Most Popular Q&As

Hello Ed I have spoken to you before, and the reason why I am writing you about this issue is that you keep it real. I am a helper and a good safe helper. This past weekend I was getting some dogs ready for a trial and I gave them nice hard, but FAIR stick hits and the dog came off the sleeve. The stick hits were not that hard and any damn way, this soft ass SchH 3 dog was supposed to endure a solid hit. At any rate, the first thing the lady said was that the dog was hit too hard a...

Hi Ed, I have a fantastic bitch that is doing really well, and is exactly where I want her at this stage. However, when she goes into heat she is banned from all club events and training (except trials) for three weeks. I have always thought that just because your male smells a bitch that it is no excuse for them to go stupid. When she is in heat I shorten her training sessions, but other than that I do nothing different. I guess my question to you is...Am I off base on this? ...

Hi Cindy, We have a 4 year old German Shepard. We took obedience classes with her when she was young and did agility with her as she grew up. We have a bit of an attention problem in that when she get excited about an activity she feels she no longer need my guidance. I am trying to be polite but actually she is not. She blows me off. I tell her she is being rude and that is not acceptable. If we are doing agility lets say we will start off okay, but she get excited and runs her ow...

I have a 14 month old shepherd and I want to get him involved in schutzhund training. I had him evaluated by a state police k-9 trainer and he told me my dog had great potential. I have been very light on obedience training to this point. He knows basic commands but at times I have been unable to enforce them----not wanting to ruin his drives. I called your office and asked them to recommend a training video or book on obedience training. They told me to ask you. He cannot begin schutzhun...

Dear Ed, I have a male German Shepherd that I have been training for Schutzhund. I have been working on adding distractions with him on the down stay, however when the other dogs are out on the field and he see's them running he will start barking uncontrollably. I have him where he won't break the stay but the barking really gets on my nerves. What do you suggest should I give him a good correction or I have a tri-tronics no bark collar I purchased from you, or just let him...

I have 2 male GSD's that I am training for SchH. I am fairly new to the sport but am an experienced dog handler. Both are 5 months old, from different litters. One is DDR/Czech working lines, red sable, the other german working/show, red/black. Both are big healthy boys with what seems to be high drive and good confidence, for their age. For SchH I was told not to do much obedience, if any, on my pups until they are about 1 year old. I was told that during the first year I should b...

I live in an area that is overrun with bugs (ants). When I put food on the ground, by the time the track ages and my dog tracks to the food - it?s covered with hundreds of bugs. What can I do?

I have a lemon beagle with the nose-from-hell... she won't potty if she scents something on the wind or ground. I watch her sniffing the air/ground, and wonder if she could do SAR. It is a waste of an excellent nose otherwise. She is very friendly (TOO friendly sometimes) to people and other animals. She has a cat of her own but I believe would chase strays. She does not appear to fear loud noises, like thunder, but rather is intrigued by them. nose to the air... nose to the air or ground...

Hi: Can your Calm Anxiety tablets be given to cats? (adjusted for weight of course). Thanks. Cory

Hello Cindy, I would like your opinions on a good vitamin supplement for my 8 year old black lab mix, Java. She is currently in great condition, good weight & tone, shiny coat, bright eyes, good energy, etc. but my vet told me that this is a good age to start supplementing to keep her that way. While I have not been able to feed her a raw diet (time and money) I have always fed her a natural, higher quality food (Innova Evo dry and Merrick canned). Please share your suggestions. ...

I do not have someone I trust to read my dog properly when I first start tracking him. Can I not start him tracking a stranger with me handling the dog?

I have a 1 year old dog that is being trained in TTD. We are following the advise you give in your Level 1 video. My dog runs the entire track as fast as she can. Do I need to slow her down using force?

I am interested in tracking and my question is that is it your opinion that you cannot teach a dog to track for ACK titles and then move on to search and rescue work? Meaning that in teaching footstep tracking the dog is unable to or confused to be taught tracking thru drive? I haven't started any type of tracking yet. I am trying to gather as much info as possible. I would like to compete in AKC tracking and then move on to S&R but from reading your articles this sounds like it isn't the...

Hello Ed, My name is Robert Harris, I have been reading your training articles and have really enjoyed some of them, also the questions that you answer are interesting too. I know your big on food reward and ball reward so here is a question I wonder if you could answer. If a dog is trained to track by food reward, not the dog that needs his daily food to track but the dog that just needs a little help with food treats, to track and the dog is a service dog , how do you stop the do...

Ed, What do you think of the tie out test for temperament testing older dogs. More and more SAR teams are searching for ways to test for temperament in older dogs. This test is similar to the one used in SchH. but does include and aggressive individual who is to represent an Alzheimer victim who is lost. I believe it is an unfair test in as much as you may not have an individual who knows dogs well enough and forces a dog into avoidance or fight drive because he is tied up. Pacer would not...

I read all your articles. They are very informative and have helped me a lot. I have a problem (I think) with my two dogs in tracking. When they start tracking the pull as if they were on the protection field trying to get the helper. It is a constant battle to hold them back. I give tugs to slow them down and in a calm voice say such? They have their nose to the ground but want to run the track? They miss the corners and the longer the track then the female will start to go from side to ...

I've watched your three videos on tracking. I don't think I am doing everything correct. What should a beginning track look like. Where to locate? How long? Various markings? etc. Suzy wants to air sent and get to my son really quickly and not work her nose into the ground. She is interested in the prairie dog holes and coyote scat. At the end she is not interested in her rabbit fur toy but would rather go of and investigate the surrounding area. How do I find a prairie dog free or wildli...

I have read your article about introducing new dogs into the home but I wondered if you had any comments for my particular situation. My situation is this; I live with two Rottweiler's (who are my children) and I have made the decision to join the Michigan Rottweiler Rescue Club and become a foster mom. My oldest dog is an intact bitch of 8 soon to be 9 years old. The other is her son, who is neutered, and is 5 soon to be 6 years old. I do intend to spay my bitch. I am expecting to receiv...

I know that you are a busy man so I will keep this short. I am a canine handler for the Lexington Kentucky Police Department. I have been a handler for about five years and have handled the same dog for four and a half years. My Canine "Wilchek" has far exceeded my expectations in many ways. I know that all animals, people included, develop undesirable traits. This particular trait may one day get me injured or killed if not addressed. He will stop to urinate on tracks frequently. This ...

My department recently purchased a dual-purpose police dog. The dog is a 3-year-old IPO 1 Belgian Malinois and is a really nice narcotic detector and handler protector. I have been working on tracking with the dog for about 4 weeks now. Initially, I started laying 20-yard straight tracks with dog food on the scent pad and along the track with a pile at the end for the reward. The dog would track to the end with his head down. He eat the food along the way along with the pile at the end. I ...