Most Popular Q&As

What food do you recommend for pregnant females?

Hi Ed, I've searched your website looking for some help. I have a rather unusual problem. I have a 5 year old black lab mix (I think she is part pit bull but she is mostly black lab.) She has recently begun chewing on my walls. Yup, chewing holes in the walls. She only does it when I am not at home and I don't know how to correct this behavioral problem. I've tried getting up early to take her for walks in the morning before I leave for work, and leaving toys and treats for h...

Hi Cindy, I have to do something quick before my dog destroys my house. 7 yr. old mix. She spends most of the day outside. Inside at night and has run of the house(that may be the problem). She has started chewing holes in the walls. I have had them patched but she continues to do it and sometimes in the same place but always in the same room. Any idea why and what can I do? Frantic, Amy

Cindy, I have a 17 month old male APBT, who is intact. He is exercised twice a day. But he has this uncontrollable urge to want to escape my yard and roam the neighborhood. I supervise outside in my fenced in yard, but my gate has a little play in it and a 3 inch space where the latch comes together, this is where he's been able to get his big head out of and his body follows. It happened to me the first time as a surprise. He saw something and went to the gate the next I knew he was out r...

Hi Mr. Frawley, I've been on your site several hours because it's the most informative and well written site on the internet. Thank-you for taking the time to put this all together. I have a 2 year old female English springer spaniel. Smart, loving, companionable etc etc purchased from a show breeder. In my ignorance, because the dog is so smart and follows me around all day, I never did obedience training with her, my son taught her 'sit, paw.' She always came when called... And re...

Kind of a silly question since we have had several litters of gs dogs but our 4 year female puzzles me. Likes people, other dogs no problems in particular. She has been to the vet, has had one small litter, gorgeous pups, wrestles with the male, good appetite-but she whines all the time. Vet check ok whines when you are outside, whines when you bring her in, it's like there is something wrong and I don't see it or something in her personality I just don't understand. Is it just her or am I mi...

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...