Most Popular Q&As

Ed, I have purchased several of your videos and 4 heating pads, all of which I appreciate. I am a breeder of Field line Labrador retrievers. Your site and products are listed on our recommendations we give to new pup owners. I have spent quite a bit of time on your site but still have a question about a how to rehab an extremely shy dog. We have a female, Trixi, that was attacked as a pup by another female which was in season. After this attack, I found your site from wh...

My son's 4 month old German Shepherd snaps or bites quite often. What should I do?

Hi Cindy, We adopted our 20lb cocker spaniel mix this past February. She is now about 1.5 years old. We noticed early on that she is selective about the dogs she'll interact with. She loves dogs that are about her size or smaller, but she is afraid of dogs that are bigger than her. Strangely, she also hates all dogs that look a certain way -- she barks and lunges at wrinkly flat-faced dog breeds (all bulldog-type breeds), regardless of size. If provoked by these types of dogs, she doe...

Dear Mr. Frawley, Thank you for your excellent videos. They are helping me raise my new pup. But I do have a question that is not addressed in the videos: This is a female GSD of excellent working dog bloodlines. She is now 15 weeks. She is doing fine in every aspect, but a week ago she began to bark at people who come to visit us. The bark is not a growl, and she shows no other signs of aggression, but she does appear to be defending her ground. Is this normal? How should I...

Ed, You wrote, "I also NEVER allow a dog to come in contact with another dog unless my dog is 100% solid in obedience under extreme distraction (i.e. another dog is extreme distraction). Also I NEVER allow people to pet my dog." My question is how do you socialize the dog if the dog has never been pet by a stranger. If you don't take your dog around other dogs until he is 100% trained, isn't that a little late in life to begin socialization with other animals? Thanks, Vanessa

Blackie, a 5 yr old German Shp/Belg Mal mix military working dog (MWD) has sever aggression towards firearms. Blackie will stay in the heel or down position while the agitator or handler fires the firearm (.38 or 5.76) with little reaction (minor whining) but intense focus on the shooter. When the handler finishes and lowers the firearm he breaks his position and attacks the firearm. He has not shown aggression toward the handler only the firearm (with near misses of the han...

Hi, you helped me once before when I had a puppy with severe hip dysplasia. He was put down at six months of age. I am hoping you can help one more time. Two issues. First - 9 month old East German male, great dog, high drive for prey and reproduction. I have no idea if he has any defense or not, he is so bomb proof with nerves, he may show it later in training. Right now he is extremely good in area and article searches both on and off line. He is a great little tracker, still learning c...

Ed, I just read your material on breaking up a fight and found it quite informative. I do have some questions I would like advice on. First let me explain the situation... I have 8 dogs, assorted breeds, and 3 are pits bulls. Last night a vicious fight broke out between the Shepherd & Dobie. The Shepherd in the Alpha Female and once the others saw what was going on, all joined in against the loser (the Dobie). We were able to get all the dogs to stop BUT the pits who were in a deat...

I have a young pup who has a bad habit of eating his own poop. What can I do?

My dog killed my kitten today. She was lying at the top of the stairs, and the kitten jumped on her trying to play and in 4 seconds he was gone. She has lived with cats in the past and has never done this. I am so heartbroken. I need to get her fitted for a good muzzle. She also tries to dominate me; she sits on me in bed and growls if I try to move. She is also aggressive to other dogs. Please how do I handle this? It can not happen again. I kept them separate for weeks. and weeks aft...

I have watched the course on how to establish pack structure and have a question regarding dog behavior during play. I am researching as much as I can on the subject of dog body language and signs that could prevent a dog fight. In the situation when a female and male that meet on a regular basis, have structured walks and play, is it possible that neither of them be dominant over another? The GSD female is 3 years old and the GSD male is 4 years old. They no longer play as much with each ...

I have 2 huskies, one is 10 months old and the other is 2 months. I started feeding them raw chicken necks and backs about a month ago and they took to it well, but they eat it too fast. They're eating the necks whole without chewing and they can down 3 necks in matter of seconds. Any way to get them to slow down?

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...

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...

The smaller Educator collar for the dogs I am sure are nice. But unless it is significantly smaller I would prefer the bigger transmitter as I have big hands and most importantly the increased distance. What is the difference in transmitter size?

I taught my GS to come and sit in front of me with a treat in my hands in front of me. Does this great and does finish. Now I am trying to call her and sit in front of me with my hands beside me and no treat. She wants to go for my hands which makes her sit off to side. I am told that in akc obedience my hands need to be at my side. Loosing major points for this. Thanks, Andy

Good morning, I have a 125 lb male Malamute, that is extremely dominant. I've tried a pinch collar and that only escalated the issue. He does very well in basic obedience, but not walking on a lead. I can't get him to stop pulling. I'm currently using a Dogtra training collar, regardless of the setting- vibration or shock he just shakes his head when corrected and pulls harder. I'm looking at your Dominant Dog Collar and the leather slip collar. Which of the two would you recommend or both...

Hi, I have had both my females, a french bulldog and an Amstaff living together since they were pups for the last year. Neither have been spayed. Recently my FB had a litter and I had seperated her down the side. The Amstaff had been barking and jumping at the gate for days. I kept the FB seperate until she gave me signs she was ready to leave, which was today, so I let her out. The Amstaff kept sniffing her, and standing rigid to her with her tail erect. After running out for an errand, I...

Hello Cindy! I just got almost $500 worth of your good DVDs. I have seen 2 of them and they are the best. My question for you Cindy is: I have a 2 story house and is it OK for me to let my 8 week old pup go up or down the flight of stairs (about 20 of them) on leash - will this have the potential to mess up his hips and elbows? Or should I just carry him up or down until he is a little older? If this is the case, how old should he be until I let him up or down by himself? Also, is it OK to le...

We are getting a puppy next month and plan to eventually do protection work with him--this will be our first time. We have watched the following DVDs: Your Puppy 8 wks to 8 months, Basic Dog Obedience, Pack Structure for the family pet, Raising a working puppy, Building Drive & Focus, and the First Steps of Bite Training. I have spent a lot of time on the website reading and trying to put it all together but I am still so confused! For example, in one of the Q&As it says bite work can ...