Most Popular Q&As
August 1, 2024
My 5 month old puppy loves strangers, will he ever be a protector or deterrent to intruders?
Dear Cindy - I purchased a puppy in hopes of getting a companion who would also be a deterrent to intruders. I spent a whole lot of money on him and was able to watch both parents do protection work. My breeder assured me that he would be an excellent candidate for protection work but not sport since he’s a little sharp. (Though I don’t really want to do protection work, I just want a companion/deterrent dog.) My concern is that he isn’t very good at being a deterrent. Lol. It seems lik...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
March 18, 2024
Our year old Dutch Shepherd mix takes soft toys and grinds them between his molars even though he has bones available. Is this normal?
Hey Cindy,
We adopted a Dutch shepherd/mix back in July. He's a little over a year old now, and as more of a medium dog, I'm guessing he's mostly done growing. I'm planning to train him as a running partner in the spring, and at this point, he's doing very well with basic commands and leash manners. The problem I'm running into is that he likes taking the thin parts of his soft toys and grinding them between his molars. Our German shepherd did this with rope toys when we first got her (she...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
February 1, 2024
My 16-week-old German Shepherd puppy barks at people and is scared of cars when we are out on walks. Do you have advice?
Hi Cindy,
We have a 16 month old male GSD, (we picked him up at 12 weeks old), he’s great at home a great demeanor, playful.
When we take him for walks, he barks at people. Strangely, in a couple of situations, when they came close with open palm and a non-threatening demeanor, his bark changed to a whimper, almost as afraid.
We have been crate training Max and working on establishing the pack hierarchy. Please note, when we arrived at the breeder and initially met him, he did not ba...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
September 9, 2023
My 8 year old housebroken German Shepherd stays with friends when I travel but he goes to the bathroom in their homes, no matter how much they walk him. How can I correct this?
Hi Cindy. I have an eight year old GSD who is housebroken and obedient. When I'm home he either goes tot he bathroom off-lead in my fenced in back yard along the fence-line, or on-lead when we're walking through the neighborhood. In the yard when I let him out he won't actually go in the yard and do anything until I walk out. The problem is when I travel, which is only once or twice a year, I have friends that were willing to watch him for me but every time they do he just goes to the bat...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 14, 2023
Is my 5 year old German Shepherd too old to have a litter? is there danger to her health if I don't get her fixed?
I have a 5 yr old female German Shepherd that is still intact and has never been pregnant. Is there a danger to her health in not getting her fixed and is she too old to have a litter? Thank you
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 14, 2023
My terrier is possessive and will destroy toys. He will not release his ball for food, I have to trick him into releasing by showing him an identical toy. Is there a video that addresses this?
Hi, again. I'm hoping you can direct me to one of your courses to help me out. I have watched your basic and intermediate obedience videos and Relationship Games 1 plus parts of some others. My 15-month-old Parson Russell terrier is doing very well with all the food exercises. He is very good at "leave it / yuck" until he gets hold of a ball or frisbee or tug. I would love to eventually have him reliably retrieving, but while he will sprint after anything I throw, his next instinct is to dest...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 13, 2023
We just picked up a 17 week old puppy today and he lunged at our toddler three times. Is there anything specific or tips we can start right away?
Hello! I wanted to say first thank you for answering a previous question I had sent to you. We just picked up a 17 week old puppy today. Our puppy ended up lunging at our toddler three times and one was at the face. We’ve never encountered this before and don’t know what to do. We have a crate for their space and keeping him on a leash (which I’ve seen done on leerburg videos). Is there anything specific or tips you’ve found helpful that we can start right away? Plan is for our pup t...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 12, 2023
What size Kuranda bed do I get for a 10 week old German Shepherd puppy?
Hi Cindy - I am a new student of Michael's videos for my puppy I pick up on Monday. He is a 10 week old German Shepherd. Should I buy him a Kuranda bed he will grow into or start small?
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 11, 2023
My German Shepherd puppy is confused. I'm trying to use spatial pressure to teach her to back up and she lays down instead.
My 15 wk GSD is confused and I know I caused it. She takes the down as I am trying to use spatial pressure to push her into ‘back up’.
I don’t name it til I love it, so I have successfully Named/marked ‘Down’ with her .
It’s just the movement toward her that I think confuses her.
What or where should I ‘Go back’ and focus on to truly distinguish this for Her.
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 5, 2023
I'm getting a puppy soon and the breeder told me that he has an umbilical hernia, would you still consider getting that pup or not?
