Most Popular Q&As

May 9, 2013

Recommended I want a dog to protect me because I'm going to become homeless. What can I do to make a dog aggressive towards people?

Ok, this might sound bad, but I'm going to become Homeless this year and I'm a Girl. So I, want to get a dog to protect me. So I want it to be aggressive toward people. I know its a liablity and dangerous but I don't have $$ for protection training. Is there certain thing or things I can do to making him this way. And is there a test I can do on him to see if he can be aggressive? I'm think of getting a German Shepherd or American Pitbull Terrier. 6-10 months old. Also I would be very car...
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April 28, 2011

My dog has either become protective of the house or scared about people coming into the house and barks at them. Do you have any suggestions for additional training to help?

My dog, which is now 4 years old, is a lab mix whom we adopted from a shelter. Since she was a puppy (Mattie) she has exhibited signs of weak nerves. We always attributed her aggression toward people as acts based out of fear or lack of trust. She has also exhibited problems wanting to dominate relationships with other dogs and, in doing so, displayed signs of aggression. As far as we were concerned, we had raised and trained our dog very well. She follows all commands with the occ...
85% (61 out of 72)
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February 15, 2013

Recommended Our 11 month old dog is very disobedient, he jumps on us, steals food from the counters and barks all the time. I feel like I need to start over with his training, is this possible?

I have an 11 month old Standard Poodle. We originally got the dog for our 16 year old daughter. As many kids do, she promised to care for and train the dog. We attended a 12 week training course. None of us has been consistent with the training. Other than sitting, downing and waiting he is very disobedient. I.e. barking all the time while outside, jumping up on the counters to steal food, jumping up on us, etc. etc. I feel like I need to take control of this and be the primary trainer. Pleas...
85% (35 out of 41)
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August 22, 2011

Recommended My 18 month old dog is comfortable in her crate and never goes to the bathroom in our house when we are home. I’ve started to leave her out of the crate in the afternoon for 6 hours and she’s constantly going to the bathroom on our carpet. Please help.

Ed and Cindy, I have been following your books, DVDS, and podcasts for some time. I have followed your 8 weeks to Adult puppy video and have had much success. I only am experience one major problem. Our Whippet is very comfortable with her crate and never goes in the house when we are around. This year at 18 months I started to leave her out of her crate during the afternoons (six hours). She constantly goes bathroom on the carpet. Our first house was a tile floor and had no carpet. I hav...
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April 28, 2011

I have a 5-month-old dominant Malamute that I have been training with a prong collar. Local trainers say I should Alpha Roll my pup. Can you give me your opinion?

I have been on your web site a lot and have learned a great deal. I know that you are in the protection dog biz and my pup is really not considered for his breed a protector I have a 5 month old Siberian Husky Male (Alpha of the Alpha's) What I want to know is in your experience do a lot of people mistake this breeds behavior for aggression? I am working him on a prong collar and have made some great steps forward. I have him in a formal obedience class and well those trainers need help b...
85% (22 out of 26)
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October 31, 2011

Recommended My new pup will be trained in Schutzhund. Should the pup be allowed to interact with immediate family members when inside my home?

Hi Cindy, Just wondering if you could help me out with a quick question? I am bringing home my new Malinois pup next week, she will be trained in schutzhund. I have read through your all of the eBooks on your website and also have quite a few of the DVDs. I understand that I should not allow strangers interact with or pet my pup, also that she should learn to hold a neutral value towards them. One thing I am confused about though is if (and how) the puppy should be allowed to in...
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April 18, 2013

Recommended We have consulted with 3 trainers about training our aggressive 9 month old dog. Two of them said that you should not use food for training as it increases dominant behavior in dogs. Can you give us some advice?

Cindy, I have recently purchased the videos "dominant and aggressive dogs" and "ecollar training" from your site. I have a 9 month old alpha female doberman and a 4 year old Golden Retriever. The doberman shows handler aggression, aggression towards our golden retriever and toward her bones/toys. I have watched both videos and we have implemented the back to basics approach where we ignore the dog for 2 weeks, keep her on a leash with us in the house at all times, removed all of the t...
85% (11 out of 13)
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May 20, 2011

I have not tried tracking on older than two week trail. How old can a trail be then that a dog can reliably run?

Ed, I have bought several books and DVDs from you including a tracking DVD. I have a trained Walker Coonhound that I use to find lost pets - mostly dogs. I volunteer and donate my time here in Sacramento. My question is this: how old can a trail be in the city, city streets, for a dog to reliably track. My Coonhound has proven correct with little trouble on a week old scent in heavy traffic and very busy place, but can do two weeks in a park that is wooded located in the cit...
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May 18, 2011

My 15-week-old GSD has started barking at people that come into my home. I want her to be a personal protection dog. Should I scold her for barking at strangers?

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...
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April 19, 2011

Our dog is obedience trained but it continues to jump on guests that come to our house. We alpha roll her when she does this.

We have an 11month GS/rotti mix. She was a rescue and we have had her since she was 11 weeks old. She has completed basic obedience (prong collar was used) and did very well. I do, however, have one main concern in regards to training. When our dog meets new people, or our friends that she doesn't know well, she is relentless to get their attn. by jumping up on them and nipping at their hands and clothes. She has never hurt anyone, never even really nipped hard, but nonetheless it makes u...
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November 8, 2013

Recommended My Catahoula Leopard Dog killed my Min Pin. What should I do?

