Most Popular Q&As

Hello all, I was cruising around your website and I must say, VERY IMPRESSIVE!! You folks really know your dogs! While I don't presently own a dog ( we had a beagle when I was young ) I like to ride my bicycle -- a lot. Which is why I'm writing. My problem is: One of my favorite stomping grounds, and where I will live when I retire is Door County. The problem here is when riding on Door County's many farm roads, every now and then some idiot's aggressive unrestrained dog com...

I've read Leerburg's info and all the threads on Neutering. And tons of other material, experiences, etc. I've gone through this 7 years ago with my Adult. But the more I read the less convincing the messages are on either side. Do you think the Puppy's behavior (dominance) can be controlled by continuing to be a Leader? Or for ultimate security because both dogs are involved should the Puppy be neutered? If it was my decision straight-up I don't want to do it... but I don't want to miss m...

Hi Cindy, I would not have dreamed of asking you this question but I read an article that Ed wrote about it, so thought it may be a valid question. My 5mo shepherd still has both ears down completely. They stand up but flipped at top occasionally when alert for a few seconds but then drop. They didn’t stand up before teething either. How do I know when teething has finished? Is it when the baby teeth have all come out or when adult teeth have fully grown? Should I intervene at this age or...

Hi Cindy, first off, thank you for this wonderful service that you and Ed provide! My question is : I have a 16 week old australian sheperd/poodle mix. She plays too hard and approaches other puppies/adult dogs friendly but then wants to pounce on them and play very roughly. Some pups view her play tactics as aggressive and want nothing to do with her. We are enrolled in a 6 week puppy class that allows playtime and the trainer is working very diligently with my puppy. My puppy is on a ...

Hi. I'm training my dog as a service dog. He is just over 3 years old. He is a mutt mix of Blue Tick Coonhound, Siberian Husky, American Pit Bull, Labrador, and many other breeds. He performs his tasks well and learns more as my disability changes. We have been training for 14 months. In public, he reacts poorly to some dogs. A male black German shepherd bit him about two years ago. I've been working with a friend who has a male black lab. His reactions are getting better until I go to Fleet ...

Hi. We used to foster through our local shelter, and foster failed with the last puppy. Lucy, the new addition , is around 9 months old and spayed. She was brought into the shelter with her litter mates at 14wks, and all were very timid. We worked a lot on obedience and commands, building trust, not rushing her - luckily she's very treat motivated. Lucy gets plenty of exercise everyday - we own a gym, and I work from home, so it's usually play with toys, the other pups, or a long trail walk w...

I recently got a male Doberman and he's 3 months old now. Yesterday I got a golden retriever (2 months) but my Doberman keeps standing over him and biting him. My golden retriever and Doberman seem to be fighting over food as well (even though I give them both separately) I don’t know what to do and he (my dobie) doesn’t listen when I tell him to stop. Please help.

Hello-I have a 4 month old GSD and I am very aware that they can be vocal/whiny/barky however, I am determined to prevent this behavior via management and controlling his environment. When he sees certain dogs in the neighborhood (large, fluffy) he does a bark when he is not engaged in something/activity. most of the time he sees a dog, looks and easily can move along, but certain larger fluffy dogs can elicit a bark. So far the bark doesn't turn into anything more(it's a bark or two and I ca...

Hi Cindy, About a month ago I adopted 10 month old intact male Min Pin. For the past month I have worked on just like trick training for fun and stuff like that to build a positive relationship. He is exceptionally food motivated and catches on to things very quickly. However I'm really struggling with loose lead walking (flat collar). He is very inquisitive and has a ton of energy. I don't have a large yard for him to run prior to working with him. Should I carry him to the park and exerci...

Hello, I just got my puppy at 9.5 weeks, I put her in the expen so I could make dinner but she is crying so much and climbing the walls to try to get out. I don’t want to reward this behavior and want her to see the expen as a good thing. How do I stop this? I gave her toys and food in the pen and put her in when she was napping but she’s still fully freaked out. I had her in there earlier playing with toys and food to familiarize herself with it but I’m not sure how else to acclimate h...

I have two dogs that cannot get along: a 9 year old spayed female lab/shepherd mix, and a 5 year old intact female German Shorthair. The German Shorthair was 11 months old when I got her, and when I brought her home, the mix breed attacked her. She responded by attacking the mixed breed, and they have been enemies ever since. It got bloody a couple of times. Currently, the German Shorthair stays outside most of the time, and the mix stays in the house. I run them daily (separately), and when...

Hi Cindy. All is going well with the Dutch Shepard pup thanks to your support. In an early segment of the video you recommended. An ex-pen is recommended. Unfortunately the pup has been able to climb out so it keeps trying. Would you recommend an even higher one (ours is about waist high) or another method for keeping the dog around activity but not always trying to escape. Many Thanks,

I have two questions for you on which products to order or your recommendations. 1. I would like to have a leash in my vehicle I can use in an emergency to get a stray dog safely off the road. I currently carry a regular dog leash, but if the dog is not wearing a collar to attach it to then it does not work out so well. Is there a good leash style that works even if the dog is not wearing a collar? 2. I would like to carry a stun gun and some kind of spray just in case I get attacked by...

Hi again! I have a dog that is 7 years old. I trained him at Petco and he passed the Advanced Canine Good Citizen test 5 years ago. I was never taught how to fade food rewards. He now only really listens to me when I have food rewards and checks out after I reward him. In the Basic Obedience Course, Frawley stated that if I hadn’t moved to a variable and random reward schedule after 2 years of a fixed reward schedule, that I would not be able to fade the rewards. Will I need to use food r...

Hi, Cindy. I know you guys bred GSD for many years. I have your Whelping video and I am watching it again. I am building a kennel and training facility and I would like to ask for your advice. How important is it that the Dam be completely separated from the presence of all other dogs during whelping? What I mean is, can she be in the same structure and within earshot, but totally separated and secured from other dogs or do you still feel this is too stressful for her? It would be...

Hi. I'm trying to choose a tug toy for my 8 month old GSD. He is a tough tugger. I want something strong, yet small enough to stick in my pants pocket to have on me during training. He has a pretty good grip. There are so many to choose from!

Hi Cindy, We have been primarily using prong collars with our pups since early spring. We live in Canada, and a part of Canada that gets extremely cold. One of our dogs is a big powerful guy, who we are working through reactivity with. The prong has been a great tool. I was thinking today that cold metal might not be the best idea in the winter, and I believe a plastic pinch may become fragile in our temperatures as well - probably not good for our e-collar batteries either (ca...

Cindy we got a German Shepherd puppy at the age of 4 weeks we were told he was 8 weeks old back in August of last year every time we correct the puppy he pees on the floor as well as now is chewing up items that does not pertain to his toys what could be the cause of this. I have a feeling it is separation anxiety. He only choose things that have our scent on it. He is now 11 months old will be a year next month on the 26th what can we do to prevent this from continuing any suggestions or ide...

Hi - I have a 1 yr old Brittany and she digs on her bed -most dogs do the scratch n circle and then lay down - but she scratches/digs and doesn't lay down. This is worse when she is overly tired. How do I help her / correct this behavior? Currently if we go to her and hold her paw and calm her she finally relaxes. Thank you

I have a now 4 month old (European) Doberman puppy. We have done a fair bit of crate training, and he sleeps in there at night, and readily jumps in with a treat. He doesn't "hate" the crate - but since day 1 when he came home at 10 weeks old, he HATES being locked up and not being right by you or what interests him. Barking and throwing a fit since the day he came home unless he's flat out exhausted, and sometimes even then. There is plenty of play, exercise, training, enrichment, etc. H...