Most Popular Q&As

Hi! I have a male Black Lab (3 years old). I'm trying to train him to go poop in a certain area of the yard so my kids (ages 4 and 1) don't step in his messes when they are playing. I've tried a lot of positive reenforcement when he goes where I want him to. I've even tried putting a temporary fence around our yard so he only has access to the areas I want him to go. The positive reenforcement worked when I could take him to the spot, but the first chance he got to go in the yard, ...

Hi Cindy, I really enjoy the newsletters, but have a question I have not seen addressed before. I currently have a Great Dane, my 5th of the breed and the 4th that I got as an adult from rescue. Now that I am working a business from my home, I am thinking that when my dog passes (he is very sweet, but 6-1/2 with very poor conformation, a crooked back, and cardiomyopathy, and they generally average only 7 to 9 years) I may see about getting a puppy. I have not used crates for my big...

Hi! I want to thank you, your "8 weeks to 8 months" video has worked great for my newly adopted 6 month german shephed pup. I saw changes in days with the in-home leash training! I am the first to admit it is me who needs more training then the dog, and that is why I'm coming to you. My dog I working on potty training. I say "working" because she will not poop in front of anyone. I was having problems with her going in the house right when I got her in sneaky places where I couldn'...

Hello, Your website is fantastic and full of so much information. I have many of your DVDs and have looked through many articles. You must be very busy but I was hoping you could help me with what seems like a very simple problem. I have a 6 month old mix and have had him since 12 weeks. He has been crate trained and has no problem going to the bathroom outside on command. In the past 3 weeks he has suddenly been going (once or twice a week) to the bathroom by the back door which h...

Hi Cindy, My puppy, born Feb 3rd is a Rat Terrier. She can't seem to get through a meal with out having to go outside to do her business. I take her out before she eats. She starts eating and then has to go poop again in the middle. It's very frustrating as I have to stand in the area waiting or she'll go in the crate. She is on a raw food diet with Kibble on the side. She'll eat her meat, go the the bathroom and then want to finish her meal. I realize that she is s...

Hi Cindy, Thanks for all the great DVDs and advice. I wrote to you not too long ago praising how our dog had no problems or accidents in the house because we have been following your training DVDs religiously. We have a 5 month old Boxer that has been PERFECT (and I mean PERFECT). He is trained to go to the bathroom (on leash) on command in a specific area in the yard and has done so for the last 3 months without a hitch and will sometimes goes potty on walks, but not often. Yester...

I have spent a very large amount of time searching for answers to this particular issue, and so far I have not found the answers I have needed. I am hoping you can help me. I have 2 dogs that are approximately 3 years old. We adopted them about 6 months ago, and as far as we know, they have always been together, and it seems like they have very similar issues. They are fearful dogs, but once we started crating them and keeping them on a leash otherwise, they have started to become a littl...

Ed, Great website. I have a question that I did not see covered in the Q&A section. My fiance and I have a 10 month old King Charles Spaniel. Before recently moving in with me she lived on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex and worked long hours. Therefore she trained our dog to pee on the pads. Now they have moved in with me and while my backyard is somewhat small it does have grass and I would prefer the dog use the backyard rather than the pads. Also, the dog poops on my rug ...

Hello Ed, I had a few questions about e-collar training. Do you think it is a good idea to use an e-collar to house train a dog? Would you simply correct the dog with the collar when they are actually in the act of using the house to potty with a stern NO! command and then place them outside in the area they need to go potty (then reward when they do go in the right place)? I am figuring that this would teach the dog, if you go potty in the house, you will get a shock.

Good morning, Ed. I read your site, and especially your article on crate training. I bought a dog 3 weeks ago - she was a rescue. Overall, I think her training has gone pretty well. She doesn't go to the bathroom in the home, but I believe that's mostly because I've been watching her constantly when she's not in her crate. I put bells beside the door, and have been training her to tap them with her nose when she needs to go to the bathroom. She's doing that MOST of the time ...

