Most Popular Q&As

May 23, 2011

We have two dogs that like to rough house to the point that everything becomes destructive. How do we best control them without kenneling them one at a time?

Hi, I have been training dogs for over 40 years, both in obedience and in conformation for show and now I'm stumped. We have two dogs, a 7 1/2 year old Bullmastiff male and a 10 1/2 month old Mastiff male. Both dogs are still intact. The older one was recently diagnosed with first stage renal disease and neutering is not an option. The younger one is a very good show prospect so neutering him is also not an option. Neither one have ever been used as a stud dog. The older dog was trained...
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May 23, 2011

Can I let my dogs (male and female) live together in the same place and let the female decide when is the right time for breeding?

Hello Mr.Frawley, I'm new to breeding and I currently own a male and female rottweiler (both dogs are excellent on shows and have FCI certificate for Hd,Ed). I want to breed them and I want to ask you the following question: Can I let them (male and female) live together in the same place and let the female decide when is the right time for breeding? Or should I separate male from female and bring them together only for breeding and then separate them again? (I have heard from som...
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May 23, 2011

My female Rotti started to have a dark greenish discharge. I took her to the vet and she gave birth to 16 stillborns. What would make her go into labor and have all the pups dead?

Hi, I own a 3 year old female Rotti that I bred to my 2 year old male Rotti. Everything went fine as far as them getting tied and she indeed got pregnant, but around day 40 she started to get this clear discharge coming from her vagina. I did some looking on the internet and I saw that a clear discharge is fine but then by day 45 it started to turn a dark grenish. I took her to her vet and he also said that it was normal but put her on anitbotics just incase. The next day she started havin...
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May 23, 2011

Our dad dog bred it's own pup. I didn't even know that they would, I thought they had a natural instinct not to breed it's own pup. Will this litter be ok or should we abort the babies?

I have been looking for an answer to a question all over the internet and have come up empty as of maybe now. This site seems to have all the answers so here goes nothing. We have a male and a female that are probable close to three years. Last year they had a litter in May or June that had to be delivered by emergency c-section and only one female puppy survived. We kept that stupid pup regardless, because she was kind of a miracle and all that she even lived at all. Ten months later which b...
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May 20, 2011

How do you get away with not having to give Rabies vaccine? Is it not mandated in your area?

Hi: I have been sitting here reading your emails from people regarding vaccinations. I have had many pets die in the past after living to be only 5 to 7 years old, and I truly believe they were over vaccinated. Anyway, here is my question, how do you get away with not having to give Rabies vaccine? Is it not mandated in your area? I have 2 GSD's and I feed them a raw diet and I do NOT plan to give them any more vaccinations but I KNOW the vet is gonna pressure me but my main thi...
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May 20, 2011

My dog has some separation issues. Can you recommend some training video that could help?

I have two German Shepherds. The older one is 11 years. He looks like the scary and dangerous one. He is a sable and mostly black. His temperament from day one till now is excellent. He is great with other dogs people and children. He know when to bark (door bell) and when not to. The young one is 14 months old. She follows the big guy like a shadow. There are several problems. One is with other dogs. Just some of them. She will want to be aggressive. The second problem is t...
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May 20, 2011

I'm having with problems with basic commands still and issues such as jumping up and grabbing the leash. Any advice?

Dear Ed, I have your puppy video and your Basic obedience training videos. They have been very helpful - since before these I was pretty clueless on how to train my dog on anything. Crate training was a breeze with your advice we only had one accident, which was my misreading his whining - he had diarrhea - which I didn't expect and I mistook it for wanting attention and he had an accident in his crate. But that is it. He goes into his crate on command and now the only time he ...
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May 19, 2011

I rescued a female Pit who had open sores and Mange all over her body when I got her. We have bonded well, but she is aggressive to strangers and other dogs. What can I do?

I just found your site and read most of it. I think it's given me some hope with my dog Woo, but I still have some questions. Woo is a 2 1/2 year old (approximately) pit bull mix. I've owned her about a year. Her original owners abused her pretty horribly, and then her " rescuers" neglected her to the point of abuse. Her first owners set her on fire. Amazingly she survived, and was taken in by some acquaintances of mine who were running a dog rescue. They're good people, and meant ...
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May 19, 2011

I’m new to dog training and thought I would buy a trained dog to compete in Schutzhund and obedience and learn while competing. What would you suggest?

I am talented but new to dog training, would like to get into Schutzhund and any Obedience competition I can find. I am wondering if buying a Schutzhund trained K9 is the way to start? I figure I could learn while competing and just improve as my skills improve. I am single, early retired so lots of time, and no other dogs, cats, etc in the house. Given this choice, what would you suggest and why?
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May 19, 2011

My 9-month old GSD does well in tracking and protection work. It has intense food drive but has little interest in the ball. What can I do to increase his ball drive?

I have a 9-month-old German Shepherd puppy that is working in schutzhund. Who has avery strong backing in working lines. My puppy does excellent in tracking and also does excellent in protection. But lacks interest in the ball. Do you have any solutions for me? My puppy is very motivated by food but I would like to start introducing the ball more. Please respond if you have a chance. Thank you
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May 19, 2011

I bought a puppy from another breeder and I think I made a mistake. Can you tell me if I should return the puppy?

