Behavior Problems Q&As

Cindy, After reading an article about walking a new dog in an area without distraction, I wanted to give a recommendation. I take my 4-yr old GSD for a one to two mile walk each night through an industrial park near my house (too many stupid owners whose dogs 'just want to say hi' in my neighborhood). Yes, we have to get in the car and drive a couple of minutes, but we NEVER see people or dogs. Occasionally a police car will pass by and they might stop and chat for a few minutes, but...

I have a 9 month old GSD spayed female that really is a sweet dog. She generally is good with other dogs. I have been taking her to the dog park since she was 6 months for socialization and excercise (I now know this is not recommended by Leerburg and plan on discontinuing my visits). Is a dog grabbing a dog by the scruff of the neck and shaking it like a toy an aggressive behavior? How can I correct this? She does this to only specific dogs. 2 dogs so far. Today she got in a fight with...

Hello, We have an outdoor dog (beagle, cocker spaniel mix) that loves to dig. She digs anywhere and all the time. We have tried a lot of different things to get her to stop but because she is outdoor it is hard to catch her in the act. We have had to fence her in a paved portion of the yard in order for her to not dig while we are gone and can only let her out to play when someone is watching her. We have even hidden to where she didn't know we were there and used a shock collar to get her...

Hi Mr. Frawley: We are preparing to bring home our 9 week old male Doberman pup. In preparation for our new arrival, we have extensively studied your website and your DVDs. We have had experience with smaller female terrier breeds but this will be our first large-breed male. Our goal is a highly trained, obedient, non-aggressive pet. We are planning on fixing the dog at 6 months. We have very carefully chosen the breeder for good lines and temperament. My question is this: On y...

Cindy, First let me say I have enjoyed the Leerburg DVDs I have watched and I have learned a lot from them. My problem is something that has just started occurring. I have a 2.5 year old GSD and just this morning when I went to feed him he growled and barked once. He was in his crate and he hadn't eaten since the morning before. He has never shown any signs of aggression over food or anything else. I have been established as pack leader but it felt different this morning. I want to m...

Hi Cindy, I have watched most of your DVD on being the pack leader and introducing new dogs to the pack, but in each instance I only saw male vs female. I have a 1 year old male from a working breed and I would like to add another male pup from another working breed. Is this doable? Thanks, Carl

Hello Cindy, I am hoping you can help shed some light on a particular chewing behavior our dog has. He's a 7-month-old male Malinois who has grown up the Leerburg way and he's a great dog with no real problems. However, he can sit for hours constantly mouthing a stuffed animal toy. If there's no stuffed animal, he will do this with his dog bed. By mouthing, I mean he chews on the toys. He's not tearing it or trying to destroy it, just repetitively "mouthing" it and he looks like he's zoned...

Hi Ed, I just finished watching your DVD "Establishing Pack Structure... and as eager as I am to start the program with my dog Ziva I have 2 questions/issues. The first is I work full-time, like most people, and in order to give my dog a little break from her crate and a mid-day potty break I have been using a dog walker. She visits for about 1/2 hour, takes her for a walk and bathroom break and returns Ziva to her crate when they're done. So I guess my question is that if during the gro...

I have a question, I have a 11 month old pyr/berner mix and generally she's an all around great dog. She has had training since 10 weeks, finished 2 sessions, and knows all her basic commands. She views my husband as the Pack Leader and he just needs to point and ask her to do something and she does it. Not with me. I try to do all the same things he does, but she will only listen when she "feels" like it. I know she can do it because she only needs to hear his feet walking to the room and sh...

Hi - I found your website last night and ordered a muzzle, a dominant collar and several of your DVDs (set 301, 302 & 308 and the house training ebook). I was very impressed with your website and your knowledge and wanted your expert opinion. I am divorced with 2 girls 15 and 16. We have 4 dogs and 4 cats. They all get along pretty well but several issues need to be corrected - thus the above training tools. The dogs are Candi - 12 year old golden - hips going, eyes going, etc. I made a mi...

