Behavior Problems Q&As

I have a 2 year old Airedale, high spirited. I live in New York City, in a large apartment building, and work at home. He is free in the apartment when I am there; in the crate when I am not. My question is about barking at outside noises. It's the city, so there are many of them, although he reacts most to hearing other dogs bark. When I hear the bark before he does, I tell him QUIET, and can often avoid barking. But I don't always get that chance. Saying QUIET, NO, etc. after he has star...

I have 6 dogs as we speak. 4 pugs, PPD Doberman, and a 14 year old GSD(extremely submissive to all dogs especially my pugs). All of them get long great. I am avid about kenneling them, ex-pens, there is structure in my home, and outside my home with these dogs. We have no issues with dog fights, etc. Everyone knows there place in the pack, knows I AM THE PACK LEADER, and things go pretty well. This being said, I have worked and trained with Heath Farthing of VFK9 for years. I have purchased a...

Hi, I am about to get a second dog and I was recommended by a trainer to train the second dog in a different language in order to avoid command conflicts. I would like to know how do you guys feel about it? Thank you for your time

Hello Cindy, After trying all training methods, at what point should an owner consider using a bark collar for a younger dog? The dog I'm considering on adopting is an 8 month old English Cocker spaniel. The current owner has allowed me to keep him for a trial period. I don't reprimand when he briefly barks for his dinner as he's a typical Cocker and loves his food or when he's outside and sees other dogs. However, I've filmed him while I'm at work and have observed him barking most of th...

Hi, I know you guys have a pretty strong opinion about people taking their dogs to dog parks. I thought I would share this story with you as a good example as to why you should never take a dog to a dog park. http://fox13now.com/2012/03/03/two-dogs-hospitalized-after-incident-in-dog-park/ Amanda

Hi Mr. Frawley, A week ago I adopted a 2 - 2 1/2 year old female Great Pyrenees. It's been an interesting week but the fact that I was online search for more help yesterday says it's not been ideal. I came across your website when searching for information on dogs being aggressive -- to other dogs and to people. I ordered your DVD on demand for establishing pack structure with the family pet and began putting her in the crate last night and it's been an uncomfortable experience. Is this...

Hello, I got a beautiful english lab at 7 weeks old. Now she is 7 months old. She is very smart, but dominant. Since she was a pup she keeps biting my hands, feet and jumps a lot. The biting has gotten worse. If my husband and I are watching television, she will growl and try to nip at us. We correct her but she then jumps back and growls and tries again to bite. Different levels of growling and running around our condo like crazy dog until she wears herself out. We have put a lea...

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...