Most Popular Q&As

Why is it so important to work with a ball on a string with young puppies?

We recently purchased a 5 month old, German Shepherd of German and Dutch breeding. She is a pleasant puppy and quite active. We already had a 12 year old Cocker Spaniel who also has a very pleasant and now placid personality. We have had the shepherd for 3 weeks. During this time we have allowed the dogs to sniff each other through a gate, but have not allowed them to be free together. Our few attempts to introduce the dogs without the gate; have resulted in the following: the shepherd ea...

Your puppy video arrived in the mail this weekend and we watched it, twice. Good job! The video covered a lot of ground, but I still have more questions. I read your article on why you shouldn't have two dogs at once. Unfortunately, we already have the two pups, and we want to make the best of it. Based on what you've written, I assume we could have some problems with them not accepting us in their "pack" of two. What are some warning signs to watch out for in case they decide we d...

Hi, We have an 8 week old labrador X collie, he is very well behaved and is doing well at house training, he mouths a lot with the children in play which we know he will grow out of when he is older but yesterday I tried hand feeding him a small piece of ham and he snapped at my hand and made it bleed. I am guessing he had to fight for his food with his siblings so I am putting it down to this and hoping it will not carry on but I am a little worried in case it does, we have...

Hi Cindy and Ed, I love your website and training dvd's and free information as well as the quality products you guys sell over there. Is there a "proper" or "best" way that you can recommend to introduce a dog to a swimming pool? I have a year and a half old chow/lab mix that I got from the dog shelter 9 months ago. She swims just fine but does not like going in the pool. I have brought her in using chicken as a reward but she still doe not like it. She goes into the...

Hi Cindy, One question about our boxer mix. He is nearly six months old. When we first got him from a shelter at 12 weeks, he was e VERY bold dog, completely outgoing and social, very friendly and eager. In the last month or so, he has very suddenly become shy and fearful. Very nervous around new and sometime familiar people and in strange and sometimes familiar environments. He is not shy around other dogs. He rides with me in the car almost every day but has recently become fearf...

Dear Mr. Frawley, We have 5 of your videos and just received 5 of your leashes. Thank you for the quality products that you offer. We have been teaching our 14 week old puppy using the marker training outlined in your videos with GREAT success. The puppy minds 95% of the time in the house. However, every time I take him out in public, he gets very distracted and does not mind, doesn't seem to even hear me or my commands, requiring that I go to great lengths to get his attent...

I have a springer spaniel/black lab mix who is approximately 4 years old. He is a great dog in all aspects expect strong prey drive and aggression toward other dogs especially. I have bought two of your videos ...Basic Dog Obedience and Dealing with Dominant Aggressive Dogs. They have both helped tremendously but I can't seem to get him to walk behind me or stay at my side during a walk. I say no..and 99 times out of 100 he will come back to position but it seems i'm saying no every 5 seconds...

Hello Ed, Allow me a little of your time. I am a K9 handler with the Pittsburgh police department, up here in Pittsburgh, PA (Go Steelers). I started working with dogs in the army in 1976 . I have 15 years experience as a police handler. First off , I want to say, I enjoy your videos ,and have even purchased a few. I am currently on your mailing list. I don?t always agree with you, but always find your videos, and articles, top quality and interesting/thought provoking. I especiall...

My name is Nick I am a handler from a NJ Police Department. I've been working with my partner on the street for about a year and a half; we have been working together since 99. I would describe myself as a typical new police handler, I've made my share of success and I've learned lessons the hard way. All in all, I love what I'm doing, and I learn something new everyday as well at training. My partner is a 3 1/2 year Czech import, cross-trained patrol/narcotics. In patrol school, w...

I've read everything I can on prong collars and am trying to learn the art of using one without doing damage to my dog(s) or myself. My collar never sets down on the dog's neck like it should. It doesn't look right compared to the pictures I see of everyone else's. There seems to be too much space between the neck and the collar (I don't mean loose) but instead something's just not quite right. I have noticed a definite difference between my male Doberman's responsiveness. I don't have to...

Hi, Just wanted to let you know that I did my first AI using your AI kit and DVD and it was successful! We took our Mastiff yesterday for x-rays confirmed it. Thanks so much for your website and useful information. My English Mastiffs are 190 lbs and 215 lbs. They are not aggressive at all, but when I take them anywhere they pull me around a lot. I am using a choke collar now. I was thinking of using one of your prong collars. Their neck size is 25 inche...

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered somewhere in your vast amount of information. I searched in your articles and on your Q&A, but my eyes are starting to cross from all the reading! I started training Spencer (2-year-old Dobe) with a prong collar about a year and a half ago. It was a life-saver for him because I wanted to wring his neck every day. There are no trainers in our area who will use a prong collar (they all favor the Gentle Leader, which Spencer hates), so had...

Cindy, I have a two year old Male not neutered german shepherd from working lines. He always mouthed me as a pup and never really liked being touched on the belly, feet, ears. Even though he didn't like it, I continued so he would get used to touching. I do all of your suggestions and also NILF and he listens to me for everything. Lately, he has started growling when I pick up his foot or try to clip his nails. I have your dominant dog collar and have corrected him until he stops and allow...

I have a two year old Rottweiler. He is friendly and we live in an apartment building. He is fully obedience trained. I would like to train him to be capable of protection work. My concern is that he will become aggressive towards neighbors and children during the training period? Will this training program change his personality and make him unpredictable?

I have a male GSD that I have started trailing work with for SAR. I would also like to get into one of the Protection sports, such as NAPD. My questions is this: Can a protection dog be used in an SAR environment? People have hold me that he would be fine for trailing, but could not be trusted, due to his bite work, in air-scenting, when he is running free.

Last night at our Schutzhund Club practice here a member brought by a 15 month old bull mastiff. I have a rottweiler of the same age, and because neither were trained or worked with earlier, neither have much prey or any defensive drive. Do you have any videos or books or advice that deal directly with this problem? Some people do not have the ability or desire to purchase another dog/puppy, but desire to work with the dog they have. Is there anything that they can do? Mike

I have one of your wire muzzles for our Doberman, Nikki & I was wondering if you had any opinion about using it as a Gentle Leader by simply fastening her leash to a wire on the muzzle while she is wearing it. Our local police want us to muzzle Nikki when we walk her in our neighborhood, because she has scared a few joggers by lunging at them when they've startled her (usually from behind). We've been using a Gentle Leader, which gives us good control over her, but the police argue that it...

Hi Cindy, I have read many articles on your website and also purchased and viewed (and still viewing) your DVDs. I have currently got a 4th dog, which I was supposed to have in joint-ownership, however it seems that I will have it all by myself unless we return him to the rescue center. I am currently following your advise from DVD Establishing Pack Structure and Article Ground work. To Explain, my existing pack (I had all 3 dogs from pups) consists of: 1) 3.5 Year old JRT bitch - spaye...

Could someone please guide me in the right direction to finding help with training an aggressive male German shepherd named "Storm?" He is 18 months old and a dear children?s pet but he has a terribly dangerous habit. We have two horses whom he loves to chase and nip at, (he will not respond to our calls when he is doing this and has recently been kicked twice). We are fearful he will be seriously hurt or killed if we cannot control this behavior. He is currently in a dog run but we would lik...