Most Popular Q&As

Mr. Frawley, I have a problem with my one year old German Shepherd whom I am currently training for Schutzhund. Since the day I got him, I have been preparing him for Schutzhund. Especially the protection phase. Originally I taught him basic obedience with very few treats. I only used treats to perk up interest because Saber (my GSD) has a high desire to please and didn't need treats at all to learn quickly and remember his lesson. I made a terrible mistake with him though. A tr...

First, I'd like to commend you on your informative web site and your excellent videos. I bought your "Drive Training with Bernhard Flinks" video and have been using his methods on my 5 month old GSD with excellent results. I would like to begin schutzhund training with this dog, but I have a concern about his temperament. Cosmo has great prey drive, is calm and friendly around new people, and is confident in new situations. However, he is fearful of other dogs. When first meeting a...

Members of my club were talking about wearing sunglasses During Training. I never wear them because I want the dog to look in my eyes when it looks at me, and not see a reflection of itself in my glasses. Some said that it did not matter. One person said that it depends on the dog. He said if a dog is insecure it was better to wear glasses so that the dog would not be intimidated. I would like to know what you think. DENNIS

Hi Ed, I have a 9 month old puppy. She doesn't naturally have a high food drive, so my trainer says we will need to build it. When line tracking, if she is not REALLY, REALLY hungry, sometimes she may not care to do the exercise. (We do not feed her before training exercises.) We have backed off on obedience training at this point since she is young, and also because she didn't really show a high interest in the food reward. Do you have a video that would help me to build this kind of d...

Ed, I have a 10 week old American Pitbull Terrier (APBT). He is very aggressive toward strangers already. What I mean by this is that whenever someone walks by he will charge at them and start barking. If that person was to advance toward him he would start to back up, though. I like the initial aggression, but why does he back up and what type of temperament is he showing? Would he make a good dog for protection training?

When should you neuter your puppy?

I noticed on your web site that you state that once the initial puppy shots are done, one should not vaccinate again. My question is, how do I get my dog into dog shows, boarding kennels, and vet offices? They all require up to date vaccinations. Barrie

Dear Cindy, We have corresponded recently, and you have been very helpful. also, I have several DVDs from leerburg. I now have a mal pup 10 weeks, and am trying with all my might to train her. she is extremely protective already after 2 days and my question is: how and when should I teach her that she can stop barking/being protective when a visitor arrives, etc. also, when someone walks past my office she barks. So far I say shhh with a hand signal to stop the barking, and ...

Hey Cindy, I have a female German Shepherd dog (Eva). She's three and a half months old. Everything is ok with her except that I'm concerned about her ears. One of her ears is great and standing and moving very smoothly but the other one is not standing and has some limitations in its movements. Note: She had ear infection 1 month ago and that is finished now. But sometimes I notice too much pink color moving to red in her ears. I attached some of her pictures with this mail. I kin...

I wanted to ask about the out command. I will give you a brief history about my dog. I adopted a german shepherd @ 7 months old form a humane society, which, in return saved my dog, Mason, from death row at the local animal shelter. I soon realized that I did not have an ordinary house dog, and was soon at the end of my whits with him (one of many things he did was bite himself out of the plastic airline kennels). I then had the opportunity to watch an S.F. K9 demo and realized the similariti...

Sir, I am preparing to order a prong collar and have a fitting question. Behind my dogs ears approximately one thumb width is a bony prominence (I think its the wings of Atlas). Should the collar go between the rear of the ear and this bony section or behind it, farther down the neck? Thanks, John

I want to train my lab to retrieve frisbees, tennis balls, etc. She loves retrieving, but also likes playing games of not giving it up to me when she returns. Would the forced retrieve video that you have be a good idea, or is it really intended for competition dogs? Bob

Zeke is an 8 month old un-altered GSD from working lines. We've had him since he was seven weeks old. He is obedience trained and minds well. However, although I've had GSD's before, he is by far the most stubborn of them. In any event, he understands that he is "low man on the totem pole" and will accept corrections from any family member, although I seem to have more influence with him. One problem we cannot solve, however: Zeke hates having anyone within 3-4 feet of him when he is eati...

My female GSD has a problem with the male Australian Shepherd next door. If she is in the yard they both try and stick their noses under the 8 foot privacy fence and go nuts barking. I go out and get immediately and she is mainly an inside dog and so is he, so it doesn't happen often. I know that she needs work and I have purchased your Basic Dog Obedience video. She will pay attention when on the leash and if is corrected, but off is another story. I am guessing I need to have a long lea...

Hello I just came across your site. I find it very interesting and informative. I have two wonderful dogs, one is a 2 1/2 year old Border Collie female (have had her since 10 weeks), and the other one is a 4 (?) years old German Shepherd mix (adopted her a year ago). I am in the process of training them ...I haven't been such a good trainer or alpha leader in the past, but I am learning greatly from books I've purchased and articles on the Internet. I have a few questions, but first I nee...

Hi Cindy, Happy new year, again. You had shared with me that it will be down the road when you and Ed will do another DVD on the power of marker training. In the meantime, how would you use marker training in teaching the sit, down and stand during recall while being able to do this exercise from 50 yards away? Blessings, Ron

Hello, I have read the article on marking training and have seen some training videos on your site and on a video I ordered from Leerburg. I'm confused about the release. If I use the word yes for marking, is yes also the release? On one of the videos I saw a puppy being taught marker training and there was no talk about it. And on another video it explained the release command. Can you explain briefly please. Thank you.

Cindy, One of my friends just adopted a 1.5 year old deaf female doberman. He is interested in finding a trainer or training materials so he can learn how to best handle the disability. He says that she is easily startled and is very hesitant with too much attention. He has 3 other dogs and 2 young children. Of course I love and would recommend all the Leerburg/Michael Ellis training materials. I'm not sure if the dog is 100% deaf or not, but if it is, do you have any suggestions? ...

Hi, Is it possible to get a one fourth inch wide leash with light hardware for a small breed dog? I have had your leashes in the past for my German Shepherd but now have a Maltese and would like the same quality leather leash reasonable however for an eight pound dog. Thanks, Sherri

I am now beginning to watch The First Steps of Bite Training. As I am going through the video I am still wondering whether my dog is capable. I have a Bull mastiff male who is not afraid of too many things. The one thing that I am having a problem in is getting him into the car. I take him to work with me everyday, and he is in some way afraid of getting in the car. I have a sports utility vehicle and it is quite high up. At this point he is 9 months old and weighs 105 lb. I still have to put...