is not crated, and is rarely left alone. She just started pacing and chasing her tail in the last month. I am at home all day and she is ALWAYS ...

I have a Bernese Mt dog. What is the best way to keep the snow from building up between her toes?

Hi. I have a 10 month old BOERBOEL. I feed him premium dog food but he looks skinny around the hip. I am thinking of the raw diet but, will this change his moods and get aggressive? I have a 3 year old boy that plays with him. If my boy falls and bleeds, will this attract the dog to his wound?

Cindy, I recently switched my 2 GSDs (a male, 3 years old & a female, 10 months) to a raw diet. It's been 3 weeks now. I have no issues w/poop, etc. Both love it. My 3 year old's teeth are already white again! And his coat is softer & shinier. I feel pretty confident in my meal prep, but I do have a question? Have you heard of dogs being allergic to chicken? I ask, because both are scratching like crazy, especially at night. Today I remembered that when I got the male, the breeder had him...

I have a 9 week old male pup from strong working lines. had him a week. Really super, level headed, drives that us working folk are looking for. One snag though. When playing with a towel, rag, old shirt, he has started humping it? after winning it. Is this a worry, what action should I take. So far I distract him and continue the game. I'm following Micheal Ellis systems on training. Would appreciate some sort of guide.Thanks

Hi Cindy, It's been a while since we spoke last, but I have a question about our new dog: but first some background. We have just recently adopted a rescue female miniature poodle that is 2 years old. We have had her for almost two weeks now and have been putting her through the ground work training as taught by Leerburg. She has accepted myself and my wife as the pack leaders (more so me than my wife but still minds my wife very well) and she is a very loving and quite obedient dog. We ha...

I was reading your page on Vaccinosis. This sounds like the answer behind my 7 year old GSD's death. On a friday he was brought into the vet for a leg injury, and we went ahead had his shots done. We were given anti-inflamitories, and sent on our way. Saturday & Sunday he became lethagic, and refused to eat. Monday morning he could barley walk and he'd dropped 5 lbs in 4 days. And he had a fever of 105. He never recovered. Saturday, July 23, 2011 he started vomiting blood, so we had him PTS. ...

Hi Cindy, Hope you are well. Our 11 month German shepherd has been doing great w/Schutzhund and practically every area of life. However, when we go to our family’s houses (my parents/my wife’s parents) he gets really whiney and excited, and kind of begs for petting from them. We don’t like this behavior, and want to discourage it. How can we work on this? We do not let anyone pet him except close family (i.e. parents/siblings), but are considering asking them to stop as well, and ig...

I have the Training the Retrieve with Michael Ellis video and am working with my dog on the "Take it" part of the training. My dog shows no interest in taking the PVC pipe. I tried to move to a wooden dowel, still no luck. I have tried about 5 sessions and still no interest, not even a little interest to try and reward for shaping the behavior. I decided to move on to the hold part of the training which is going well, but I am afraid if I go out of order it may mess up my progress in the e...

I have a 3 year old GSD male who failed his first OFA hip exam, mostly because of poor positioning in the xray. I know how to correct the positioning, but is walking (maybe with a weighted pack) good to help strengthen his hips (build muscle mass)? I don't have access to a pool or lake for swimming. Thanks.

Hey Cindy, I have a little puppy for 2 months now. I am feeding kibble but i noticed that her breath is getting smellier and smellier each day. So, I've been reading the eBook of yours about feeding a raw diet and I feel like giving it a shot. I noticed that you recommend two books. Are they still up to date? Or should I be reading something else? I need to study a bit though, since I am studying food science and technology and know what the effects of microorganisms are and how bad they c...

I have a 3 and 1/2 year old Cocker Spaniel. He's been crate trained and up to couple weeks ago was fine about going into it at night. Now all of a sudden when told to go to "bed" at night he just lays there and growls at whomever tells him to go to bed. Sometimes he will go in, but then turns around and growls at them again. What's going on? How can I stop this behavior? I don't want him to start biting? I'm not sure how to handle him. In the past there have been times he's in the crate and w...

I have an almost 15 year old black lab who has started to misbehave terribly. The worse is the barking. He has some difficulty getting up (although he can do so quite readily when food is the object) and barks every 45mins to 1.5 hours AROUND THE CLOCK to be picked up. Due to his age, he is under the care of our vet for spinal stenosis. He currently takes both a prescription anti-inflammatory (Metacam) and herbal tabs for relief. When the barking started about 6 months ago, we put him out eve...

Hi Cindy, You have provided some excellent training tips to me regarding my new GSD pup who is a year old by now. However, she just started exhibiting some behaviors, notably loud whining and whimpering that ends up being high-pitched barks at virtually anything that moves especially bikers, approaching dogs, and joggers. She just came into her first heat over the weekend (there is blood dripping every where) and I have absolutely no experience with a dog in heat. Is this radical behavi...

Ed, I have recently become interested in tracking dogs. I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING. How should I begin? What type of dog is most suited for search and rescue? I am too old for police tracking and most important to uneducated in this field. Please let me know when you have time. Thanks. Your friends in China, Jay

Thank you Cindy for replying to my previous message. I purchased three of the six DVDs (puppy 8 weeks/months and both power of training with food & markers) you suggested and the training equipment/toys. They have been great!!! I love them and have learned a lot. The Power of Training with Markers is fantastic, but the one with Training with Food, wow! Fantastic, Michael had me realize I needed to put the brakes on my training and spend more time on engagement. I am also planning t...

Mr. Frawley, What dewormer do you use on your puppies and at what age do you start? I have a litter of Goldens and my vet told me not to deworm my puppies until they are 6 weeks old and come in for their vaccinations. I am not planning on vaccinating my puppies after a horrible experience and reading your articles. All my puppies survived but it is not something I am willing to go through again. P.S. I was told that my puppies must have a genetic problem or they woul...

I purchased "Your Puppy 8 Weeks" DVD. Very informative. During our life time my 4 children and myself have had an assortment of dogs. I just purchased a Doberman puppy in June of this year. This is the first Doberman that we have ever owned. I have had German Shepherds, Labradors, Great Danes, Rotts, also little dogs. My question to you is that my Doberman has, (I call it respect for "my" space, we raise and train horses. This is a must with horses.) If I am walking, she is right there. O...

Hi Cindy, I've gone over your website many times and I've learned a lot from it. I have some questions in regards to my 1 year old intact male Shiba Inu. My boyfriend and I got him from a breeder last year when he was 10 weeks old. Unfortunately we didn't do enough research. The breeder only brought the sire out to meet us and told us that the mother was too skittish to take out. We bought the puppy anyway. She had warned us not to bring the puppy out anywhere where another dog might be be...

I came up with a unique repertoire of responses to people who try to come up and touch my dog when I am working on the "B" crowd stuff. Since I do not have a close club, I utilize parks and certain areas around town. If they ask then I explain that I am a trainer and busy and would be happy to answer any questions after I finished the excesses. I then explain why I do not allow any person to touch my dog. This has gotten me quite a few training clients by the way. One guy actually ...