Most Popular Q&As

Mr. Frawley, I have a 10 week old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, who has been crate trained since we brought him home at 8 weeks. We don't take him out when he is crying except at night and when we let him out he goes to the bathroom then he gets put back in the crate. However, he still continues to whine for a half hour or so in the crate when we put him in during the day. Shouldn't this start to get better soon? Thank you for all your time and energy, Matt

What are your thoughts on the Solid Gold WolfCub food? I pick up my puppy on March 20th, and the breeder was pushing that stuff pretty hard. However, I've heard that Solid Gold practically gives the stuff to breeders to get them to recommend it. So, I'd like a second opinion on what I should be feeding the puppy. I asked him about Innova and some other brands, and he said those were good. But, he said he feeds the Wolf Cub to puppies to prevent their bones from outgrowing their joints. ...

Mr. Frawley, I have a question about bite work and the times when a dog may show aggression towards it's owner/handler. I am currently training a Dutch Shepherd in Schutzhund. I have been training for only a year. I have very little experience. I have two very good people teaching me all phases of the sport. One day while I was watching one of these guys do an exercise where they had their dog on a leash while the helper teased the dog. The dog wanted the helper bad, but this was an exerc...

Dear Mr. Frawley, You have been helping me previously so I dare to ask for your time again: My now 4 year old GSD, Harry, is very high prey orientated. My previous question was how to slow him down on a sport track. I followed your advise and those problems are gone. Thank you. I have never used food on the track, Harry is not fond of food, he'll leave his bowl for his ball only too willingly. He has done so many tracks, I train him since he was a pup. I did IPO, Int....

Hello, My partner is a 1 year old Blood Hound used for tracking. My dept. is just getting started with the K-9. I am just trying to find out any info on if you have to mark your K-9 vehicle with police K-9 or any type of warnings? just wondering if you can help. Thanks, S. B

Is there a thing as a "fear period" that puppies go through or is it just a way to justify weak nerve? A six-month-old pup that has always been friendly and inquisitive all of a sudden-without any bad experiences becomes hesitant about meeting people. He still is inquisitive with things, but hesitates when meeting new people. Once he has met them and accepted them he is his old friendly self. Karen

Hello Ed. When is the most appropriate time to start Training a golden retriever basic commands? I have read a lot of your articles on training and don't want to do any damage to her personality. We have been working on getting her to walk beside us during short walks around the block but we were told to invest in a choke collar to get her to stop pulling on the lease. She she is now 16 weeks is it to early for all of this? Thanks in advance. Lisa

Hi! I just got an 2 Month puppy (Golden Retriever/Lab/Cocker Spaniel mix) from the Humane Society. I live in an apartment with a roommate and our puppy doesn't have access to a yard. We take her out once a day, but that is about all we can do and it isn't like a huge green area. So we are trying to train it with the potty pads which I read you are against, but its the best we can do. So do you have any advice on training a puppy with the pads? We are also doing the crate training as well, but...

I have an 8 month old shepherd, his mothers side is german and east german. His dads side is some german and some american. I got him when he was 4 months, we have been doing basic obedience like heel , down , stay, ect. He took this really well and is ready to start the off leash side of the training. The problem is that during this time I didn't play with him as I should, and he doesn't like to play much or doesn't show much prey drive. He really doesn't care for a ball too much, he pla...

Hi, Yesterday I bought a 2.5 month czechoslovakian wolfdog. I have a 6 months female Husky and she knows that me and my boyfriend are the alpha pair. She never had growled at us, but today, when we gave the food bowl to her, I did something that I always do to her when she is eating: I pet her. She began growling at me and I said no to her. I've continued to pet her and she tried to bite me and same with my boyfriend. She has never done this to us. I think that she is trying to be...

I have what I believe to be a dominant dog in some respects. I have show dogs (Belgian Shepherds), one of my Groenendaels can be a hand full, most of the time he knows that I am boss and will behave but the thing that is the problem is when any one in the family goes out of the house he barks cries and screams even though there is still someone in the house. Also, this then sets the other dogs off barking and some time it progresses then to a howl. I have tried a number of different thing...

I have an narcotic detection dog that been on the force for about 5 months now. I have noticed when I am doing a search with her and there are other people around she becomes distracted. Its almost like she has not confidence. Also I noticed in doing a school parking lot, she gets distracted on different wheels were I believe other animals have left there mark. She was fixed when I first got her from the kennel. What can I do to fix this? Thanks for you time

Dear Cindy and Ed, Just a quick note to let you know Moeshe's e-collar training is going wonderfully. He's a high prey drive dog who now downs at a distance while chasing ravens or even when someone is approaching on a four-wheeler. (We live in rural Alaska where there are no roads or cars). He also has learned to sit quietly in closer proximity to other dogs. The self-control he is mastering has made exercising him a joy and I know that he too must appreciate all of the extra off-...

I have a neutered female 4 yr-old Miniature American Eskimo. My husband and I both work during the day, and she is alone all day. A very small amount of obedience training has been done with her, but she pretty much runs our house. The problem: She has become aggressive with most people who approach our home or us. She seems mostly aggressive with men, and has grabbed three or four by the pant leg. I need a video to help train her with this problem. What video would you recommend? (I took...

Hello. I purchased a sensation collar from you a couple weeks ago. My border terrier had chewed it off within a few hours. This is an ongoing issue. Finding leashes etc that he can't chew off. Do you have any recommendations for leashes and collars that are resistant to a pups chewing? I have ordered and used a number of your products and appreciate the consistent quality and advice on the website and in the newsletter. Thanks. Jenelle

Dear Cindy, My 9 months old male German Shepherd has just recently begun barking for prolonged periods of time either loose or crated and we need some guidance. When crated, day or night, as soon as either my husband or I go upstairs in our house, Dio will bark for 30-60 minutes nonstop and repeat this behavior several times a night. FYI, he is always taken out before being crated, has chew sticks, a toy, and some water in his crate. We have tried classical music & a sheet c...

I read your pages about dealing with an aggressive dog and what to ask you about my situation. I have a three year old Lab/German Shepherd mix dog. She is a very loving dog to my roommate and me. She does a have very bad dependency problem which has cost me a lot of money. Most of the time when I leave her, she tries to break out of the house. She will chew on the fence, chew on the front door or anything else that could possible get her out. I have tried giving her a lot of exerci...

Hello Mr. Frawley, If you have time, I would appreciate your guidance with regard to our GSD. Belle is 5 years old, in excellent health, obedience and personal protection trained, and a loyal pet. Behavior wise we have one problem. Over the past 4 months she has become fixated on her tail. We have vet bills for Keflex and powder for treatment, we use a command or the nicker collar to stop her biting her tail, but cannot watch every single minute. Long story made short, she bites he...

We have a 13 week old maltipoo (maltese/poodle) who is doing pretty well with housebreaking. We got into the habit of taking him outside every few hours and giving the command "go potty" which he has now learned. The problem is, he doesn't understand that he should go to the door when he needs to go. Instead, he'll hold it until we take him out. I would really like to get to the point where he can tell us he has to go, instead of us taking him out all the time. How can we teach him to go and ...

Cindy, I have read the article about introducing new dogs into the home. At the current time, my girlfriend and I have two adult cats, and an 18 month old male collie. The collie is playful and energetic and not dog aggressive. I am considering getting a male GSD puppy around 8 weeks old to add to the mix. Would you anticipate the same rank structure problems with this age difference between the two dogs, or am I going to have to get a female? Thanks! Jeff