Most Popular Q&As

Hi Cindy, Trust you are doing well. I need your help, Cindy. I attached a video of a puppy. This is the puppy the breeder selected for me. He is 8 weeks old in this video. Can you give me your honest opinion? This really is a big step for me and this will be the first Dutch Shepherd in my country. According to me, the dog shows a lack of drive or interest in the bite work. The breeder reckons he is independent and will be a slow maturer. Whatever that means. Maybe his prey drive has...

Hi Cindy, I just finished watching the new training dogs with food video with Michael Ellis. Owning the old and the new, I found the new one to be considerably better - good job Leerburg! I do have one question, which was highlighted after watching the new one (I thought I understood it before watching the new one). At the end of the video, Michael talks about reward schedules. He gives a few examples, all of which skip the marking - he simply just gestured like he was giving a relea...

Hi Cindy, Your newsletters are always very informative and helpful. However, I have been unable to play your videos without constant stopping and stuttering until you sent out this video which played perfectly on my computer. I can always play YouTube videos without a problem and other videos sent to me. 1. Could you please send out videos that play like the 'A Good Explanation of IPO'? 2. Could your newsletter video clips be in a YouTube type format? We live in the country in Ontar...

Hello! I have a 10 week old female lab (born Aug 26th). When she is playing hard with other dogs and I need her to calm down and listen I try to stop her by holding her back, or grabbing the scruff of her neck. Sometimes she will stop other times when she is really wound and I stop her by getting a hold of the scruff of her neck and pick her up by the scruff of her neck she will twist around and snap at me or my husband. We pick her up and hold her in that position close to our bodies unti...

We have a 8 1/2 year old Kangal from Turkey. His name is Yurek. We have, since he was 10 weeks old, fed him a raw food diet. He weighs 136 lbs. We boil Chickens, have raw meat cut into 1? stew size and he eats around 3 lbs per day. He recently has been having some stomach problems. Is there anything I can give him to settle his stomach down? Robert

I retired from the military and now have a seizure disorder due to a TBI (traumatic brain injury) I received while overseas. I have a 10 month old German Sheppard that I have trained in basic obedience, but I need to train her in seizure alert. I can't find any training facilities that are local to me. Are there any videos I can get to aid me in this process? Thank you for your time.

I have a question, I had set up a plan to breed my dog with another Chihuahua male her size. I brought him to our home and they tied up at least 4 times I know of. I brought him home yesterday and this morning I let her out to go potty and one of our neighbors dogs tied up with her. My question is with me breeding her a day or two before even though the neighbors dog got a hold of her she should already be pregnant from the male Chihuahua so do I have to worry about this little mistake after ...

Hi, We just got our 23 week old papillon. She took to the crate right away and for 2 weeks now has not had an accident in the crate. She even seems to enjoy her crate time. There have been numerous times that she has gone in during her play time when the crate door was open. My question is this: She is only allowed in the family area of the house which includes kitchen (which is tiled) and family room (which is carpeted).?We have caught her in the act of relieving herself in the family ...

Good morning Cindy, I am currently working with a Dachshund puppy 5-month-old in regard to potty training. So far I was able to work with the client to establish a potty schedule and while client at home with puppy to have the puppy on a drag lead. He does no longer use a diaper as well the potty pads that he was trained on by the breeder are no longer spread out throughout the house. The only place that he frequents now are 2 spots in the kitchen. He lives with 2 other dogs therefore I mark...

Hello Cindy, my 6-months old puppy eats plastic bags when she finds them in the (only) field she can run off-leash. She already swallowed one and we caught her trying on several more occasions. As an alternative to keeping her leashed at all times, since she does need to run some (GSP), the vet recommended a basket muzzle. Which one do you recommend that would prevent her from eating things? Thanks.

Hello Cindy, Our vet explained earlier today that we should have Olga spayed to prevent the likelihood of her contracting uterine or breast cancer. Really? We made a reasoned decision two years ago, before Olga’s first birthday not to have her spayed. What specifically do you suggest we tell him on this serious matter regarding our Olga, her health, and her longevity? Note: This is the third vet we have gone to with Olga over disagreements with a specific conventional veterina...

In the puppy bite work class Michael tells us to stop playing tug when they start teething. Today my 17-week-old pup lost a very small baby tooth while we were playing. So, my plan is to stop all rag-and-tug play and work on tracking and obedience. My question is how long will this process be and how can I monitor the situation?

Hi Cindy, I have a question regarding tug play. I've taken Michael's course on tug play, but I am having trouble generalizing it as a reward. My dog plays reasonably well and is excited to play tug in the absence of distractions. But if I try and use it as a reward outside of my backyard/my garage(training area) then he shows zero willingness to engage. He will sort of half engage in my front yard, but he won't really bite with commitment... even if I tease him with it. He looks right by m...

In the puppy bite work class Michael tells us to stop playing tug when they start teething. Today my pup lost a very small baby tooth while we were playing. So, my plan is to stop all rag-and-tug play and work on tracking and obedience. My question is, how long will this process be and how can I monitor the situation?

I have a young  Terrier just over a year old. All the training I’ve done to this point he’s doing well with. When he’s training at home anyway. The training includes basic obedience, including long sit and down. And dumbbell retrieve. I get him out to the park to do everything he’s learned and it’s like pulling teeth with him. He’s just not into it. What can I do? Thank you in advance for your response.

Pls suggest a pinch collar size for adult Rottweiler

My Belgian Malinois puppy is 13 weeks old. I am planning to do Schutzhund with him. I have been playing with him with the flirt pole and soft tug toys to engage him. He will chase the rag but mostly grabs it with front teeth, not a full grip and then lets the toy go. He won't tug on it. And if he does catch it with a full bite he lets it slip out or he wants to lay on the ground and play with it instead of carrying the toy. What would be your suggestion to encourage him to bite with a full mo...

I understand the merits of hand-feeding puppies as much as possible to build value on me the handler. When feeding raw, what do you suggest as a means of doing this? I have tried using gloves but there is definitely huge advantages of using kibble in this situation as it’s so convenient. I’m sure you have come across this before and wondered what answer you guys have come to for this.

Hi Cindy I just have a question about when you should start training your puppy with the sit and down etc. Do you start straight at the 8 weeks or do you start with engagement at 8 weeks and after a few weeks of engagement, play and bonding you start training the real things like sit, down , stay etc. love to hear from you ! Greetings from The Netherlands

Hi. Will the information in the Puppy bitework dvd apply to non-protection breed/sport puppies? I just want to learn how to properly start playing tug with puppies.