Most Popular Q&As

3 years ago my husband and I rescued a terrier mix from a southern rescue. Having had such good luck with our first rescue, we figured we couldn't go wrong. We were told Charlie was 6 months old, house and crate trained. The day we got Charlie he was covered in scratches, bites and feces. He was also clearly younger than 6 months old. His teeth had just started to poke through. Either way we brought him home and started to work with him. It was a nightmare. He was anxious and dog aggressi...

Hi, I need a little advice, I have a 12 year old border collie, who is quite disobedient. He will not go on his lead, so this means he can't have a walk. If we try to put him on his lead he gets aggressive and will try to bite us, this is making us afraid of him and he knows it. This is causing us a great problem as we both work all day and so when we want to sleep at night the dog gets bored and barks and want to go out to the toilet. When he is out at night he barks and won't come in. He...

Hello Cindy, My boyfriend has a 10 year old rottweiler. We are moving and can't bring Dale with us. He feels that we should put him down. I just don't have the heart to do so. Called the animal shelter and they said due to his age putting him down would be better instead of remaining in a kennel. He is a great dog. I believe from reading your article he would be classified as being a dominant dog. He is great with the kids and us. He has bitten over the years. I believe after reading yo...

I've been reading a lot of information on your website and wondered if I could get you opinion on Vaccination. I know that you state that you no longer vaccinate your dogs. Does this include rabies shots also? I'm considering getting an Amstaff. While I will be a responsible owner, I still want to prepare myself for any mishaps. What is your opinion, should I opt for absolutely no shots at all, or do you have recommendation on what minimal vaccination is needed. Thanks, Erik

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...

I actually have a few questions about the bonding phase for a newly appointed police K9 handler and the PSD. I recently picked up my PSD from the vendor and I will start handler school in two weeks. During those two weeks my PSD has been kenneled for the majority of the time. I take him out of the kennel in the morning for approximately two hours to play, bond and eat. He then goes back into the kennel until the night where he will come out again for the same thing. I don?t give comm...

Hi, I just adopted an intact 5-yr old male German Shep who, I'm told, is Level 3 Schutzhund-trained. He's been retired due to an injury. I am having him neutered in the next 2 weeks. I am having a problem introducing him to my cats, as he is fairly aggressive toward them. Can you recommend a training video or other anything else, that can help me with this? I am reluctant to use shock collars and other extreme measures. My goal is to get him to be friendly with the cats...

We have had a serious incident where one of our dogs has gotten into a fight and killed the older dog. We had a 14 year old female mixed breed (Bichon) that at one time was the dominant dog. We also have had a Lab for 7 years. We just (4 months ago) brought a new rescued puppy into our house(Lab/Chow mix). The two older dogs have gotten in small fights before and the Lab has been more dominant over her lately. Yesterday, we had an incident when all three dogs were looking out of ou...

My wife and I have two kids. We have a son (7) and a daughter (4). They desperately wanted a puppy and we came a cross a seven week old female boxer puppy. She is adorable, but has aggressive tendencies. She's very playful, but she will start growling and bite to the point of drawing blood from the arm. I'm a little concerned that she may hurt one on the kids. First thing in the morning she's fine, she wags here tail and is excited to see you. However, as the day progresses, it's like she tur...

Dear Mr. Frawley, I am writing as I have a growling problem with our five and a half month old pet Ridgeback. I know you have a lot of mail so I will brief as I can. I have followed your philosophy closely. I have 8weeks to 8mths, Basic Obedience and E-collar training and read much more from your website. He lives in a wire crate in our family room, most of the time and can go into the rest of the house with a person. I think he knows his order in the pack, he eats ...

Hi- We have a 5 year chocolate lab. We bought her from a breeder. About three years ago she started showing signs of aggression. I can't really pin point when it began. Anyway, we have had dog trainers, animal behaviorists, dog walkers (which we still have). She is food aggressive, has dog aggression and it aggressive towards my husband and me. It isn't ALL the time, but I am ready to get rid of her. I don't want to, I love her, but I am afraid of her. I just took her for a ...

What is your opinion on Bark & Hold vs. Bite & Hold?

I have a female pit bull, spayed, I've had her since she was 5 weeks old, she was born at the shelter and I'm a failed foster! She is now 3 years, went to puppy classes, obedience, agility, she is a phenomenal dog and I could probably take her on to do anything I chose to do with her as she is just that smart and obedient. That is until it comes to her tennis balls. She is so ball driven, and uses that as her reward system instead of food. This dog has no food drive whatsoever. Only ball driv...

I have a small dog, who has become very aggressive. He has bitten several family members and recently, in the last 6 months, has ran after several family members with teeth showing and acting like a wild animal. I had a trainer come to my home to help us with him. The dog did go for him very aggressively and he leashed him and held him head up in a choking (hanging) manner and the dog was fighting until (to me) he passed out with lack of oxygen. At his time the dog did defecate and urinate on...

Hello! My 6 month old cockapoo is nervous when walking the trails in the park. He also does not like to walk in the neighborhood unless someone else is with us! I have tried to use treats and praise him when he gets to a certain point with no luck! He is VERY smart and loves people and other dogs... no matter the size. He has a big space in the back yard to run and chase the balls and gets plenty of exercise without the walks. What can I do to help him be more comfortable on walks and i...

Hi Cindy! We rescued a dog about 6 months ago when she was 3 years old. We think she is a Lab/Shepherd/Pit mix? We have no knowledge of her past. She is a great dog, we have done the pack structure ground work process, as well as I am now training her through the Michael Ellis videos. She has been doing amazing and is very engaged with me and I feel we are creating a good bond. My concern is that when we go on walks through town on sidewalks, on a busy street or not, she is so stressed see...

Sir I just recently acquired a great dane dalmatian mix. He is 9 months old and he weighs about 67 pounds. He is a very sweet dog, he likes kids and he adores me. I could do anything to my dog and he wouldn't even bat an eye lash. However, I picked him up from the pound and I believe that he either was abused by a male or he has never been around them. He wags his tail at every kid and female but he starts barking and acts like he wants to bite every guy that walks into the house o...

Brutus, our 2 ? year old male mixed breed dog (he weighs about 30 lbs and looks somewhat like a coonhound) is quickly becoming a problem with his growling and snapping. He is neutered. If he is in bed or resting and someone comes up to pet him he may growl or snap. He has growled at me while I was sleeping with him for moving and or petting him. He is growling at my husband frequently for petting him while he is resting. Last night my husband walked into the bedroom where Brutus was sleep...

I know you probably don't hear a lot about these dogs, but here goes: I purchased him from a private breeder (mother very sweet, siblings all looked fine-clean home, etc - husband and wife stays home with dogs. We brought him home and everything was fine. He would play bite was the only major thing I noticed in like the first month. About a month after we got him, some relatives came to stay for 6 weeks temporarily with us. They have 2 children, ages 2 and a half and 6. Both of the childre...

Cindy, First let me say I have enjoyed the Leerburg DVDs I have watched and I have learned a lot from them. My problem is something that has just started occurring. I have a 2.5 year old GSD and just this morning when I went to feed him he growled and barked once. He was in his crate and he hadn't eaten since the morning before. He has never shown any signs of aggression over food or anything else. I have been established as pack leader but it felt different this morning. I want to m...