Most Popular Q&As

I am hoping you can help me. My dog (miniature doberman) is a little older than 1 year old, we have never walked him. He has gone out a few times and has always run away. I would like to start walking him and taking him places on his leash. The problem is that he cowers when we put the leash on him and lays down. Is there something we can do to help him feel more comfortable? Thank You!

Hello, I was just searching your web site. and I was greatly impressed about your knowledge of dogs and your willingness to help people with problems they face with their own dogs. This is exactly why I am writing you. I seem to have a problem with my parents 9 month old purebred female Akita. I am not sure how much knowledge you have of this breed but from what I can tell on your web site, you definitely know more about dogs than I do. Here is the problem: At this moment in...

Hi, I have a one year old Rottweiler. He is great with my two young children but I can not get him to calm down. Our biggest problem is that he pees all over himself and anything else near him when ever he gets scolded. He does this more so with my husband than myself. The only time that it is really bad is when he is really getting yelled at. Not just a little "Hey knock that off!" Please help us if you can. Thank You sooo much, Jennifer

Hello, I have been reading a lot of your Q & A's. I am looking for some advise about your 7-8 month old Corgi Mix. He was a stray when he was found so we are not sure exactly how old he is. He is a real sweet heart in almost every way. Breaks my heart that he had a hard start to life. I have a 7 year old son who Meyer (our dog) loves to play with but I think he thinks my son is his litter mate. Meyer will nip at him in a playing way, not breaking skin or making marks, but it still ...

Hello Cindy, We have a GSD 2-1/2 yrs. She is trained in obedience and agility, is well socialized and is generally a very good, calm dog. She has always enjoyed catching insects and I guess that's normal. Earlier this summer, she caught a wasp which stung the roof of her mouth. We gave her an allergy pill and she was okay. But we would like to stop this behavior. When we want her to ignore something (like a barking dog in a yard as we walk, or a food scrap on the ground) we ...

I have a 12 week old female shepherd (German of course) and she is probably the smartest dog I have every worked with. There are just three things right now that I don't know how to correct, 1. She pees on the floor when ever someone comes to visit or if she gets very excited. 2. She just started this very disgusting act of peeing on our children when they lie down on the floor 3. She bites at our faces when we play with her. She is pretty much house broken, with the exception of w...

Hi, Your site has been a great help. We have a 10-month-old Brittany, and until a month ago, I thought we had just been lucky because our dog never barked. Now, she barks when dogs pass by our house, whether she is inside or outside. If we are on a walk, she rarely barks at a dog passing by, even if it barks at her. She gets excited, but doesn't make a noise. The one thing that has changed is that we have had Invisible Fence installed during this time. I have read questions on you...

My dog bites my hand when I try and make drive.

I have used your DVDs, training in drive and focus. How do you get the dog to quit trying to mug you and take the toy? I can hold the toy in front of him and tell him to leave it and he will but when he knows it is in my vest, it is a different story! Do I start with baby steps and work up to it? I am, age 67, 5 feet tall, first dog, with a 95 lb male German Shep. He is a good obedience dog but this drive work presents a challenge!

Have you written an article on aggression?

I'm an avid reader of your web site and would appreciate your input on this question. I have a 10-month-old male GSD (neutered at age 6 months). 48 hours ago while I was away at my sons' hockey tournament, my wife heard him barking very aggressively on our front porch. My wife was expecting a playmate for my other son to be dropped off and went to the door the check out the barking. My sons' 12-year-old friend was decked out in full ski apparel including ski hat and goggles scared to come...

I really hope you can answer my question, as I am very concerned about a potentially injurious situation involving my brother and wife's newborn baby and an alpha female German Shepherd (age 6). I've read through your site but didn't find anything that COMBINES dog aggression with people aggression. Does a dog aggressive dog imply a people aggressive dog? Do they distinguish between the two? Could there be a problem if a new baby is seen as a threat? What would make this happen? Please he...

I have visited your web site, and found some very interesting book/videos/equipment, but I am not sure what knowledge/equipment I need to make my dog behave. Can you recommend some training equipment for me ? Here is my story: My problem is this- I have a Male Springer Spaniel who is NOT neutered, I am unable to muzzle him or clean his ears, or pick him up. He will bite if this is attempted. I want to get the dog neutered, but I am unable to get the muzzle on him in fear of being b...

Hello! I just happened to stumble across your website and I have to say it's pretty great. I just need an opinion regarding my three year old Sharplaninac (Yugoslavian shepherd). They are rare in the States. As a breed they are large, intelligent, stubborn and protective. We got him as a puppy and he immediately was very lively and loud, and stubborn stubborn stubborn. I wasn't there when he was growing up since I was away at college, and lets just say my parents don't have tim...

Ed, I am the owner of a 7yr old neutered English Bulldog. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. Tank used to be a very friendly, social dog. He loved attention from people. Over the past year his behavior has progressively gotten worse. I have talked to many trainers in the past, all of which told me that since dominance training does not work (in fact disciplining makes him more aggressive), that it is a medical issue. I am a veterinary technician, and he has always gotten the ...

Hi, I hope that you can give me some advise how to handle this situation. I have 16 months old Bullmastiff Baron, and 18-month-old Bullmastiff Cesar. Sweet dogs, I raised them from puppies. I keep them separate in outdoor kennels most of the day, and take them inside over the night. I also take them for a walk twice a day and they both behave well, sit, down and heel. I was feeding them in the kennel twice a day, and everything was o.k., until now, when Baron the younger one, when ...

Hi Cindy, I work at an animal shelter and we have a very large Dane mix (160 pounds) with us at the moment. He's an unneutered male, just over 2 years old. He grew up without boundaries and pulled his previous owners off their feet several times, even broke their leg and shoulder. We trained him to walk nicely on the leash without distractions, but he is very reactive to other dogs (sex doesn't matter, so I assume it's not a testosterone issue). When he sees dogs he lunges like crazy, ...

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 ...

My dog killed my kitten today. She was lying at the top of the stairs, and the kitten jumped on her trying to play and in 4 seconds he was gone. She has lived with cats in the past and has never done this. I am so heartbroken. I need to get her fitted for a good muzzle. She also tries to dominate me; she sits on me in bed and growls if I try to move. She is also aggressive to other dogs. Please how do I handle this? It can not happen again. I kept them separate for weeks. and weeks aft...

Hi Cindy, Me again......I really appreciate being able to ask questions and getting good answers! Thank you! I have a 2y old upland hunting dog (by now you probably know I have Springers) who I have trained to retrieve using Michael Ellis's methods. She is awesome.....until a bird is shot. Seems a warm, just shot bird is different than the dead ones I thaw and use for different training activities. She marks and finds the just shot bird, goes out to get it, starts heading back with it ...