Most Popular Q&As

Hi Ed, I purchased your video Training DRIVE, FOCUS, & GRIP with Bernard Flinks and my question is that my dog loves his ball on the string which I also use to play fetch with him. Normally he brings it back and drops the the ball. Should I be using this toy to do the training? Would I not be able to play with him with this toy not until the training is over? Thanks for your time.

I have a situation with a neighbor and a Rottweiler. They got the dog when it was about 8 weeks old, and from the very beginning, it has shown aggression towards first other dogs, and then people. At approximately 2 months old, this puppy would growl and show it's teeth and lunge at other dogs, even dogs that were quite large. This happened EVERY time the dog came in contact with another dog or person. The owner didn't seem to see a problem with this. Next, the puppy started...

I am in the beginning phases of using remote collar. I purchased your dvd months ago and have been studying it and I am in the conditional phase with my 3 year old bitch. I have an issue and I am not sure how to deal with it. I have gotten my GSD to accept our cats as part of her pack to the point where they coexist with no issues, other then my GSD's food bowl. So fine, not willing of taking the chance of one of the cats getting bit I feed her in her cage. The problem is wh...

Hi Cindy, I have a 14-month-old intact male mix breed dog who recently developed a fear of overhead objects like signs, statues, and awnings. All day to day things he been exposed to before. He’s well exercised with 2–3 off-leash walks daily, plays tug, is e-collar trained, and walks politely on leash. This started after a desensitizing session outside the dog park. He’s very social and excitable (no aggression), and I was applying negative pressure with a slip lead when I saw si...

I’m facing a problem with my male indoor dog. I also have two outdoor dogs—one male and one female. The outdoor male is actually his son, and there has been competition between them, which is why I separated them. Lately, my indoor dog has started marking inside the house, but only when I’m not home. When I return and try to correct him, he doesn’t seem to understand or respond to the correction. I suspect this might be related to the competition between him and his son, but I’m ...

When I walk my five and half month old female GSD along with my smaller dog, an eight year old Cavaton the GSD grabs his leash constantly. If two of us are walking and I walk her 10 yards away she pulls like crazy. Is this something that I can fix besides walking them separately? I have yet to give the GSD a leash correction and she has been doing well on solo walks even when passing other dogs. Thank you

Hi Cindy, Hope your well. I have a 5 year old intact male sporting dog (Pointer). We got him when he was around 12 weeks old. Since day one he light chased. The breeder use a laser light for the puppies to chase to tire them out. Anytime there is a light reflection he will sit and stare at it, wagging his tail and whining. If the light reflection moves, he chases it and repeats the behavior. We have tried increasing his mental and physical exercise, but this actually makes him really sna...

Good evening We have a 10yr old Golden retriever that we've had since 3months old, and our problem is with resource guarding. We can feed her food by hand and she'll wait between portions. But if she finds food first–either in home or outside–she will lunge and bite at us if we attempt to remove it or her. She has bit multiple people over the years, and mostly associated with food. She's a Jekyll and Hyde character: Completely sweet Golden when food isn't present, and defiant and aggr...

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 ...

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 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

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

I own a golden retriever that has been trained through utility but is not ring ready. He is a high boy that anticipates his recalls when my back is turned. He fidgets at the set up point and explodes when I walk across the expanse of the ring. Putting him back into place only makes this much worse. Any ideas? Thank you