Most Popular Q&As

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...

I own a stainless steel medium prong (from Leerburg). My shepard/ basenji mix is now grown and she is definitely between links as sizing goes. If I remove the link to allow the collar to sit high, it is so tight I can not fit even a half of a pinkie finger between the prong and neck, even with effort. If I leave it, it is definitely too loose and does nothing for control, sliding around. I would like to know if you have a link that is a half-size, or perhaps a link for the small collar mi...

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...

My wife and I currently own a German Shepherd puppy that is 5 months old. He seems to scratch continuously. As per the vet, we put him on a special food and he still scratched. Is this something that is just normal for these puppies? Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. John

Cindy, Three months ago we rescued a three-year-old GSD. He was starving to death, because his owner had not been giving him medication for pancreas insufficiency. He had other serious health issues including allergies. He is recovering well, but even on a diet of Hill's Prescription Diet ZD for food allergies, he is still itching. Which brand of natural kibbles from your site's list would you suggest for our Julius von Narnia? Thanks in advance for your help, Cynthia

I have a 18 month GSD. I live on a farm and Lili is free as a bird. She is very devoted to me and quite obedient, very loving and likes everyone. However, due to illness in the family, I have not been home as much as usual. She tracked me into town (about seven miles) one day so I lock up her up. Last week, I had to stay over night and could not lock her up--so she had tracked me again and visited a neighboring farm. They identified her from her collar and brought her home so she was here whe...

Hi Cindy, I spoke with someone today from the company and they told me to email you. I have 2 dogs and the one that is 3 years old just started, since he was recently neutered, jumping at doors and windows and has broken 2. I do not leave the front door open so that he doesn't do this. He is also a jumper on people when he is overly excited to see them. I have tried the gadget that goes around the legs and it did nothing for him. He is well behaved when out wearing his servi...

Mr. Frawley, Recently our 9 month old GSD has started to nip at us for no reason. We can be sitting on the couch and she'll come and nudge with her head to be pet and once I start to pet her she begins to nip at my hand. Lately her nipping has become a lot harder and more with me then with my boyfriend. She was crate trained from when we first got her but now when we put her in she begins to bark. She also barks if I'm in another room with the door closed. I'm not sure where we wen...