Behavior Problems Q&As

Mr. Frawley, I have a question regarding my 2 year old mixed breed dog. I adopted him 4 months ago from a shelter in another state. He seemed well socialized, loved playing with other dogs and children. However, he has begun to develop aggression. He is sometimes dog aggressive with other dogs, not usually, but the problem is getting worse. And he has also started growling at my boyfriend when he comes home late at night, if I'm in bed. Tonight was the worst episode the dog has ever had, a...

Dear Cindy, I want to thank you first of all for answering my questions a few weeks ago. I received the puppy training video and Establishing pack structure one and am nearly through the puppy one but not very far on the other one. We have a 4 month old puppy and a 4 year old mutt who looks and acts like a Jack Russell. Your information has been so helpful. I have several questions concerning how these two dogs may/should interact. 1. Can you direct me to an article that would tell...

Cindy, I have an 8 year old GSD who I can no longer socialize with any new people or animals. He had good basic training, grew up in our sub-rural property and was always friendly. He was the dog who broke down stereotypes about GSDs. The exception was towards the young boy across the street who was afraid of him. When I foolishly did try to introduce him I was shocked when my dog "nipped" the top of his hand (I shouldn't have been). Five years, one divorce and two house moves late...

Cindy, (1). I have imported a Staffordshire Bull Terrier from South Africa for confirmation purposes. However, being a family dog is the most important reason we have purchased our pup. My wife and I have (2) small children, our son who is 5 and our daughter who is 18 months old. (We NEVER let the dog around the children unless we are about an arm's length away from the dog and our children). I really enjoyed your article regarding the dog bites and children. Even though the SBT is re-k...

I've spent the last several hours reviewing your web site and the articles you've posted. Before I make any more mistakes with my dog I have specific issues I was hoping you might give some direction including the videos you recommend. After reading your articles I realize the mistakes I've made and that I can't take them back - all I can do is go from here, hopefully I can stop this and it's not too late. I have a German Short hair pointer (no other dogs): Male turns 4 years old in Novemb...

Thank you so much for all your help. I wish I had known about you sooner. We are doing the Pack Structure DVD. We have a 3 year old male and a 5 month old. Is this going to set them back in any way on the things we have worked with them on? Do I need to do this with my 5 month old also? I have started, I hope I have not messed up. How do I know when they are crate submissive? I trust what you say and am doing things the way you say, but it sure is hard not to talk and to love on your dogs....

Hi Cindy/Ed, First of all, let me say that your products are fantastic. We have purchased your quick release prong collar, the dominant dog collar, and three videos (establishing pack structure, dealing with dominant and aggressive dogs, and Basic Dog Obedience), and have read many of your e-articles on your web site. Zippy (a 12 1/2 pound neutered male Havanese) is now almost 11 months old now and is getting better and better with each passing day. We find your no-nonsense approach works....

I have two pit bulls, 1 male, 1 female, both three years old. They are great dogs and my life. Single military guy, not much else to do. They dogs are great in the home and have never been aggressive towards me in any way. But are aggressive towards other dogs and will do anything to get to a cat and kill it. Major prey aggression. The dogs and I have established the master of the pack situation, but I am having trouble controlling them off the leash. I am trying to retrain them (previous mil...

Hello, My name is Leon and I have a 1yr old GSD that is becoming increasingly afraid of meeting friendly strangers. I take him on walks daily and he has attended obedience class since he was five months old. Walking through the park or a crowd of people he behaves normal. The problems occur when I decide to walk up to someone for him to meet, he begins to bark and growl. In obedience class he is fine with anyone petting him even volunteers from audience. I am at a complete loss and was ...

Mr Frawley, I understand you get lots of emails with questions on dog training. I admit I need help. Here is my story. We adopted a puppy from a rescue almost 2 years ago. Our older dog is of unknown breed, we where told collie/hound mix (female), but I do not think this is true. I have worked very hard with this dog, and she is truly a wonderful dog, but from reading most of your articles I think we need to revisit some training. which I will do gladly. We have adopted another dog, 2 m...

