Most Popular Q&As

I am referring to Ed's article, What Would I do if Attacked by a Dog? After you pepper-spray a threatening, loose dog from charging at you and your dog, what if its owner denies his dog was unleashed and accuses you of animal cruelty?

I have read your article about introducing dogs and babies and I found it helpful but I still have a question. We have a dog who is about ten years old, Lady. Lady has never shown signs of aggression towards anyone until recently. My son is now 11 months and Lady has suddenly started growling at him almost every time she is around him. When she isn't growling it is like she completely ignores his presence, she even jumped on top of him when getting into the car one day. We don't want to resor...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Frawley, Firstly I would like to give my thanks for your website. The free articles and videos have been an immense help in training myself and my dog. I was clueless about training dogs, and my dog took full advantage of my weakness in that area. After reading your Q & A sections and your training videos, I immediately set down rules and began to enforce them. I noticed a significant change even after the first day and the improvement since then has been nothing short of...

Cindy, I have read the article about introducing new dogs into the home. At the current time, my girlfriend and I have two adult cats, and an 18 month old male collie. The collie is playful and energetic and not dog aggressive. I am considering getting a male GSD puppy around 8 weeks old to add to the mix. Would you anticipate the same rank structure problems with this age difference between the two dogs, or am I going to have to get a female? Thanks, Jeff

I recently purchased a couple of your training streaming videos (Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs). They are very helpful and we enjoy learning from them, and I'm sure I will be pursuing others over the next several months as we train our little guy. I recently received my new Malinois puppy and he just turned 8 weeks. He is a voracious eater and is guarding his food and growling. At 8 weeks old should this be corrected and if yes what would you re...

I have a pure bred beagle that got an english bulldog pregnant, which belongs to someone else. I would like to have one of the puppies since they are also my beagle's puppies. The owner of the bulldogs has told me that they are going to sell the puppies and will not be giving me one. Do I have any rights to the puppies?

Hi Cindy! I have a 7 year old female fixed lab mix who is balanced, social, and all around great dog. I also have a 3 year old male hound mix (fixed) who has struggled with reactivity. I am very proud of our training with him - he is now neutral to dogs, people, and other previous triggers and his obedience is very strong. In this training, we did a lot of groundwork to provide structure and leadership in our home. However, infrequently (once a month or so), my younger dog will correct my ...

Hi, We need guidance. Our lab is struggling with leash reactivity (due to frustration), and we are trying to set him up for more successful approaches/greetings with other dogs/people. Off-leash he is much better but those off-leash environments are few and far between where we live. Please recommend a DVD or academy that addresses this topic. Thanks.

Good morning. I have a situation that I need help with please! I have 2 female dogs. The dominant one is Spanky (lab and Dalmatian mix) who is 12 years old. She has osteoarthritis in her hips and does have pain. She isn't aggressive at all to people but she has increasingly become grumpy and jealous with my other dog and the cats (just growls at the cats and they walk off). Sophie who is 4 years old (Great Pyranees & Australian Sheppard). She is a big baby and just loves everyone. She has alw...

Hi Cindy. Thanks for your videos. Exceptional! I have two questions: I'm trying to determine if there is any distinction between a "leave it" command versus a "yuck" command. I've done some cursory research, but there is divergent information from sources that do not adhere to marker-based reward training. I trained my last Shepherd with "leave it" as a universal command to, well, leave it. So, is there a difference? Also, I was watching your video training Maru to swim, and I noticed ...

I have had my rotty male puppy for 1 week now. He is 9 weeks old. His puppy biting is getting more vigorous and when you try and calm him down he comes back even harder. To me he is showing a lot of prey drive but how do you think I should control this biting. Will most probably do Schutzhund with him. Over the years I have purchased dog tugs, etc from Leerburg which I still have. At night around 6 pm is when he gets out of hand. I redirect which works but then he gets fixated on bare hands a...

Hi Cindy, we have spoken before. We are getting a Malinois puppy probably the first part of March. I am interested in ring sports, mainly mondioring. What characteristics should I look for when being first introduced to this or all puppies? Not all dogs are suited for this type of sport, thus my question.

I have 3 yr old shepherd, in April our 12 year old Belgian Shepherd passed away. Since then our 3 year old has had increased anxiety and is aggressive toward outside people coming into the house (not family). At one point, she did not walk any further than 5 houses away on our block. I have gotten her back into walking. Prior she was great personality, friendly to people coming and going (comfortable in her fur). She has anxiety attacks. Any suggestions would be great. I had 4 prior shepherds...

Hi Cindy, I have a 15wk old Shepherd pup. He has decent possession and will chase a ball, rag, sleeve. He arrived at 10wks of age and would grip and carry toys/objects well. As he's developed he has become very chewy, especially on the jute puppy sleeve. This has transferred to the leather rag but not the softer squeak toys. I can pull the sleeve/rag out of his mouth with only minimal effort. Obviously I do not want him to learn he can't win or that the sleeve is always going to be ripped ...

Hi Cindy! Thanks so much for all the helpful info you've shared. We have a 2.5-year-old male GSD who has always been a major barker when he hears someone outside our house – especially other dogs. We and our trainer have been trying to train him out of it and thought we were seeing progress up until recently. He developed a scary habit where upon hearing someone outside, he not only barks but quickly goes after our other dog (a 3-year-old Malinois) as if she were the threat, even if she ...

My 17 month old dog has travel anxiety, she pants and won't relax in the 2nd seat of our SUV. She is in a safety harness and can lay down. I tried a name brand herbal calming product which did not seem to help, I'd like to avoid Benadryl or vet Rx. Chew toys or treats are ignored. Would it be o.k. to use the e-collar to break her thought process, say as part of saying down, (she ignores commands when so agitated) or would a tap or click make things worse? She didn't have any trouble tra...

I am getting a 8 week old Belgian Malinois pup in a couple of weeks. At what age do you recommend that I begin feeding him bully sticks?

Here's one a good many of my friends, both general owners and breeders are having. It doesn't matter if the offending Male dog has been fixed since it was a pup or if its still intact. The problem begins with an obsession with a female dog in the household and then you have a male suddenly lifting his leg and marking. How do you handle this behavior to put a stop to it?

Hi, I have a question on our new puppy...his name is Toby and is 9 months old. We recently got him free from another family. He's a great dog, just having small issues with him. #1 and main issue, he hates all males (human). He can't stand my boyfriend (he lives with me) and this is from when we picked him up. He shakes uncontrollably with fear, barks, howls, growls and will even bite him when he goes to pet him, walks in from work, is anywhere around. We've tried giving him treats when he...

Who manufactures the Educator collars? Is the company known to honor their warranties with reasonable labor costs and/or handling fees? Does the company stand behind its products?