Most Popular Q&As

Hi Ed, I'm writing you to ask you how to train a dog with no motivation. My name is Jonathan and I have been training my pit bull for PSA. I have done a lot of work with him. His bite work is very strong. My problem is with obedience. He has no toy drive, so a tug or a ball is out of the question. I did all of his obedience with food and corrections. He is a lazy dog so everything he does is slow. The slowness is not my problem, because i know what my dog is and he can't be sped up...

Hello Ed, I adopted 2 german shepherd sisters who were two years old from an animal shelter in 2004. They were so close, the shelter wanted them to stay together. It was a great idea. When I walked them, it was funny to watch how their bodies became one when smelling the ground, etc. Anyway, Tara, last night died suddenly. I wrapped her in a sheet. Angel, sat next to her practically on top of her and is very, very upset. They never had a fight and got along so wonderf...

Hi Cindy, I work at an animal shelter and we have a very large Dane mix (160 pounds) with us at the moment. He's an unneutered male, just over 2 years old. He grew up without boundaries and pulled his previous owners off their feet several times, even broke their leg and shoulder. We trained him to walk nicely on the leash without distractions, but he is very reactive to other dogs (sex doesn't matter, so I assume it's not a testosterone issue). When he sees dogs he lunges like crazy, ...

Hello, I do obedience training with my 3 year old springer. When I practice with her she is very motivated and does what I ask. I am in open A CKC. When I go to a trial, she is in her own world and does not cooperate and sniffs and looks away. I have just purchased the Michael Ellis DVD Focused Heeling. I have practiced this a week and I do see an improvement. How long does this take, I practice a little every day? It almost looks that she is not motivated when I go in the ring? Do y...

I spoke to April in the office about this and she recommended I write to you. The new slow down feeders offered by Leerburg, are they effective with dogs that eat their raw too fast? I have a dobe male and he likes to eat his food fast then horks it up and re eats. I went to your raw feeding pic and saw the bowls all lined up very clean and nice. I feed a variety of meats and textures as well has have purchased your kelp powder. I use Olive oil as well. Any suggestions or hints? Do you think ...

My son and daughter train 3 year old border collies for 4-h they are starting their 3rd year. The dogs are from the same litter. My son has the female Ruby and my daughter has the male Zeke. Last year Ruby got bite by another dog and she has been dog aggressive ever since. Once she starts this behavior then Zeke also becomes aggressive. The volunteers at dog practice feel exposing them to the other dogs during a meet and greet exercise will help where my children need to correct their dogs be...

Hello, I want to start off by saying I thank you all so much for all the training content you all give to dog enthusiasts like myself. I went to college at UW Eau Claire and heard about your website through the grapevine and have been hooked ever since. I have a quick question regarding raising a puppy. My wife and I are both teachers and work full days. We are getting a puppy mid July and will be starting school come September. I was wondering at what point (with diligent crate traini...

Hey Cindy! I’m sure this question was asked but I don’t know where it is. I’m trying to find a way to make my own dog treats that are high value but affordable. Do you have any ideas on what I could do or a recipe?

Is there an indicator on the Educator receivers and transmitters showing low batteries?

My dog gets agressive when people play fight or wrestle. She bears teeth and it seems like she is going to bite someone involved but has not. When my kids were playing and she did this, I corrected her and I think I fixed the problem because I haven't seen her do it again. But, I wonder if I did the right thing. I wonder if now someone actually is a threat, if she would intervene. What is the right thing to do when the dog can't distinguish play fighting from real?'

I have a Red heeler/GSD mix. He is 12 weeks old and has been a perfect puppy. He sits before we go out and come in. I have established I am the pack leader. He does not listen to anybody but me. I'm a little nervous about that because I have roommates. My problem is that when we are playing he sometimes bites and when I sternly say NO. He stops but then "talks back" barking and moaning. I have to say NO 2 more times for that to stop. What would be the reason he is doing this? And how can I co...

I'm dog sitting for a friend and they have 5 dogs. I added my 1 year old to the pack since I'm watching them and the house. Yesterday the Alpha female who is a pug and my dog which is a large mixed breed female got into a bad fight over toys. They have NEVER had a problem before. As I went to break them up and get the pug out of my dog's mouth I got bit by the Alpha male who is a boxer. I know that he was just trying to protect the female so not holding a grudge. I'm not sure what to do at th...

I am a new K9 Handler on a SWAT team for my city. I was ordered to carry my long gun, and draw down, when approaching a suspect while the dog is apprehending him. We do have two other officers that do have lethal cover at the time I am approaching. Is it safer to have the long gun or unsafer in that situation?

What Do You Feed Your Dogs? Can You Send Me Some Menu Plans?

Hi Cindy, Two weeks ago we started our one year old dachshund/terrier male on a raw diet. We adopted him in October and he was very underweight and had dry flaky skin as well as a mild case of demodedic mange. He is eating chicken necks in the am and Oma's Pride raw mix at night ( we live very close to Miller Foods in Ct where Oma's Pride is made). We are supplementing with sardines, eggs, cod liver oil, olive oil and O'Paws fundamental vitality, which is a powder supplement of vitamins ...

I have noticed that it is getting harder to find naturally processed chicken. The leg quarters from Walmart now are "enhanced" Everything has been injected or is "enhanced" with some type of chicken broth/solution. Is this okay for the raw diet - How much sodium can dogs have? I have also read conflicting info on pregnancy - increase bone (eclampsia) or increase more muscle meat? One last question - do you continue heart worm medicine while pregnant? Thanx for your help. Chris

What is the best vitamin to give a pregnant GSD?

Hi, I love your info! I have a five-year old female basset hound who killed two of her pups at birth. This is the second time she has killed pups. I retrieved two of the pups and am hand-raising them. I will retire mama, but am considering keeping one of the pups for breeding. Is the instinct to kill the newborns an inherited trait? I certainly don't want to continue this if it is. I got this basset as an adult, and she did just fine with two litters. I'm really stumped as to why ...

Hi Cindy, I have purchased a pure working GSD male who is now 15 months old. I am in the process of setting up my own kennels. I have been planning to get a bitch and have my own litter and use my male as stud dog. Of course if all his tests, scans would be perfect. He has been bred very well, has very good temperament, strong drive and has an excellent blood line. I wanted to get the bitch when my male is at least 3 years old to enable me to focus on his training progress, we were told th...

Hi Cindy, First I want thank you the hard work you, Ed and the rest of your team all the long hours you must put in to make this world a better place for dogs and their handlers. I was lost trying to do training with the new fad of trainers using halties and other training methods that were not working. I had a young mal and she was a handful. I stumbled on your site and was saved from daily frustration. Between you and Michael Ellis, I now have a wonderful SAR wilderness dog. My ...