Most Popular Q&As

Hello Ed & Cindy, I have a now 17 and a half week old German Shepherd pup (from working lines) & wish to ask you guys exactly what supplements you would please recommend I need to purchase to add to his raw diet? Many thanks

Hello, First, my wife and I wanted to thank you for providing us the information in Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months DVD and Obedience training DVD for setting us up with a wonderfully trained dog for life. The training has been fun and rewarding, so rewarding we are debating on doing more. We have a high-drive female Doberman that just turned 17 weeks old yesterday. I have been interested in protection work and Schutzhund competition but we don't have any good trainers locally. Also, I...

I adopted a German Shepherd from the local humane society. She is friendly, gets along with my other dogs, loves and trusts people and loves to fetch a ball. She is about two years old. When I try to touch her or interact she gets extremely wiggly and tries to lick me constantly. It seems very submissive but it is hard to deal with a dog that I can't even brush because she tries to lay down and lick my hand. Of course I don't want to yell at her. I need to treat her like a puppy, albeit a ver...

Hi Cindy, My miniature schnauzer delivered 9 puppies on Monday. She was very large before giving birth, so we anticipated a large litter and purchased puppy formula from our Vet. After delivery we were very concerned about this being such a large litter, and wondering if she would be able to care for each puppy. So on Tuesday we got involved and started helping her, by feeding the puppies the formula/supplement advised by our Vet. The puppies hated it, and just whined as we were feeding th...

Hello, I recently used your videos to learn how to train my pit bull mix puppy (my first puppy). We adopted him from the shelter at 6 months old; he is 9 months old now. The videos were extremely helpful. My mom also has a puppy (going on a year old), and we have met 2 times, a month apart, to introduce the dogs to one another. I watched carefully the segment you showed on dog interaction hoping I could determine any warning signs ahead of time, especially since my dog is quickly outgrowi...

Ed, My name is Frederick from Australia. I would just like to tell you my story about my tragic loss and maybe you can share this with people dealing with the same kind of problem. I am a big reader of your website and I read all your articles and QAs. Your teachings have, in a lot of ways, been the foundation of training I trained dogs although I still consider myself as a youngster in the field. I used to own a Bullmastiff dog. We got him from a breeder at 8 weeks old and he was th...

We have a 18 month old gsd that we have had since a pup. She has had training in puppy preschool and basic obedience since she was 5 month old. Our trainer follows the styles of Michael Ellis, Robert cabrel and Nino. Lots of movement and play, treats and timed corrections. My gsd struggles to focus when out of the house, at formal training she will not eat or play. Every noise or movement distracts her from focusing on me. At home I can get her to follow instruction, and she looks...

Hi Cindy! I have a 1 y/o Belgian Malinois. He has had a history of aggressive behavior, specifically biting, and has bitten me, my wife, and my trainer. I had him evaluated by Tarheel Canine Center, in Sanford NC. They are well familiar with working with Belgian Malinois and other shepherd breeds. To address the biting they recommended: 1 Plenty of exercise. He gets exercised 2 hours a day and 2. Obedience Training. He attended in-board basic obedience training for 5 weeks and advanced ob...

Hi Cindy, I have a friend that does not live near me so I am unable to physically help her with her new cattle dog puppy. She is having a problem with him constantly tugging at her pant legs and healing her ankles. She has asked for help. I am a trainer where I live. I’m thinking of redirecting the tug desired to places in each room with an attached tug. Also, a slow feed treat ball for him to chase and to keep his brain occupied. I wanted to get your opinion on my ideas and tugs you...

Hi Cindy, I just got an 11-month-old intact male Doberman from Europe who has strong working drives but is also not very socialized. He arrived a few days ago here in the USA and I was warned that he was very dog aggressive, especially with other males. My big challenge is we have a fairly large house with at least 30 windows and 5 glass sliding doors on one side and when he sees his reflection in the mirror, he goes after it with fury. It could be day or night, even while driving in t...

Hi Cindy, Would you please give me some advice? My 13-month GSD would bark like crazy and lunge at the windows from within our van ride at the passing by trucks, people standing at the crosswalk, people riding bikes! We popped her prong collar and told her “leave it” or “quiet” but she couldn’t stop as we saw her hair on her back standing up. It looks like she’s very panicky and scared. But when we took her out of the van and walked her, she’s totally fine with people, animals, ...

Good afternoon. I am about to purchase the Foundation of Sport Detection DVD/online course and am wondering what supporting target scent "kit" you recommend. I see there are CKC kits, AKC kits, UKC kits, NACSW kits et al available. Can you explain the key differences and why I might choose one over the other? I have a Belgian malinois/shepherd cross whom I would like to train for scent detection - at this point just for "fun" and mental stimulation ... for both of us. :)Thanks for any assista...

At what age/stage is it appropriate to start leash pressure training?

Our 8wk old German shepherd puppy girl just came home from the breeder this afternoon. Question: What to use and how should I clean my 8-wk old puppy after eating raw? She ate well and then sat on it but had raw food all over her body. I'm worried about her being covered in salmonella, e-coli, etc as I have 2 seniors (my parents) who have a low immune system at home.

Cindy, IS it a good idea to have two different commands for dogs ....... Au Pied ! for heeling in a head up focused eyes position, and Heel for a more relaxed longer lasting heeling of the dog? Thanks.

Hi, my male gsd & I walk with a group of 6-8 people & dogs, all leashed. We agree the dogs will not interact but will walk calmly in new environments. 1 of the dogs is extremely reactive and frequently lunges at my dog & vocalizes threateningly. I try to keep as much space as possible. How should I handle that? Thanks!

I have a 5.5-month-old male GSD puppy who lunges & bites at people holding a leash (or standing nearby). We manage his life with NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free). He's either in a crate or on a leash in the house, he's asked to sit and wait at doors and before coming out of crate. We completed 14 wks of puppy preschool and basic obed., we have your basic and inter. obed., and puppy pack structure videos, which we have found very helpful. He is not our first GSD and not our first pup, but he's ...

Is there an age at which you would not recommend introducing the puppy to leash pressure (i.e. is there a floor in age for training). What is the youngest age you have started leash pressure training?

I have an 18-month-old malinois/pyrenees mix. How much physical exercise is a good goal each day? We also do training a couple of times a day and mental stimulation. Thank you.

I have a 2.25 Herm Sprenger on my 17-month-old Golden Retriever. We just started using it for walks and it is helping greatly. He seemed to automatically adjust. I have put a lot of work in training wise since day one - he has a couple of tricks titles, we are taking agility classes (he loves!), we've trained for basic obedience regularly on our own and in classes, and we are working on heeling for novice rally. He does well, but pulls toward other dogs (over aroused/friendly) on walks. I don...