Hi Cindy, I‘m about to get a male puppy in 2 weeks and the breeder told me now that the pup has a small umbilical hernia which is not congenital. Would you still consider getting the puppy or not?
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 2, 2023
I got a 6 inch training tab for my friend's new puppy and she's never used one before, can you explain how to use it?
I got a friend of mine the 6 inch training tab for her new Standard Poodle puppy. She’s never used one before. How would you describe how to use the tab and why/what it’s used for?
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
June 20, 2023
I've been training my puppy to track and working with him 4-5 days per week. I was told that I am doing too much and should back off to 2 tracks per week. If my training is going well do I really need to back off?
Good day
Thank you for all the excellent training content.
I have been training my pup since eight weeks old to do footstep tracking and he does it accurately and at a good pace. Not quite a tracking thru drive pace, but the dog is focused.
I have been doing tracks in the country about 4-5 days per week.
I was told that is too much tracking and should back off to 2 per week.
However, my dog loves to track and I don’t think he’s being overworked physically by any means. ...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
June 8, 2023
How do I get my dogs to respond to their names and follow commands when they are together? They seem confused.
If I have two dogs and separately they know their names and respond to commands, how do I get them to respond to commands when together depending on whose name I called out? For example, if they're in a sit and I say "Lexi, come" I only want Lexi to come and Roxy to stay seated. They're getting confused when I attempt this. I want to keep the motivation high and not use "no" every time the wrong dog responds.
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
June 5, 2023
What size harness do I need for an 8 week old German Shepherd puppy?
Hi Cindy,
Which puppy harness is recommended in Leerburg's puppy training videos, and which size should be purchased for an 8 week old German Shepherd puppy?
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
April 1, 2014
I'd like to teach my dog to retrieve all kinds of items, like keys. Do you have a video that shows how to do that?
Hi,
I am looking for a video on how to teach a dog to fetch (retrieve an object, bring it back to me and drop it in my hand). I hope to be able to teach that dog to retrieve all kinds of objects, even a set of keys. Would you have that??
Thanks
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
February 27, 2014
I am interested in purchasing the Training the Retrieve Michael Ellis DVD. If I am not familiar with marker training, will I need to to buy 2 DVDs?
I am interested in purchasing the Training the Retrieve with Michael Ellis DVD. Particularly to get my dog to be better at delivering to hand. I am not a fan of "force fetching" and a trainer recommended this web site to me.
My question is: If I am not familiar with "marker" training, will I need to to buy 2 DVDs? Or is there another way to learn "marker" training without paying another 65 dollars? Also, how much time would I need to dedicate to marker training before I could start th...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
October 10, 2013
We have a new adult dog and she is wonderful except that she poops in the house. It’s gotten to the point that we walk her straight inside to her crate. That’s no life for a dog, please help.
Hi, I have a female two year old Daschund that we rescued from another owner. She is a wonderful dog and gets along with my other two dogs. The problem is that she poops in the house. She will pee outside no problem but for some reason, as soon as she enters the house, she will poop on the carpet. We don't have a fenced yard so we take her out on a leash, many times a day. It has gotten to the point that we walk her straight from the door to her crate. That is no life for a dog. Please help!!
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
September 11, 2013
I recently switched my dogs to a raw diet and they are itching. Could they be allergic to chicken?
Cindy,
I recently switched my 2 GSDs (a male, 3 years old & a female, 10 months) to a raw diet. It's been 3 weeks now. I have no issues w/poop, etc. Both love it. My 3 year old's teeth are already white again! And his coat is softer & shinier. I feel pretty confident in my meal prep, but I do have a question? Have you heard of dogs being allergic to chicken? I ask, because both are scratching like crazy, especially at night.
Today I remembered that when I got the male, the breeder had ...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
August 6, 2013
My 3 1/2 year old dog is housebroken but is sneaking off to pee in the house. Can you help?
I have a question regarding my three and half year old Belgian Malinois. I got her when she was about two and a half years old wandering the streets. When I first brought her home over a year ago, she would urinate in my kids' bedrooms and my closet. I assumed house breaking issues so I purchased your eBook on housebreaking and followed the steps there several times, always having to start over. I recently got married and that has made the problem worse. My wife found that she had urinated ...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
October 9, 2012
Can a dog get a blockage from raw chicken legs?
Can a dog get a blockage from raw legs? Someone I know has fed raw for years and her 10 year old male just got sick and died. Vet said it was a bowel blockage?
I started feeding this way and now am concerned.
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful