Most Popular Q&As

Cindy, I'm sure you've heard this many times before....we have a Doberman who whine. A LOT. Barking isn't a huge problem (he does bark, but not to the point that it's an issue). I've seen the success decribed on the website regarding bark collars. Is there anything similar for whining? Something that would issue a correction for whining, but not for as bark? I see no reason to correct his barks, given that the problem is the whining. The dog does seem to have general SA issu...

I have a German Shepherd (not from you), he is 14 weeks old. After 9 weeks both of his ears stood up, not straight up, they actually leaned towards the middle quite a bit. However, a few days ago his left ear just went down and has not gone back up. Does this mean that he has a broke or lame ear now? This has me really worried since both ears were up, but now one won't stand. Is this normal, or did he hurt it some way? Will it ever go back up or not? Thanks for your help, and answers. Otto

Hi Cindy! I need to buy a treadmill for my dog and would like some advice on the size. I cannot afford a canine treadmill. The treadmill I am considering has a 'running space' of 104x39cm. It is for a Dutch/Belgian shepherd who is now 14 months. She is approximately 58cm from the top of her of tail to her shoulders. The treadmill is for walking only and only for a small percentage of total exercise. Would this treadmill be an adequate size for this dog? Also, would such a treadmill size be of...

I recently bought Michael's DVD on teaching the retrieve. She's all about retrieving, but she chews on the dumbbell. I switched to the PVC pipe like Michael suggested in the DVD. I've been working with her for two weeks using the PVC pipe and I'm not seeing any change in the chewing. I've tried reinforcing the hold by giving the command again and using my hand under her chin to hold her head up. She still continues to move it around in her mouth. Also, she's a maniac when she runs out to retr...

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.