Most Popular Q&As

Hello - I just adopted a 1 1/2 year old German Shepherd from the German Shepherd Rescue in Las Vegas. He is awesome! He gets along great with my other dog, and he is getting along with my cat very nicely. But we have 1 problems that I can not seem to fix or train out of him. The vet suggested to crate train him, and I have mixed feelings about that. Our other dog is not crate trained and he does just fine. The bad habits is that at night he grabs anything that I have left on the counter, ...

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'm training my dog on the recall command. I'm also working on getting him more comfortable outside as he can be skittish. For a while, my dog would hide underneath the dining table if he anticipated that we are going out for a walk. I believe he's slowly making progress and he's getting more comfortable outside. When we go out for walks, I would let him know ahead of time that we are going out for a walk and then I'll give the recall command to put the leash on him. Sometimes durin...

Hi Cindy, I have a 13 month female GSD. She has been in Shutzhund training for 9 month and she is doing exceptionally well. Her barking during protection is very aggressive and I am happy with that. However, away from the training field she barks at new people, not a I’m going to bite you bark but more like a hey I’m not sure about you bark. New dogs however she has a violent bark until quite some time has gone by and they get comfortable with each other. My question is how can I fix the...

So I have a new 8 week old Siberian on the way, it it’s been almost 30 years since I’ve had one this young - even though I’ve had four previous huskys. I’m looking for advice on the first few nights, and with all the videos and trainers I feel like everyone’s training advice is all different. I have a crate, but it’s not in my bedroom (although my house isn’t huge - about 1600 sqft). I think I have enough of the right gear, and am always up for other suggestions. But I will ...

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 ...

My dog knows to come when called but sometimes blows me off .I have now purchased remote collar training but no collar yet. My question is when we walk I enjoy seeing him chasing and hunting the rabbits will this have to stop?