Most Popular Q&As

We live by a golf course and I let my 7 month old lab off leash a bit so he can run around. Problem I find is he will catch a ball but then stop and find grass or something else to start eating. Yelling, Yuck or No does nothing to get him to stop. As I approach he'll quickly swallow the stuff. I then say Yuck or No and put him back on lease. Any ideas for me to get him to stop this action??

My local trainer is requesting I get a 6-foot leather leash. What width of a leash do you recommend for a male Shiba Inu? Thank you!

I am now working through the Michael Ellis puppy development courses but I would like to know where I can learn more specifically on socialization with other dogs. We are taking our puppy out for walks and a lot of dogs on leashes seem aggressive. He is supposed to meet other dogs but I don’t trust them. Is there a course on how to safely introduce him to other dogs and how to deal with neighbors who want their dogs to say hi to my puppy? I want him to socialize with dogs but I also don’t...

We just started putting our our 8 1/2 week GSD in the ex pen under supervision with toys and Kong to work on. Both times he eliminated (pee and poop one of the times) right on front of us and without asking to get out. We had taken him out to potty right before. Also we made the ex pen smaller by folding some of the slats, hoping to avoid this. Is it making him anxious, or is he too young or too small to expect potty success? Not sure why he would go in a fairly small place when he had just b...

Hi Cindy. I hope this question makes sense. I am looking for a little guidance on how to use what I've learned in Michael Ellis's e-collar course. I think I understand his process of introducing it: verbal command, followed by stim + leash pressure, escape upon compliance. However, I haven't really used leash pressure to teach any of the behaviors ME suggests using leash + e-collar for: foot targets, down, back. We taught those with luring and shaping only. I do use a prong and leash pressure...

Hi. Watching Power of Food. Watching Michael luring to a stand and then sit. I understand the lure and reward, but I don't hear him say sit, just the motions. Am I missing something or not hearing it? Thanks.

Can an ex-pen be used successfully with an adult dog that has never been in one? Our GSD rescue 1 1/2 yr-old neutered male loves his Vari-kennel, sleeps in it at night, and goes in to rest. I rarely leave him unattended in the house and never with our other dogs, but would like to be able to use an ex-pen instead of or in addition to the VK if we travel or have guests.

This is a follow up question to using a tug for reward. To this point, my 1 year old lab engages well, takes the tug on command and enthusiastically plays and outs well. The problem I'm having is the return. As long as she is on a long lead, she never bales but her returns are unenthusiastic. She will also try to play keep away or stand in place and shake the tug or drop it a few feet away from me. I tried to shape with food but the moment she realizes I have food she drops the tug. I have...

Hi Cindy, We have recently acquired a GSD girl who is 12 weeks old. She is a good girl and learning but becomes very excited and wants to play when my daughter brings her 8 month old spayed female dachshund over to visit. She also wants to play, but the GSD stands much higher than her and mouths her. I have kept her leashed and don't allow her to continue the behavior, but the dachshund bears her teeth. We want them to eventually become friends, just after some advice. We also have an olde...

I live in Maine and have a 22' x 32' indoor kennel building with concrete floor and walls. There are 12 individual kennels inside. The building is heated and has floor drains. I have found in the winter, I get lots of moisture build up inside. I'm wondering if you have experienced similar problems and how you have dealt with the excessive moisture.

I'm being considered as a new patrol K9 handler with my agency. I've never worked K9 but I do have a 7 year old retired K9 at home as a family pet. When I got him he was very anti-social and wouldn't let anybody get close to me. Now through extensive training he's adapted very well as a family dog and is great with my wife. One major issue with him is that he displays his type- A personality towards other dogs in an aggressive manner. My fear is that if I am to start working a new K9 dog, ...

We have 3 male dogs. We have purchased your DVDs and learned SO much information on those and through your website. (Apparently we did a lot wrong in the past but we are moving forward thanks to you.) We feel your information isn't mainstream enough and that everyone who gets a dog should watch your DVDs. We would like to get a prong and then e-collar for our 10-month lab/coon dog mix, Duke (he's one of two we recently rescued). We don't feel clear on if we should get a prong collar, and how ...

Good morning, As always, all your reply emails help us make our pup a better pet and working dog. First I would like to say that the idea of a Leerburg University sounds great. For folks like my wife and I, I think it will beat having to purchase DVDs. On another note, I have a question about verbal commands. I'm aware some choose to teach their dogs in multiple languages. I was in search of another language for my verbal commands as I feel my dog doesn't always know we are talking t...

Hi Ed, I just ordered a dominant dog collar and a 3 series DVD that you had recommended in one of your QAs. My question is, my husband doesn't like to have a huge crate hanging around in our house. Is it possible to substitute the crate for a 6ft lead tied either in the dining room or our bed post, to follow your instruction on establishing pack leadership in our house? The only other option is to have the crate in our daughter's bedroom. I want to start from scratch, even though we had...

Hi, I had a quick question about a health issue in my 10 week old puppy. He has only dropped one testicle (cryptorchid) the problem is I don't want to have the dog castrated. He is a GSD from working lines and I bought him the intention of doing personal protection work with the dog. I am also working with a professional trainer. I have tried talking to a couple of vets including my own. The only solution they offer is time. It will drop or it won't is all they say. Vets are very eager to ...

Hello Cindy, After trying all training methods, at what point should an owner consider using a bark collar for a younger dog? The dog I'm considering on adopting is an 8 month old English Cocker spaniel. The current owner has allowed me to keep him for a trial period. I don't reprimand when he briefly barks for his dinner as he's a typical Cocker and loves his food or when he's outside and sees other dogs. However, I've filmed him while I'm at work and have observed him barking most of th...

I have a 5 year old intact male Shepherd (30 inches at the shoulder and 110 pounds)who is aggressive toward other dogs, both while we are walking and when he is in the yard. Part of our yard is well above street level and Liam uses it as a vantage point to watch for dogs and to a lesser degree, other passers-by. He will become totally focused on the approaching dog and will charge in their direction, so I keep him on a long line to be sure he stays in the yard for that reason. When we are wal...

My 9-month-old Cavalier King Charles has been eliminating outside successfully for the past two months. He rings the doggie bells we have on our door or barks when he needs to eliminate and he generally defecates at the same time (morning and before bed) everyday. Recently, after we took him outside to play, when he came back into the house, he defecated on our carpet (this was mid-afternoon, and we had not changed his feeding schedule). He gave no signal that he had to go out - no bell ringi...

I have tugged a number of times with my dog, but I am hesitant to fully develop my dog's tugging skills because her mouth always bleeds slightly when we tug. She acts as if nothing is happening, and she continues to tug. Even when I tug lightly with her, she still bleeds. Is it common for dogs's mouths to bleed while tugging? Is this something I should go to the vet about? Thank you.

I recently purchased the DVD "8 weeks to 8 months" which has been a great training aid. I wanted to ask at what age does Ed typically recommend to spay his female shepherds? Thanks in advance, John