Hello, I want to thank you for the great info in your videos, podcasts, eBooks and forums. I've got an 18 month old female GSD who is doing SAR training. Specifically, we're doing trailing work and loving it. We just got one of your fabulous leather trailing harnesses. I'm a lifelong member of the 'explainers club' and really appreciate your explanations. It's a big help for me that you work with high drive dogs because I've got one myself. I loved the video of Dayma at 6 months because sh...

Hi Mr. Frawley, I've been on your site several hours because it's the most informative and well written site on the internet. Thank-you for taking the time to put this all together. I have a 2 year old female English springer spaniel. Smart, loving, companionable etc etc purchased from a show breeder. In my ignorance, because the dog is so smart and follows me around all day, I never did obedience training with her, my son taught her 'sit, paw.' She always came when called... And re...

I am hoping to get your opinion on a serious dominance problem we are having with our 2 year old male rottie, Fantom. Fantom is of German working lineage (both parents have advance Schutzhund titles) and is what I would call a hard dog (when distracted, he ignores all but the most significant corrections). He was neutered at 1 year. My wife and I have tried to be diligent in our training since he was a puppy, using both positive reinforcement and corrections (most recently using a dominant...

Ed, I have a 75 lb. airedale that growls at me, I have an e-collar and I ordered the "training with an e-collar" and " training an aggressive and dominant dog."Do I need the special collar also? (I have a strong leather leash). Thanks, Mike

Great web site! I have a 2 year old male shar pei who growls at me if I try to approach him while he is laying down/resting/sleeping. If I proceed to approach him when he growls, he will then bark viciously and snap at me. A few seconds after he does that, he seems out of sorts and remorseful, and comes right over to me to give me a kiss/lick. Although it is frightening when he snaps, is this acceptable? After all, I WAS interrupting his sleep and I myself wouldn't be a happy camper if someo...

We are a family of 2 adults, and three children ages 7, 14, and 19. We bought a male German shepherd from experienced breeder about 8 months ago. He is developing pretty normal. However we have number of points of concern. He had been biting us from a very young age. We read that it may be normal in young puppies. But this behavior had been persisting occasionally until now. It looks like a game, no one gets hurt, but some times it's pretty painful. He couldn't be admitted to an obedience cou...

My boyfriend has a 2 yr old male (unaltered) Rottie named Bones. Recently, he bit me because I was trying to teach him not to get into my cats' toys. Now, I had only known him for less than a month, do you think that it was too soon for me to be correcting him? Also he has bit two other people after me for the same reason of trying to correct him. He also is constantly after my cats, not aggressively but very excitedly and it scares them. Will he ever get over this? The problem that I am ...

Dear Ed, My wife and I recently rescued a two year old female pit bull. We have had her for two or three weeks, walk her for at least two hours a day, and she has shown no signs of aggression towards people, however, she does pull on her leash on the walks and wants to pull towards other dogs/people. It's obvious to us that we have a long way to go. We want to make sure that we are providing the best possible situation for her and us. I just ordered your Basic dog obedience and pack ...

Hi Cindy, I have a training question to ask. I recently decided to back up my puppies training, back to square one starting with establishing pack structure. After watching the DVD on pack structure on the crate training I think I moved on to phase two to soon and would like to start again, because I don't think he views me as pack leader. He still cries a bit after I put him in before he settles down, sometimes a lot and even tries to bite me when putting him in. My question is, is he sup...

Hello, I just got your DVD about dominant and aggressive dogs. Let me tell you about my 8 months old puppy. She is jack Russell/beagle mix. She is very smart she listen very well. She is very aggressive towards me and just me since she was about 3-4 months old. She is very friendly. She starts showing her teeth and snipes for no reason. Mostly when I pet her or pick her up but not always. Since she was a baby we let her sleep in bed. I'm very strict with her now, but my boyfriend just spoi...