Most Popular Q&As

Hey Cindy, You were very helpful with me previously in the past with my boxers aggression issue. She just had 2 mass cell tumors removed that were cancer. She now has 20 staples in her back as well as stitches above her rear leg. She loves to play as all dogs do. We have historically played with her in the morning, afternoon and night. The stitches and staples will not be removed for another 2 weeks. The vet said to keep her calm, no jumping etc. Any advise on how to keep a dogs energy lev...

Would your service dog vests work as a safety belt type harness? I can see this would be handy when I hike our farm up north, especially in orange. The handle would be perfect when we stop to talk with neighbors. I use a SAR harness now for that. Although I know it is somewhat controversial not to crate a dog in the car, I want the contact with my dog and the security she provides by her presence, so I buckle her up when we drive somewhere. Thanks for your advice!

Hi Cindy, Our trainer recommended we use a prong collar on our 4-month-old German Shepherd puppy. In her assessment, she said the puppy did not respond to leash pressure with neither a flat collar or a martingale collar. So a prong collar will make sure we get her attention during our walk outside. We are concerned that it might be too early to introduce it to her that it would shut her down in her decision-making. We tried walking our puppy with a flat collar with some success when the...

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?

Does the Basic Obedience Course go into how to practice the skills being taught -- when, how much, how long, etc.?

I have a peek that barks at everything. Is there a muzzle to use for a short nosed/pug nosed dogs? I don't want to stop all barking because I may need the warning if something is truly wrong. Just don't want constant barking.

How to train the human to break up a dog fight? I normally don't have more than 2 or 3 dogs. I've rescued and adopted mainly German Shepherds, but ventured off into the Doberman Pinschers for 7 years now. Never had problems until my alpha female attacked my 18 month old female while playing fetch. My mistake after the fact. All calmed down. They got along since, until I brought in a 3 month old puppy and after 4 days, they got into again, and like normal, I put my hands to their heads to b...

Hi, my name is Natalie. I have a Lab/corgi mix,Ginger, who is 6 years old. This year my husband and I had a baby and she is now 8 months old and crawling. Ginger has recently started to stand over our daughter's head when she is on the floor which is something she use to do with our black lab mix, Shelby, before she died. I have been told that this is a dominance thing. My husband yells at Ginger every time she does it but I don't think it is helping. I don't want her doing this to our baby b...

You had stated that to train puppies to do protection/Schutzhund, play is important. Tug-of-war and fetch ball are recommended. Now it is said to play tug with them and let them "win". But isn't it a contradiction because if you let them win, then in their minds, they just became Alpha. How can you become pack leader and let them win and play-train for protection? Thank you

I have Golden Retrievers, and in most of them, there is not a strong drive to play tug, rather they are driven to retrieve balls, sticks, etc. I have your DVD on training dogs with food, but would like to go further and start using toys. My question is: do I need to get your DVD on retrieving and just go with their natural tendency, or should I work on more prey drive and try to teach them to play tug? In any case, I would need to teach them to "out" the object, so which DVD would be most ben...

Hi, I know you guys have a pretty strong opinion about people taking their dogs to dog parks. I thought I would share this story with you as a good example as to why you should never take a dog to a dog park. http://fox13now.com/2012/03/03/two-dogs-hospitalized-after-incident-in-dog-park/ Amanda

Hello! My puppies are 11 days old we have been feeding them the formula off of this page since they were 5 days old because the mother got an infection. We have also rubbed the cotton ball on them and they always urinate but I never see the babies poop, could they be constipated? The puppies' bellies are really round but they do not cry at all, but they do randomly twitch while they are sleeping and when they are done eating. Help please! Is there anything wrong with the babies?

Dear Ed and Cindy, I want to first think you for all of the great help you have to offer on your website. I have learned a lot about working with dogs from you. I'm writing because I have a new problem that I would like your advise on. I have a 5 month old male GSD that is aggressively biting me and spinning to get away when I hold on to his collar. I have tried many different corrections but it just seems to make the situation worst.

Hello, I've recently adopted an adult male rescue dog (4-yr old-Dachshund) who I'm told was turned in most likely by a local breeder. I currently have a 3.5-yr-old female Dachshund. The new addition is very sweet and submissive, but seems to have had no housebreaking (or anything else) taught to him. He pees everywhere in the house, and will occasionally poop in the house as well. I've read about your isolation method, which appeals to me. Is this the right path, and if so, what's next...

I have a 3 year old Shepherd. Is he to old to train in search and rescue? I have a trainer willing to train, but is it really worth it? He is a great dog, but I'm not sure if he's to old.

Hi Cindy, I tried to look for precise answers on your website, but I couldn't find them. My trainer says I should always have my GSD in a crate when he's in my SUV and we're on the road. Then, he tells me about the ins and outs of car jacking training. Would you please tell me catagorically, if possible, whether a dog should ALWAYS be in a crate while I'm driving, or is it acceptable to let him loose but put him in a "down" in the rear portion of the vehicle. After all, how the hell ...

Hi, I have read your website with interest and do have a question that is not quite answered on the site. I am not a huge dog person, and have never owned one, although I am ok with well trained dogs I know and like. Planning on having a baby, and my significant other wants to get a purebred German Shepherd and do schutzhund. I have no issue with either of these, but he wants to not get the dog fixed. He is quite good with animals. I, however, do not have a lot of dog experience and this m...

Hi Cindy, I searched your site and could not find info specific to my situation, so here it goes. I bred a litter of pups this time last year. The pup I kept from this litter is 10 months old now. We have been having a difficult time housebreaking her. She continuously eliminates in the room were the ex-pen was kept were the pups lived until 8-10 weeks old. Right on the same spot (area) in the pen (when it was up)for poop/pee. The ex-pen was divided with sleep area, play/eating a...

Can you tell me how long it takes for my female to have puppies after she is bred?