Most Popular Q&As

Hi Cindy, I have a 13 week old GSD and she’s been great, but the other day our neighbor’s dog started barking at her and she freaked out because she couldn’t see it (we were walking back into our garage). Then another day the dog came out of the garage and barked at her and my dog barked back (hair standing up, full on bark). Then she barked at another dog on our walk when they weren’t doing anything. I told her leave it and tried to re engage her, but it was hard to get her t...

Hello Cindy. This is about a 3-year-old, male border collie dog, it's not a fearful dog, He is confident and he has advanced obedience training, and also agility training. He can walk among people in malls, markets, and massive events keeping quiet and relaxed but if a stranger whether a woman, man, adult, or kid, approaches and tries to pet him, he reacts with aggression, even if people only praise him from a distance. He won't do it with people he knows. I would like the dog to stop rea...

Hi Cindy, I am letting my 6-month-old puppy play with another dog that I trust in the morning to burn off some energy before work. How will this affect our engagement? Is it setting the foundation that other dogs are more fun and will make recall and engagement in the presence of distractions later on more difficult? I want to make sure as he gets older we continue to progress to a solid recall and solid sit in the face of all distractions. Rescued this puppy about a month ago...

Hi Cindy, so my working line GSD he is 5 now. He’s is trained, I would say intermediate level/ But he has this issue when we are at home only. He will grab a rock in his mouth from the backyard then goes and place it in positions all around the back lawn and digs. Some of the trenches are 500mm deep. The only way I stop him from doing this is by locking him in the laundry when I'm not home. Although he is less likely to do it if I am not home. But if I get home let him out the back ...

Hi Cindy, I recently acquired a German Shepherd pup at 7 months of age. He was started in obedience work and drive development from the kennel I purchased him from. He was originally being developed for police work or high level sport. I just want him for family companion / protection work. Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to develop this pup from 8 weeks old into my training and drive development or capping where necessary. When I received him he didn’t have bite inhibition o...

We started with a new training program for our 10 month old rescue puppy last week. It's with an e-collar and several coworkers recommended it. It's a drop-off one-day-a-week situation; they work with us & our dog every other session. My concern is the trainer told me when giving directions on how to use the stim that I shouldn't worry if he yelps, I'm not hurting him. She said that for him it was a discomfort like having the music too loud in the car. I'm having a hard time believing this. H...

Hi Cindy, Becoming a dog trainer here using very much relationship / engagement-based training approach. I can imagine I'm going to run into clients who absolutely don't want to give their dog treats directly from their hand (since I know owners like that already). Apart from offering to show them how to do so safely and encouraging them to do so for the more direct connection to you, how absolutely necessary or unnecessary is that delivery when it comes to food rewards? Is placing it ...

Hi there, we have a 11 mo puppy we have had him for 4 months now. He was in a shelter for 4 months before we got him so he just knew to potty anytime anywhere. We got him to learn the dog door and he has been great. All of a sudden after a camping trip and weather turning he wouldn't go out the dog door, would go inside. I guess maybe he really doesn't know how to tell us he just uses the dog door anytime! He relapsed for a few weeks and is back on track but if the dog door is closed he ...

I have an 5 yr old rescue with the impulse to ingest inappropriate things he finds - like bark mulch chips, etc. He has puked up sticks the size of my thumb and I am worried he will cause himself a lethal internal injury. I have tried the standard "leave it" and now he just swallows faster. How can I get him to understand that this is undesirable/unacceptable behavior? He is muzzle trained so that I can permit him some off-leash time but other folks treat him like he is Hannibal Lecter. Ot...

Hello Cindy. I really hope you can help us. Less than a week ago, we got a 9-week puppy cockapoo. He is wonderful in many ways, but he really bites when putting into a crate. He also very nippy and saying ouch does not work. Today during playtime outside, when the puppy was on dog run, he started to run around like crazy and growl. Could you please advise me on how to deal with this behavior. I worry for my children. Thank you

Our German Shepherd pup is 14 weeks old, now, got her at 8 weeks. Bought the Leerburg Come When Called video, and your puppy video, 8 weeks to 1 year. Recently , off leash, mainly outside with distractions and around our horses, puppy is ignoring the come when called command. Suggestion? Too soon for off leash? Goal is a family pet, that comes when called.

I've been exploring the benefits of keeping dogs intact and encountered a predicament with my 5-month-old blue heeler who has a retained testicle. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this specific issue. Local vet recommends neutering him, and I came across the Leerburg article Neutering Male Dogs: Should You or Shouldn't You, which supports neutering monorchid dogs. However Chris Zink cites a study only about 12.8% of dogs with retained testicles developed cancer in the retained testicle, t...

My puppy is 10 weeks old and is already engaging really well, even in new places and with small distractions. I plan to continue socializing him by going to new places and doing engagement, with progressively more difficult distractions. He's an Australian labradoodle and obviously doesn't focus as intently as the high drive malinois I've seen but I imagine it continually improves with practice. I'm wondering when I should start luring and shaping behaviors like sit, down, look, etc and in...

My 14 month old GSD loves playing tug, but often she is biting/holding onto the string (and tugging hard) vs. the ball. I'm worried about the impact on her gums and teeth. I don't see any effect. Should this be a concern? Thanks

I am watching your tug videos. Michael Ellis says that letting your dog carry and keep the toy will build possessiveness. Mark Keating seems to say the opposite. I have a 3.5 year old shepherd mix we adopted. He seems mostly motivated to take whatever toy we tug with to keep and chew. If I give him wins, he keeps walking away and when I bring him back, he gradually loses interest. The other day I thought I would try just tugging and outing, never giving the tug to him completely. Now h...

Hello, I’m working my way through Michael Ellis’ focused heeling video and I’ve gotten to the part where I work on leash pressure with my mal. He’s awesome with the forward leash pressure and immediately gives. When I pull straight back to attempt to get him to give backwards he constantly drops into a sit. If I keep applying pressure backwards he drops into a down. What can I do to help him learn what I’m asking? Should I just keep applying steady pressure backwards? I’m using a...

I have a 3yr old Dutch Shepherd that I adopted a year ago. No background info given. She is very anxious/fearful when hearing gunfire (large or small) from the neighborhood. She is non reactive in almost all other situations including trips to the military base at Ft. Bragg, NC. There the background range noise is 24/7 heavy artillery to smaller arms fire. No problem at all.. Have tried to desensitize with background noise online at home in calm settings, no reaction. Only reacts to live nea...

Hello. My 12 year old Border Collie has been getting peri-anal tumors for the last two years. I don't know what to do to help him. He is slim, doesn't like to eat, very energetic, but tires sooner than before, alert when awake, but like his naps now that he is aging. What can you recommend? We tried Darwin's raw food, but he did not eat at all for days and he is underweight, so I gave him his cooked hamburger, chicken, plus kibble earthborn. I really need help please. Thanks.

Hi Cindy, My 6 month old female GSD has been diagnosed with CHD. The x-rays have been confirmed by another vet as being good, reliable x-rays, and he also says that our dog's hips are "poor" and will need surgery. One vet wants to do Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO) and the other vet wants to do a FHO? Femoral Head Ostectomy. Do you have experience or knowledge about these two procedures? Both break my heart to think about them. The FHO seems to be less traumatic and have a quicker reco...

Hi Cindy, My GSD has had a hard time keeping a solid stool and she does not digest chicken at all. I have had her on a diet of Orijen fish food and she can keep a semi soft stool. My questions is, will grand flex upset her tummy? Thanks