I have two pomeranians female & male around 5 months old. The male uses pee pads most of time-he's more calm & listens better than female. She uses pee pads sometimes but loves to chew them up. I went & bought natures miracle brand which did help her to pee on pad more but still they want to chew them up. I'm very tired of this. I've told them 'no' firmly & corrected them over & over & over! What can I do? I have used the treat method also. I'm exhausted. I've never had this type of pro...

Hi, My puppy is six months old, we got him over the summer and did not get a crate since I am off at that time. We used puppy pads and now I have a monster, he will go outside but not to potty. It don't matter how long I stay out, nothing happens, but as soon as we come in, on the pad he goes. Those pads cost a lot after a while, especially when the puppy already weighs 50#. Any ideas on where to start undoing this mess I made? Other than this bad habit, he is well behaved, just tr...

We have a 6 month old black lab that weighs 75 pounds. He has a habit of snapping. He has always been somewhat nervous for a lab but he seems to have adjusted well to us. We do have 7 and 9 year old sons. The dog seems to be playing but it is very difficult for me to tell. The hair on the back of his neck does not stand up as far as I can see. How can I break him of this habit? And/or, how can I determine if I need to get rid of him for another dog? When should he grow out of this habit? Than...

Hi, My GSD has just had 11 pups, I was wondering what is the best food she can have to keep her strength up and to make sure she is producing enough milk for them. Also quite a silly question, how will she know which pups have fed and which haven't, as she only has 8 teats? Many thanks, Rebecca

Hello, I had my first (and last) litter of pups on Thursday 7/2. I had a total of 6. Today 7/7 I have a total of three left. I am a very emotional person since I can't have kids I consider my dogs my babies, I didn't intend on breeding my dogs but it just happened. I have been to the vet er three times this week and I am 700 dollars in the hole to pups that I am not even keeping (so my husband says). They had there tails docked because they are rottweilers. The vet is telling me t...

I just wanted to say Thank You for your Puppy Milk Replacer Recipe. My Parson Russell Terrier had her 4th litter 6 days early. All 5 puppies looked and seemed full term and weighed in well. However the mom has not been producing milk like she normally does and the puppies began losing weight. I began supplementing with store bought Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer. I had to pretty much force the puppies to take the bottle and dribble it into their mouths. On the 3rd day one of the pups went do...

Cindy, I have a german shepherd that gave birth to 3 pups 8 days ago. 1st born male weighed 366 grams and the girls were 508 and 520. The girls now weigh1040 grams and1056 grams. My concern is with the male. Yesterday he weighed 836 and this moring 846. The girls went from 960 to1040 and 968 to 1056 grams. What should I do- if anything at this time? Also, since the male was smaller at birth than the females, does that mean that the male will be a smaller dog when he gets older? ...

I have a litter of Shepherd pups that need to be supplemented. I have used your formula in he past and was very happy with it. he pups are 4 days old & just haven't been gaining much weight. I fed half of them a bottle last night & they gained anywhere from 50g to 90g! compared to 0g to 15g for the pups I didn't give a bottle to! (pretty convincing for me to help he mom feed them all). My question is about bottle nipples. I know that you use Playtex bottles & those are the ones I u...

Hi Cindy, I have a lab pup that is nine weeks. I got her one week ago. For the the first 1-2 days, she stayed in her crate all the time except to potty. She was/is a screamer, so I needed her to get used to crate. She's calmed down a little, but still screams when she sees me to get out. I never open crate until she is quiet. After potting or playing in kitchen, she will follow me in to eat when I rattle liver treats. She will fight like a tiger if I just put her in with no ...

I REALLY need some advice. Our babysitter and neighbor whom we dearly love is the owner of a Rott by the name of "Baby." The dog is actually her husband's pet & has been fairly well behaved around me and my children so far, they have lived beside us for approximately 1.5 years. However, the dog has shown some aggressive territorial behavior to my husband. For instance when he was putting mail in our box which border's their yard, he has growled, or has come up in the drive when Lambert wa...