Hi, Very heartbroken and torn on what to do. We got a Catahoula Leopard Dog when she was 6 weeks old. About 2 years ago she started to look at you scary when you gave her a treat and sat next to her on the couch. I think if I touched it she would bite me. Then she went after my Min Pin's treat and hurt her badly. She also goes crazy if a dog passes our house her hair goes up and when I try to make her stop she will get aggressive with me. But the worst thing about this is she could be so l...
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October 29, 2014

Recommended My 6 month old puppy gets very excited and lunges at other dogs when I go to our local pet store. I want him to not be so wild when he sees other dogs, I would appreciate advice.

Hello, Ed and Cindy. I have a question about my 6 months old GSD puppy and his behavior around other dogs. I watched several of your DVDs, also your basic obedience and engagement online classes, but still have a problem with my pup. He gets very excited when he sees other dogs. I guess he feels insecure around them. I do not let him interact with them at all. All I do is go to our local pet store and just let him be in sight of them. He engages fine at home but no matter the distance from...
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June 13, 2011

Recommended My 1 year old dog has regressed with the recall command. When I give my dog the come command he sprints in circles around me and won’t come. Should I give him a correction?

Cindy, My one year old male has been trained with markers since 8 weeks and has always had an excellent response to the "come' command. As summer has arrived, we have been spending a lot of time in the yard (off leash). Suddenly, when I give him the come command he will start to sprint in circles around the yard. He knows it means time to go inside and he doesn't want too. The stronger my voice gets the faster he runs. I remember in one of the videos it said not to correct a dog for ref...
84% (27 out of 32)
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January 7, 2013

Recommended My 13 month old GSD has excellent obedience as long as distractions are at a distance. Lately she's been jumping up on people and becoming more aggressive when meeting strange dogs & people. I'm starting 'Level 1' protection work with a trainer, is this a good idea? Do you have any suggestions for me about the jumping and increasing defensiveness?

Hi Ed and Cindy, My question(s) revolve around my 13 month old intact 70 pound GSD (West German) female. Her lineage on both sides for generations is Sch3, including a few World Sieger relatives. She is beautiful dog, very attached to me, and has an EXTREMELY high prey drive. Thank God I work from home and can exercise her vigorously 2-3 times/day utilizing her favorite activity -- fetching a ball. My problem is her distractibility and jumping up with greeting people... lately she is becom...
84% (26 out of 31)
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April 16, 2012

My dog barks at other dogs barking. I tell him QUIET when I hear other dogs bark first and can often avoid barking, but I don't always get the chance. Do you have any advice? Should I add a correction?

I have a 2 year old Airedale, high spirited. I live in New York City, in a large apartment building, and work at home. He is free in the apartment when I am there; in the crate when I am not. My question is about barking at outside noises. It's the city, so there are many of them, although he reacts most to hearing other dogs bark. When I hear the bark before he does, I tell him QUIET, and can often avoid barking. But I don't always get that chance. Saying QUIET, NO, etc. after he has star...
84% (21 out of 25)
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January 16, 2012

Recommended My dog can sit for hours constantly mouthing a stuffed animal toy. Can you shine some light on what we might be seeing? Is this a nervous tic or a precursor to guarding?

Hello Cindy, I am hoping you can help shed some light on a particular chewing behavior our dog has. He's a 7-month-old male Malinois who has grown up the Leerburg way and he's a great dog with no real problems. However, he can sit for hours constantly mouthing a stuffed animal toy. If there's no stuffed animal, he will do this with his dog bed. By mouthing, I mean he chews on the toys. He's not tearing it or trying to destroy it, just repetitively "mouthing" it and he looks like he's zoned...
83% (111 out of 134)
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May 19, 2011

My nervous dog won't take a treat, no matter what it is, making it really hard to train. What can I do so that he will take treats?

I am having a problem with my dog and since I have seen some of your videos before, I know you are the expert to come to. I adopted a 10 month old Caanan breed dog. The dog has been in shelter and rescue his whole life until I got him at 9 months. He is a typical Caanan, will do circles around you constantly. He is very fearful. He has warmed up to my husband and I, but he will bolt if he gets scared. The problem I have with his training is he won't take treats. I have cooked hot ...
83% (101 out of 121)
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May 17, 2011

Our dog is a 3 year old Malinois and extremely friendly to people and gets very excited when he sees other dogs. How do you train a dog to ignore others?

Our dog is a 3 year old Malinois and extremely friendly to people on our walks, and gets very excited when he sees other dogs. I seldom let him interact with people on our walks and never with other animals. When he sees a dog passing us he strains at his leash, gets quite excited, and will sometimes start barking. To date I have been unable to get him to ignore any of the distractions we encounter on our walks. When it is just he and I he is fine, walks properly beside me b...
83% (20 out of 24)
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April 14, 2011

My dog is sweet and loving but he growls and bares his teeth if we ask him to move. He gets aggressive when we correct him. He hates people who wear caps or hoods. Advice?

We have a Welsh Springer Spaniel who is three years old We are the dog?s third owners. Cooper is basically a sweet loving dog, but definitely has some very defined aggressive characteristics. 1) He will growl and show his teeth if I ask him to get off something or move. If I continue, he will lunge at me until I walk away. 2) He will growl and show his teeth if he is sitting on a chair and my husband comes and tells him to move (same behavior as above). ...
83% (20 out of 24)
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January 22, 2014

Recommended We recently took in a foster dog and my dog has become aggressive. Why has my dog changed all of a sudden?

I adopted an 8 month old0 Pitt/Vizla mix from the humane society 4 months ago. She was an extremely great pet. Very loving, we could poke at her paws, ears and mouth. She loves to play with other dogs. This past week I began fostering a 10 month American Bulldog that she had previously played with. He is also a loving secure dog. Since the foster has come into our lives - my dog has become aggressive to my husband and myself. She won't let us look at her paws or rub her belly. She begins to l...
83% (19 out of 23)
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