Behavior Problems Q&As

Hello, I got your email address from your website. My husband and I have a 4 year old yellow lab who recently started chewing again. We tried to keep her in a crate when she was a puppy, but when we would come home, the carpet was tore up, webbing and nose bleeding. Fairly painlessly she grew out of it for about 1.5 years. She then about 9 months ago started chewing the dining room furniture while we were away and the baseboards in the house. Bought a plastic crate so she couldn't...

Hi Cindy I have a 2 year old neutered male German Shepherd who is very friendly to people and other dogs (we won't talk about cats rabbits, and squirrels at this point) I work full time - so I leave him at home for several hours a day - so it's not like he is used to being with me all the time. I also have a 8-year old neutered male Pembroke Welsh Corgi who lives in the house too - but they are separated when I leave. They get along great - it's just that sometimes Ben (my shephe...

Hi Cindy, I have to do something quick before my dog destroys my house. 7 yr. old mix. She spends most of the day outside. Inside at night and has run of the house(that may be the problem). She has started chewing holes in the walls. I have had them patched but she continues to do it and sometimes in the same place but always in the same room. Any idea why and what can I do? Frantic, Amy

Cindy, I'm sure you've heard this many times before....we have a Doberman who whine. A LOT. Barking isn't a huge problem (he does bark, but not to the point that it's an issue). I've seen the success decribed on the website regarding bark collars. Is there anything similar for whining? Something that would issue a correction for whining, but not for as bark? I see no reason to correct his barks, given that the problem is the whining. The dog does seem to have general SA issu...

Hi There, I have a wonderful 3 year old dog who we adopted from a friend because he was fighting with his sister so much. (They were both adopted from a shelter). When he first came to our home, he responded with growling and barking at anyone who approached us or came to the house. Within a week we had him in training and things improved dramatically. He still gets "cranky" when a loose dog approaches me on a walk but I am able to deal with it and he always remains in his space. I...

Hello, I have a two year old German Shepherd/black Labrador mix who needs a crate to stay in while I am gone during the day. He is about 36 inches long when laying down and weighs 65 pounds. I have tried the basic metal wire crates and plastic airline crates from the pet stores and he escapes from both easily. Even with putting all sorts of locks on it, he still escapes. I am looking at either the full ventilation aluminum crate or the power coated full ventilation aluminum...

I have checked the forums and and the FAQ. I believe I know part of what you will say but I have questions regarding the nuances (if there are any). My 2 yr old cairn mix, who I have had for 2 months, has always had separation anxiety issues but on video camera he seems to get over it after about 20 mins... so I didn't care too much. Every once in a while he will go into the bathroom trash. Just recently I found out he urinated in one of the bedrooms. From reading the FAQ I believe you sa...

Hello! First off, I know you are a very busy person so I will try my best to make my question short! Sorry in advance if I ramble on? My husband and I own an east german shepherd (20 months old) with very high drive. She comes from working DDR lines and we are working toward the CD title, then hopefully onto schutzhund. We use a trainer who was a former K9 trainer & handler and is familiar with the breed. We are making good progress with the training and have been told by nu...

Thank you for all that you do for dogs. I run a rescue that handles 2,500 critters a year. I foster 6 to 10 a year in my home. I take some of the ones that don't fit in well at the shelter. I am now hosting an 18 month old Cane Corso female. She is a crate eating, fence jumping, kennel hanging nut job. Has wrecked 2 crates this week and hung herself in a kennel badly injuring a front leg. A great dog, but does not accept confinement. I read the articles on this topic ...

Hi, I just have a quick question for you! First of all, again, thanks for your web site and videos... they have helped me countless times throughout the years. Next, my question is this: I have a 1 1/2 year old female Belgian Malinois. Due to my obligations with the Air National Guard, this January I will be leaving for school for 6 weeks and I am unable to take her with me. She already has separation anxiety when I'm not next to her (even when she's in the back yard she will try t...