Hello Cindy, My boyfriend has a 10 year old rottweiler. We are moving and can't bring Dale with us. He feels that we should put him down. I just don't have the heart to do so. Called the animal shelter and they said due to his age putting him down would be better instead of remaining in a kennel. He is a great dog. I believe from reading your article he would be classified as being a dominant dog. He is great with the kids and us. He has bitten over the years. I believe after reading yo...

Dear Cindy (and Ed), First of all, thank you so much for all of the information you have provided on your web page. I can't wait to order more of your articles and books. I've read through a ton of articles and q&a's, but frankly our problem isn't to the extent of what others have written in with, but I guess I am more so concerned with prevention of future problems. We have a 3-year-old mini Australian shepherd female. We adopted her over a year ago because her first owner didn't want ...

Hi Cindy, I'm wondering if you could answer a question for me regarding socialization. When I take my 11 week old Malinois puppy out into new areas, should I be working on keeping her engaged with me 100% of the time and then putting her back in the car? Or should I allow her to explore a little with short periods of engagement work in between? She is still very easily distracted and I am struggling to find a good balance between exposing her to lots of new scents, sights and sound...

Hi there... Love your website and everything you do and also as a customer please keep it up... I have a problem with my 11 months German shepherd, he is embarrassing me by humping on my leg or jump and hump on me or even sometimes with other family members especially while we are out for a walk in the beach or other places. Please let me know the correct direction on how to deal with it :(

Hi Ed, I just ordered a dominant dog collar and a 3 series DVD that you had recommended in one of your Q&As. My question is, my husband doesn't like to have a huge crate hanging around in our house, is it possible to substitute the crate for a 6 ft lead tied either in the dining room or our bed post, to follow your instruction on establishing pack leadership in our house. The only other option is to have the crate in our daughter's bedroom. I want to start from scratch, even though w...

Hello, I have used 3 of your videos, and they have been of tremendous help to me with my puppy (he is now 11 months old). But there is something I haven't seen addressed, or perhaps I'm not using the right terminology. We got Finley at 6 months of age from a shelter, and he has bouts of what I found on the internet to be called the zoomies. He will all of a sudden just change his demeanor... it used to start with a stare at me with a different look in his eye and you'd know it's coming, an...

I need help. I recently lost my German Shepherd to cancer, she was only 5 years old. We also have a 3 year old Malamute that is very depressed because of it. Everyone we know told us to get another dog for our Malamute so we did, but she has become very aggressive towards the puppy and I am afraid she is going to hurt her. How can I help my older dog get over the loss of her best friend and accept the new puppy.

Cindy, I have read the article about introducing new dogs into the home. At the current time, my girlfriend and I have two adult cats, and an 18 month old male collie. The collie is playful and energetic and not dog aggressive. I am considering getting a male GSD puppy around 8 weeks old to add to the mix. Would you anticipate the same rank structure problems with this age difference between the two dogs, or am I going to have to get a female? Thanks, Jeff

Dear Ed and Cindy, We live have a german shepherd dog who is five years old. We have had him three weeks. He is a super dog, intelligent sweet natured and obedient. A friend of mine asked me to rescue him as his family were divorced and had dumped him with mother/ mother in law who was disabled. He spent his days in a tiny garden as she was unable to walk him. The only problem I have is that he does chase the horses and then he gets so excited that he doesn't hear what you say. I feel t...

Hello, Love your web site? I have order many products and in the process of getting my 3 Akitas trained, eating better and exercising more. I love your web site and you have amazing helpful tips. One of my female Akitas, when anyone sneezes coughs of clears their throat, she cowers and tries to sit in your lap?? Even if I ignore her so I don't make it seems like a big deal. She has done this since she was a puppy, I have no idea why? I assume she is very sensitive to noise? But thunder ...