Most Popular Q&As

I bought the 3 DVD set "Heelers Toolbox." I have never been a fan of treat training but I want to try it. My question is, what are the best treats to use when training heeling? I want a treat that will be light and not fill the dogs. What would you recommend?

Hi Cindy, My dog goes to doggie day camp on weeknights and I board her for overnight once a month as well as when I go on vacation since flying is stressful for her. Could you please advise me as to the best way to prepare her Honest Kitchen Embark for camp & boarding. When I go on vacation, it usually lasts up to 2 weeks. I am just afraid that the pre-mixing may not be done properly by the camp/boarding staff. Thank you very much.

My husband & I adopted a female spayed lab mix at 9 months old. We could do absolutely nothing with her. She apparently had never been taught anything & was hyper & demanded attention. She had food aggression but it has improved. We leave her alone during her meal & she's fine & no problem at all w/hand feeding. Hubby feeds her. She only slept when we did & was destructive (not anymore), but she had a SWEET personality. I got her to a trainer who used only positive training who kept her 2 wee...

Good morning, I have an 8 month old Doberman pincher who excels in his formal training classroom environment but becomes anxious or excited in the park. He seems to loose all cognitive thought when he sees a runner, another dog, or a person walking near or past us. In the classroom the behavior is just the opposite. Can you suggest one of your training modules that will assist me with his training? Thank you.

Hey folks, I have two adult dogs. There is Lilly, who according to a DNA test is part American Bulldog and part English Bulldog. She looks the part of an American Bulldog more so than the English. The other, she is Lola. A Border Collie/Boxer mix. Lilly was attacked by a Great Dane in a dog park about a year ago. The issue we have had since then is what most trainers have called fear aggression. We have had her trained for obedience via choke collar method from a company here in...

Hello, I just purchased the thick hair contact points for my einstein mini collar to use on my GSD. I have tried all the contact points on myself, standard and thick hair ones, and the thick hair ones I can feel at such a lower level. I feel like the standard ones I have to squeeze really hard and go higher to even feel it. Is there any reason why the thick haired ones can be felt at such a lower level? The stim seemed to be more consistent with these but having such a tiny tip worr...

Mr. Frawley, I have a wonderful German Shepherd bitch with excellent working lines (both parents from Germany). She is 2 1/2 yrs. old, has OFAed good, has been bred to a Czech/German male and has just whelped a litter. I have to say at this time, I purchased your whelping tape and it definitely came in handy. "Hella" had 17 puppies,16 survived (one had been dead for a while I suspect, and one had to be rescued). We are new to this region of the states, and our "new" vet is recommending I "...

Hello Ed, I'm hoping you can give me some much needed advise. My GSD bitch had a litter (planned) last weekend. This was her first litter and all was going well until yesterday. She has been taking excellent care of them but yesterday she started growling and snapping when the puppies would crawl towards her face. She is mouthing them during these episodes but has not hurt anyone. I don't know if this has anything to do with it but my husband was diagnosed with late stage cancer on Monday....

In one of your articles you mention that a dog should be trained in FST before going on to TTD. I am a civilian operational SAR Dog handler and have received the majority of my training from members of the RCMP PDS (including Gary Murray -retired). Unless something has changed, every officer (including a PDS Supervisor) were vehemently opposed to using food. Maybe on the odd occasion a hot dog would be used to help a particular dog over a problem. Anyway, I'm not looking to poke ho...

Cindy, My husband and I are working with our GSD who is still just a young puppy on things like beginning bite work, basic obedience etc. We intend to work with a professional in the future on protection work. However, right now I have one question as I am not new to training but new to protection work. We are using English words for come, down, sit, and stay. We plan to use german commands for bite, watch/guard, etc. My question then is that I am not sure if the speak comm...

Hello, We bought a 3.5 month old GSD pup for the purpose of training for narcotics detection/tracking work. When we chose her out of her litter we checked temperament and drives. She is a very bold, strong headed, intelligent girl. She had somewhat a short attention span but was very enthusiastic over treats, toys and handler praise. She loved to hoard her toys, chase them and tug a little. We tested with and without her littermates and breeder around. I have been working on...

Cindy, I have had a German Shepherd for 8 years and thoroughly enjoyed him, and have loved training him. I have been able to put a toy or food over to the side and he will focus on me and work like crazy, knowing that he will eventually get it. Showing that he can engage and refocus even when there is something he wants, and he knows its just 10 feet away, in clear view. He has been un-demanding in the house, waiting until I can go out, play or train. I guess you would say he is n...

Mr. Frawley: I have read your website (very helpful!) and am considering an aluminum crate for my adopted dog of 4 weeks. Shaggy is a 6-yr old, male beagle mix shelter dog, and is very well behaved (he listens, does not need much discipline, heels nicely, barks like a normal dog). However, he does have SEVERE separation anxiety, and has begun chewing the wires off of his crate, to the point of near escape (and scrapes to his snout and forehead). He previously damaged my kitchen doors t...

Can you tell me why GRIP is so important to train in Schutzhund?

My friend told me that a Schutzhund dog that has been trained to bite a sleeve can never be a Personal Protection dog because it will not bite a person. Is this true?

Hello Ed; Thank you for producing such informative videos, the information you present has not only helped me to understand the drives and drive developement for protection work but has also saved me thousands of dollars on worthless trainers. It has given me a better dog, I have owned protection dogs before but he is by far the best. Jasper is now 20 months old and nearly finished with his training, he has a strong prey drive and a solid defensive drive with good nerve. The tra...

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

Ed, I bought a female from you back in Sept. 99. She is 1 yr. old and I just read an article that said I should not lie on the floor and pat my dog or let her lie at my feet and lay on my feet that she may see that as dominance. She does not seem dominate to me but I wonder if these little things are slowing her recall training. She is a very beautiful female at year a very substantial bitch a lot of prey drive and a very hard bitch. Thank you very much for the time you put into br...

I have a purebred GSD that is 11 months old now. he went to puppy classes at 10 weeks old and has been going to socialization classes and walks with the class and he is fine around the other dogs and people. He wears a pinch collar and a choke collar when we are at home and he wears a Halti collar when we walk with the class. we bought the Halti collar because he went after a strange dog on the trail one evening. Last night my wife had him out and he went after a dog that he has been aroun...

Hi Ed, I'm a trainer/certified behaviorist in Virginia. I've been training dogs by the good old "German Methods" for years, since that is where I'm from. The way I deal with my dogs and attempted to deal with clients dogs with behavioral problems seem to be almost identical. The reason I'm writing you is because I'm finding myself in a lose-lose situation. In the DC Metro area, everyone seems to have been brainwashed and wanting to do "positive reinforcement" as they call it...