1) I have an Australian Shepherd rescue dog and really was abused. Previous owner's grandparents took the dog when he was not home and took it to a shelter because of how poorly he was treated. When I got him, he was 1 year old. 10lbs under-weight, worms, matted and had been tied to a tree by himself in a yard and took a good six months before we could have him around any men with facial hair at all (previous owner was a large man with a beard). He is also an in-bred blue merle....

Mr. Frawley: I have read your website (very helpful!) and am considering an aluminum crate for my adopted dog of 4 weeks. Shaggy is a 6-yr old, male beagle mix shelter dog, and is very well behaved (he listens, does not need much discipline, heels nicely, barks like a normal dog). However, he does have SEVERE separation anxiety, and has begun chewing the wires off of his crate, to the point of near escape (and scrapes to his snout and forehead). He previously damaged my kitchen doors t...

We recently took in a stray female dog that we think is a short haired golden retriever, or a golden retriever/lab cross. She is house trained and is the most even tempered and sweetest dog that I have ever met. But there is one problem with her. Every time we leave the house we have to put her inside because she will climb our 4 and 1/2 foot to 5 foot privacy fence. We think it is because she gets lonely or was left alone a lot before we got her. We live close to the highway and I am scared ...

Hi Cindy, I have a question about canine anxiety. I have a 3 year old female malinois who is crated every time I leave the house for anything longer than five minutes. When I am home, she has the run of the acre+ backyard. The problem is that every time she is in her crate, she begins panting excessively and drooling all over herself. When I get home, she has covered her feet with drool. She doesn't do this when she is out running around or at night when she is in the house. She sl...

I volunteer at a shelter. Three weeks ago, I brought a semi feral pup into my home. Two weeks ago I brought home her brother because he was going to be euthanized. They are about 5 to 7 months old. The female at this point lets me pet her, takes food from my hand, I got a collar on her, she even lets me rub her belly if I am on the floor or bed with her. If I pick her up ( I have to sneak this) she will let me, but is very stiff. If I try to crate her, she will put her mouth on...

I have a 1 year old Springer spaniel with severe separation anxiety. Every time he is put in his kennel he will defecate, urinate, hyper-salivate (puddles of saliva), howl and bark (non-stop) and he digs at the cage like he is trying to escape (he has destroyed a metal cage). We always come home to a poopy wet mess. He has never liked being in the kennel, even as a new pup; but has always stayed in it when we are gone. We have tried the kennel in every room in the hou...

Hi, My sister and I each have a german shepherd. I have a male dog and she has a female. They are now almost two years old and have been together forever. I'm moving away and would like to take my dog with me. I will still be in the same city so the dogs could see each other. Do you have any advice how to proceed with the separation? Thanks, Merima

My 4 month old rottie might have picked up on his feeding schedule. He tends to make a big fuss 1/2 hour before feedings. Is there something I can do to have him wait patiently until feeding? He'll start whining non stop until I come out with his food bowl. Actually, another problem we're having is that anytime he catches the slightest glimpse of me he starts to whine. Last weekend I stepped outside to get something from our outdoor fridge at about 12:30 am. He started whining nons...

Hi Ed, I've searched your website looking for some help. I have a rather unusual problem. I have a 5 year old black lab mix (I think she is part pit bull but she is mostly black lab.) She has recently begun chewing on my walls. Yup, chewing holes in the walls. She only does it when I am not at home and I don't know how to correct this behavioral problem. I've tried getting up early to take her for walks in the morning before I leave for work, and leaving toys and treats for h...

Hi, I can't tell you what it means to me to have the invaluable free information on your website. Some dog owners just don't have the funds for purchasing training tapes and videos and what is out there on the market is usually garbage anyway. Thank God there is someone who knows dogs that we can all turn to. I know you must have saved thousands of dogs just by having it there. We humans just have no natural instincts for raising pack animals. We need to be taught. I ha...