Mr. Frawley, I recently purchased a puppy from a breeder (when I say recently I mean 5 days ago). She is five months old and supposedly from excellent lines. I suspect that I inadvertently bought from a bad breeder. The dog is definitely what I would call "soft." When we first brought her home (for the first 4 days), she was peeing and pooping in her crate (all over herself). She does seem to be improving now though. She is also a very quiet/laid back type of dog. She does "...
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May 19, 2011

My daughter's pup recently became very fearful of everyone and everything sense something happened at my daughter's work. How do you suggest we make him feel better and get past this?

My daughter has a 6 month old Black Lab X puppy, (probably part Border Collie), which is the runt of his litter. He is sweet, eager to please and very quick to learn his commands. She got the pup at 2 months and all went well until just recently. My daughter works as a massage therapist and as teacher/leader of a steelpan band. As both activities are done in the same space and her husband's business is just across the parking lot, the puppy has routinely accompanied her to work. He...
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May 18, 2011

My friend has a Doberman as a guard dog for his business. The business was recently robbed. Did he over-socialize his dog?

Dear ED, I have a question about socializing guard dogs. Can you over socialize? My friend has a 3-year-old Doberman Pincher. He bought him from a family that was afraid of him (because he is an aggressive and dominate dog) and left him in his kennel a lot. The dog was 11 months when he got him and vary aggressive. He had to chain him up when people came around in fear that he would bite someone. In the past two years the dog has had a lot of socializing. He works in a shop wer...
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May 18, 2011

I'm getting a puppy from a breeder and there are only 2 males so I will not get to choose my pup. I am afraid I will get the alpha male. Can an alpha dog be a good family dog?

Dear Mr. Frawley, I hope it's not too bold to bother you but I don't know anybody else to ask. A lot of people claim be dog experts but don?t know much. I have been a follower of your podcasts and website and hope you can give me some advise. I was waiting for a puppy from a breeder whom I chose carefully. Today the puppies were born - unfortunately just three, 1 female, 2 males. I had decided to take a male and I'm in second place to choose on the breeder's list, wit...
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May 18, 2011

My 9 month old American bloodline GSD just bit the mailman. What should I do?

I have a big problem with my 9 month old shepherd. I have two pups, one 4 months old from your bloodlines and the 9 month old from mainly American lines. The problem is with the older one, he is not neutered yet and he appears to be developing some territorial aggression. Last week he bit the mail lady, he has never been this way before! Today, he chased a young boy across the school yard that we live next to his hackles were raised and he would circle the boy and bark!! I had one hell of...
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May 18, 2011

My dog gets blisters from the Jafco muzzles. What can I do to pad the muzzle so he doesn't get them?

I purchased 2 of your Jafco muzzles & have been very happy with them, however my dog is getting blisters on the top of his nose and bottom of his chin from rubbing from the muzzle. Do you have any suggestions of what I can do to pad the muzzle more so he doesn't get them? They break open and bleed and I just feel awful for him! I believe my step-mom emailed (and possibly sent you pictures of my bite wounds)you in December or January about the dog fight that we didn't know how to break up ...
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May 17, 2011

When I start formally teaching the puppy, where should I teach her to heel? Also is it safe at any point to use a connector leash so that one leash controls 2 dogs?

Greetings, I have a 7 year old Rescue Dutch Shepherd and a 15 week old Australian Cattle dog. I've never had two dogs at the same time before. Following your advice; they are getting along famously. The Dutchie is good on walks (not a perfect "heeler" but stays by my left side and doesn't get ahead or behind). I haven't done any formal leash work with the pup but have taken her out on leash for socialization purposes. At some point I will want to walk both dogs togeth...
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May 17, 2011

My mal has started acting differently sense being deployed in Irag, how can I fix his behavior?

Mr. Frawley, How are you doing sir? I am currently deployed to Baghdad, Iraq (VBC). I have a two and a half year old dutch shephard named Barry. We picked him up straight out of Lackland AFB in San Antonio this past August. He is a very high drive dog. He is a fear biter and he is pan aggressive. I have tried to socialize him with people here but for some reason he gets all excited (happy), then just snaps. When we were in Texas (at my home base) this was not an issue but since we have...
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May 17, 2011

Can the prong collar be left on during the day and night or must it be removed after every time using it?

Just to say I purchased a Prong Collar from Leerburg a time ago, but I waited a bit for the pup to get a bit of age on him before using it, now he is just 9 months old. It is a great collar and keeps the pup steady and controlled with no stress to him of pulling back like I did on a chain collar. One question I read your article on fitting it must be 20 times, and I see it is fairly in a firm position, The pup did not like it being put on, I suppose my lack of expertise in p...
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May 17, 2011

I observed that your dog Rush wears a prong collar at some point. Could you tell me please at what stage of training do you decide to start using the prong collar?

Hi Cindy: First of all let me thank you for the education and the information Leerburg provides. Very professional and helpful, thanks again!! I have a question about the prong collar use. I have 5 months old GSD female pup. I would like her to become our family protection dog and companion. I follow your methods of puppy training and family pack structure. I started her on marker training according your Marker Training video. I observed that your dog Rush wears a pro...
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