Most Popular Q&As

If you will, please voice your opinion.. I have a 3 yr. old GSD, German lines, who got his SCH I 2 weeks ago. We had never practiced a "judge" coming in on the B&H which was not real intense to begin with...we had only been working it for some 6 wks prior to that (once or twice a week). At trial the judge caused him to leave the blind and I had to give the reverie command again.. he went back in and was satisfactory. He does well on the courage test, attack on handler, etc. Now, in...

Hi Ed, I just finished watching, how to raise a working puppy, and building drive focus and grip. They were great videos. I plan on buying preparing your dog for the helper. At what age should the information in that video be applied to my puppy. I will be building his drive, but what is a good age to start working the puppy on preparing him for the helper. If it's best that I wait until the puppy matures a bit, then I will wait and get the video later. I am getting my puppy in two...

My dog and I just passed the BH test and are now training for Schutzhund 1. A problem I am encountering is this: my dog doesn't bark easily at the bark and hold, so we went back out of the blind to build the dog's drive to bark through the helper standing in front of the dog cracking a whip while I am holding on to my dog. The dog starts barking and wants to go for the sleeve, but can't right away because he is supposed to sit and bark. But he gets really frustrated and starts to look aro...

Dear Mr. Frawley, My name is Matt Fisher and I am a new K-9 handler for the Wooster Police Dept., in Wooster Ohio. My department purchased my K-9 from a "dog trainer" in Ohio and needless to say I have been less than impressed. My dog Ringo is about two and he has needed some serious overhauls. We've had to overcome a serious sleeve fixation and I am currently working on changing his tracking from footstep to tracking through drive. Luckily for me my friend Doug Hunter a K-9 for the Way...

I am a little confused on the method to use for my Schutzhund tracking dog. Should I use only food drops in the footprint or a food drag?

Hi Ed!! My husband and I recently purchased quite a few of your videos and I must say that I have learned so very much from them. I do have a tracking question for you though. My 7 month old GSD bitch does not pick up the food drops. She'll put her nose on it and then pass it by. I was thinking that she's just looking forward to the "payoff" at the end, so instead of putting her food there I have replaced her supper with a toy, hoping that she'd start picking up the bait again. so ...

I just read the question on the dog outing the sleeve when the motion stops - I am having the opposite problem where my dog will not out the sleeve after carrying it. I have worked all her foundation with an excellent helper and we have tried almost everything to get her to out on command. He even had a very experience & good handler handle her to see if I was the problem but she did the same thing to him. She has an extremely strong grip and does not want to give the sleeve up. I ...

I have a 12 month old GSD female that I am gearing up for Schutzhund work. I refer to your excellent DVD's for inspiration, especially those by Bernhard Flinks, that I consider to lay the state-of-the-art ground rules for us. My female, aka Chinook, is coming along very nicely except in one area: bite-work. Her tracking is very, very good. Her obedience is as good as I can expect in a 12 month old bitch, but her bite-work is worrying. She goes in very fast, whether on a cushion or...

Mr. Frawley, I wrote to you about my 6 month old Rott. Thanks for your advice. Just finish watching your (Bite Training Puppies). My question now is that I just got the pup when it was already 6 months follow your videos, my pup has no play drive. I tried playing with the sack, but he has no interest in biting the sack. How should I start his play drive with his behavior? He has a lot of avoidance when I try to follow your instructions on the video. What should I do?

Mr. Frawley, The breeder from whom we purchased our dog, suggested we check out your site or contact you about a problem we are encountering with our pup, Jake. I have been a reader of your site and have gotten a lot of wonderful info from it. Background. Jake's dad is from a Czech line. We obtained Jake when he was 11 weeks old. We were unable to make the trip until then and the breeder agreed to keep him for us. When we went to pick him up he seemed a little shy but not mu...

I have just purchased your DVD's on Basic Obedience, Raising a Working Puppy, and Training Focus and Drive. I have previously owned a working line GSD, but had adopted him at 6 months old, well after he had been started in training towards Schutzhund titling. Due to unfortunate personal circumstances, he had to go back to my co-owner and was later placed with a disabled man for personal protection. Therefore, I haven't learned everything I need to know to title my new GSD puppy, who is a ...

Dear Mr. Frawley, I recently purchased and watched your DVDs, Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet. I also was on your website and read an e-book on socializing puppies. I am left with an unanswered question, which is why I am hoping you will respond to my e-mail. I have a 17 week old female German Shepherd puppy. I purchased her at 8 weeks of age from a breeder in Ohio who also does a lot of work with breeding and training dogs ...

Hello Cindy I have two questions: 1. My nine week old puppy acts like he is scared of walking on the leash. He will walk for about a minute then sit and won't go anymore. He would rather let the chain choke him then come. If I pick him up and walk a few feet and put him down he will again walk for about a minute then do the same thing. He has a lot of energy and I want to drain some by walking but I get no where. When I'm in my back yard and I let go of the leash, he will fo...

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...

Hi, I have a quick question... I really value your advice! I have a 14 week GSD puppy named Leo that I've had since 9 weeks. I'm following all your advice and it's going great. He's very outgoing, LOVES people, very very mouthy, extremely smart... learns QUICK! I take him for walks on busy streets and he's great, ok with trucks, Harleys... random noises. Sometimes when he sees something he doesn't recognize he'll get cautious, but then plug forward bravely to check it out. I'll dro...

When entering the house through the doorway, Should My wife let the dog in first? or the Dog to Follow?... same as walking up and down stairs. Bill and Rita

When I play tug with my 10 month old German Shepherd, she is starting to yelp and whine while holding on to the bite toy. She is pulling stronger than she ever has. Her prey drive is at its highest point also. So I do not know if she is whining because she wants the toy badly or maybe she is in pain. Is this common? Is it a good or bad thing? Sincerely, Sven

Mr. Frawley, Let me start by saying "Great job" on the police tactical deployment and muzzle fighting videos. These were both great, and helped our unit a lot. I am a police K9 handler and trainer in Fl. I am a big fan of your site and your videos. I have been involved in police K9 for 6 years, and have prior Schutzhund experience. I have been handling a very tough german shepherd for the last three years. He has very high drives and is very hard. He was almost washed out of...

Hello Ed, Warm greetings to you all and thank you for your wonderful visual website about the pinch/prong collars! Five weeks ago my husband and I adopted our first dog from a rescue group. She was sentenced to death because she was too fearful while waiting in the shelter. Thanks to Hopes Haven in Salem, Oregon, her life was saved and she is very affectionate toward all people & animals and very submissive. However, we turned out not to be the strongest pack leaders so on the walk...

Afternoon, I have purchased 3 of your DVDs and am very pleased with them. Question I have is the proper fit of the prong collar. I have a 16 month old 90 lb spaded female Shepherd and have been working with her since I got her at 2 months old. My question is that I know the collar is to fit snug behind the ears but to get the collar so it stays up there, it seems like the collar is to tight on her. Its like I can't place my fingers under it. I have the large collar so would that ...