Most Popular Q&As

My department has a 3 year old malinois who has a problem with plastic bottles. He indicates very well on narcotics until he sees a bottle. When we go to do outside training with other departments we purposely place bottles in the training area. He has no problems with the bottles during these trainings, but when at work if he finds a bottle the search is over? Any help thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated. Scott

I am at a lose as to where to turn regarding dominance and aggression issues with my dog. As a young puppy, somewhere between 6 mo. to 1 year she was placed in the yard of an auto body shop. She had a doghouse and was fed regularly, but that was about it. My boyfriend visits this shop often and developed a relationship with the dog (I believe she is part Chow & part Keeshond). When I purchased my own home he asked me to take her in. At that time she was 3 - 4 years old. There is also an indic...

Hi, My 4 yr. old German Shepherd and constant loving companion, bit me. I had placed a bag of garbage containing a turkey bone on the floor. I heard him chewing the bone from the garbage and went over to him. He growled at me, which surprised me greatly. I then spoke firmly to him and reached for his collar to pull him away from the bone. He growled again and bit my wrist. It was one quick bite and I pulled away and ran. He has been quite humble ever since. I was shocked. I thought...

Hi, I am Heather, and I have a German Shepherd. I live with my mom and 2 sisters and I am starting to see some signs of aggression. My German Shepherd is a male and is 6 years old. I e-mailed you before about him adjusting to the apartment I moved into. He had adjusted well but he has been growling at me lately and tonight he snapped at me like a bite but he did not puncture the skin. This started a few months ago when I lived in a house. He started to growl at me when I was trying...

Dear Ed, You probably hear sad stories like this all the time; moreover, don't like to personally respond to repeat questions. Well, I'm desperate for some guidance as I'm stuck in a major dilemma. Duggan is a 3.5 year old male (fixed), shar pei/springer spaniel mix, adopted at 8wks from humane society. Affectionate, loving, and wonderful to have around. Loves stranger's too much,(live in large town-home that has inspectors come monthly and the first time they came-in when w...

Cindy, I have an 8 month old Boxer, named Rambo, who's always had a very dominant personality. I think our mistake was getting him at just barely 6 weeks of age from the breeder before he learned bite inhibition. The past couple months he's developed what appear to be dominant traits of trying to mount smaller dogs and even my 4 yr old son. He also resource guards, but I'm the only thing he resource guards, he gets near vicious (back up, teeth barred, barking) when anyone comes nea...

I was reviewing the Q&A section on your web site regarding fear biting. My questions were not really answered. Here's the situation. We have a 1 year old Lab Shepard mix. We are not sure if she has other breeds in her. We also have 4 children. 3 weeks ago, she growled and nipped at our youngest, who is 2, unprovoked. She was boarded at the vet over the weekend, and they were unable to give her a bath or give her a heart worm test. Every time they approached her to put a leash on her, she ...

I have two dogs. My first is the younger of the two, she is a Rout/Beagle mix who was trained as a pup to work with handicapped children. She is well trained but sometimes refuses to go outside because she escaped once and the pound picked her up and had her for a week. My second dog just turned 4 and is a GSD. He is papered and was neutered. He is leash and house broken but does not respond to commands like sit, stay, and come. Is he to old for obedience training? He is very well behaved...

I found some useful information on your site re fear biters. Our Aussi is 8 years old and has always been fearful of loud noises, thunder storms etc., she is also very territorial of her house and car. That said if a person with a dog comes to visit she is very accepting, if they come without a dog she barks, and will try to nip ankles and on several occasions when people have tried to calm her she has nipped an arm. Lately she has been going under our bed and won't come out even for treats a...

How old should my dog be before I start training with a remote collar?

Ed, Please do an e-collar video! Everything out there is crap. That said, I have a couple questions. About a year ago, with the help of the training director at the local schutzhund club (I am in Chicago), I introduced my three year old dog to the e-collar using "escape training" in the manner consistent with the Dobbs/Tri Tronics Three Action Introduction -- apply continuous stimulation immediately before a command, and then shut off stimulation when dog complies (or for th...

I searched through your site and didnt find much on chasing. I am awaiting your ecollar intro DVD. I just bought the tritronics G3 sport combo. So far she is just wearing it and on and off, I have not used it yet. i have someone coming over tomorrow to help with finding her level and comparing it to a dogtra 280 with more low level of stims. The dog is a 10 month old spayed female akita with high prey drive. She has been in training since 4 weeks. (I visited her a few times a week at the s...

I have bought many of your products and have some questions? When a dog is OVERLY excited, I have been told, not to use an ecollar because it can make them aggressive! Do you agree with this? It makes plenty of sense. I have and old dogtra 1200, it goes from low to high and I have never used over 60 and I never did that but once. It goes to 100. The numbers are very small and hard to see and I am thinking of replacing it. Why do you recommend a 280 instead of a 190. I think the 280 is fro...

Hi, I've learned alot from your videos and appreciate all that you to to help poor handlers become better pet owners. I have a 5 month old, 15lb, male cockapoo. He has always been very nippy, or as I prefer and believe it is bitey. I can go into his mouth to pull something inappropriate out, I can go near his food and play with it and he'll do nothing. But it seems to me that out of the blue he will jump up, grab hold of my clothes, rip them and bite me. We could be on a very pl...

I enjoy reading information on your site. Lots of great stuff. I am considering purchasing one of your E-collars. I have a 14 month old GSD who thinks "come" is an optional command when he is distracted. I am totally blind and am training him as a guide dog. Are either the Tri-Tronics Sport Junior G3 or the Dogtra 175NCP usable without sight? I bet you have never been asked this before. Thanks, Mary

Hi Cindy, I got your catalog which shows your DVD about training with the e collar. My question is do you think this training would work for a 2 year old GSD who goes ballistic whenever anyone comes to the door? He is pretty much out of control with ferocious barking, jumping on the door, ignores me. He is not vicious, though he acts like he is, as he acts like a kitten when I open the door. This is embarrassing and I know it scares anyone who doesn't know him. I have an e collar b...

Thank you so much for all the time you have put into getting this information together! It has been a relief for me to read it and know that there are many other dogs & owners out there dealing with this issue. Here's my story and question. I have a 2 year old American Staffordshire, Gus. Gus grew up in a house with 2 other dogs and 3 cats until he was six months old. Then I got married and moved out of that house into the mountains which is very secluded. There was no animals for ...

Dear Cindy, I have a two year old, intact male Labrador Retriever (Tucker) who is displaying dominant and aggressive behavior toward other male dogs. Not all male dogs but most. This behavior first showed signs with mounting at 10/11months, he finally stopped because of the training/correction or his hormone's leveling-out I am not sure. It then manifested to the current behavior; he becomes hyper vigilante when he sees another dog, if he obeys the "leave it and Look" command and a...

Hello, I've been searching your site on dog dominance, but can't seem to find quite what I'm looking for. I recently adopted a third standard poodle (male), and after just one month, he and my two females are getting along really well. I have had no growling, no "arguments," no dominance issues between the new guy, and the other two. My two females have always gotten along so very well, which is why we got a third, and so far, the new boy is fitting in so nicely! I've been...

Cindy, I have an 8 month old german shepherd (Jones) that I have socialized extensively to try and make sure that he had no aggression problems. He has never showed any sign of aggression towards other dogs or people. He has never showed any sign that would worry me. Today we were at a park with a few friends who have a 10 month old Weimaraner and a 4 month old german pointer. The dogs were playing fine and I pulled out a Kong that i throw for my dog and started throwing it for the...