Equipment Q&As

Hi Cindy, Have a question for ya. I have a 3 year old 80 pound male dobermann, a 2 year old 75 pound female dobermann, and a 5 month old female- large for her age, will most likely grow up to be 26? and 75-80 pounds. Both females come from strong german lineage and have incredible drive. The 2 year old hits the sleeve super hard. My male on the other hand, comes from show stock and hits the sleeve more lightly and with less intensity. The puppy shows incredible drive and wi...

I have an Aussie I'm looking into training for assistance work. I'm legally blind and so am hoping to get her going as a basic guide, but I also want her to carry a backpack for me. Because of that, a harness wouldn't be practical for use in leading me, so someone suggested using an agitation collar. That way, her back would be free for the pack but I could still have a handle to grip that was close to the dog and very different than a training collar. Could you give me some kind o...

Hi, I am looking into getting a large breed doberman with a working backround or a german sheperd but I want to train it to be a very obeidient protection dog. I was curious if you could help guide me into purchasing the correct equipment and videos for raising and training a pup to be a great protection dog. Thank you very much. If you could just list everything that I could possibly need I would greatly appreciate it. Ryan

I take my 8-month dog to a professional trainer. He is very rough on her, (flanking her), to get her to show aggression. Is this OK for the dog?

I have a one year old GSD. He has been obedience trained and is very obedient. My problem is that he is a little too friendly. I cannot tell you how many times I have walked outside or come out of a convenience store only to see groups of strangers by my fence or around my truck petting my dog. I do not want him to be "mean," but it would be nice if he would not make friends so easily. I know that protection training is the best answer, but I don't have several hundred dollars to spend. Do yo...

Hi Ed, Following your advise from one of your DVDs I did recently purchase from Leerburg a Dominant Dog Collar together with a Herm Sprenger Prong Collar. When I received it I realized that your Dominant Dog Collar is functionally a Choke Collar albeit with a somewhat different design. I am somewhat confused since you in the same DVD (along with other trainers I have talked to) argue against the use of Choke Collar. I am hesitant to putting this Dominant Dog Collar on my 8 months o...

Hi there, I ordered one of these [Dominant Dog Collar] last night and was wondering if I should be attaching the leash to her regular collar as well as the dominant dog collar in case it breaks. If so, how do I go about doing this? Normally we don't use a leash, but the police have been cracking down on people walking their dogs without one, mostly due to the fact there are so many young people with pitbulls that have no training, and continue to cause problems. I normally don't a...

Good morning, Cindy. I wanted to thank you for offering me help with my dog in the past. I have a quick question for you if you have a minute. I have been taking my dog to training classes, and although there's been some progress, they are very against corrections of any kind. They are 100% reward based trainers. I told my trainer that I purchased a prong collar from your site, and he was mortified. The reason I purchased it is because my dog is a little dog, and she has a b...

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered somewhere in your vast amount of information. I searched in your articles and on your Q&A, but my eyes are starting to cross from all the reading! I started training Spencer (2-year-old Dobe) with a prong collar about a year and a half ago. It was a life-saver for him because I wanted to wring his neck every day. There are no trainers in our area who will use a prong collar (they all favor the Gentle Leader, which Spencer hates), so had...

I was interested in purchasing a couple of your dominant dog collars. I have three akitas, two males and one female, ranging from one-hundred to one-hundred and forty pounds (not fat). I have used metal choke collars for the last eight years of so with good results but of course, they tend to slide down the dog's neck and have to be re-set. In the last six months or so, I found your site and have been very happy with your training methods and products (purchased the leather leash and the ...

Hi I lost the prong collar I had for my dog, I believe it was a micro I had ordered from a trainer. She is a chihuahua/rat terrier about 7 lbs and neck is about 9.5" What is the difference other then price on the chrome and stainless steel? And what is the difference in the mm size? Is that the size of the prongs? Sorry to sound clueless. I just want to make sure I order the right one and fast as I am using a back up choker chain and don't like it, she walks much better with the pr...

Dear Mr. Frawley, I would like to purchase a quick release prong collar for my dog. My question is, what size link should I order for my dog. Her neck measures 17 1/2 inches. The medium fits up to 18" and the large fits 17 to 20". She is possibly a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Her coat is a bit like a Shepherd but shorter. With her ears down she looks like a Rhodesian and with them up, she looks like a Malinois. She weighs 68 pounds and looks a bit dainty, but she is anything but! S...

Hello Cindy, I have a 13 week GSD. She's a long hair that we imported from Germany. I've bought a lot of wonderful things for her from your web site including a good selection of DVDs. She's definitely got a mind of her own and even at 13 weeks was starting to pull so hard on the leather collar that I order your puppy prong collar and a dominant dog collar as a safety back up. Here's my problem. It's her coat. The sliding ring on the dominate dog collar stays tight on...

Sir, I am preparing to order a prong collar and have a fitting question. Behind my dogs ears approximately one thumb width is a bony prominence (I think its the wings of Atlas). Should the collar go between the rear of the ear and this bony section or behind it, farther down the neck? Thanks, John

I have a four year old German Shepherd that wears a prong collar. I have consulted with a vet and behaviorist to be sure that it is fitted properly. She began wearing a prong at about age one and after realizing the restriction, hurt herself once or twice and now just jumps straight up and down in the air when she is out of control for her fear of other dogs. (Trust me...something I have worked on) but the point is she never hurts herself with the prong collar. My concern is th...

Hi Cindy! I have a friend who has a Dachsund from HELL. She's just a year old, so still a pup. Disobedient as the day is long. So, I told her owner to go get a prong collar. The thing is, I think he got one from PetSmart. I can't get it to fit right without taking out too many prongs. Then it digs into her neck. How long is the shortest one you have? I prefer the quick release kind, for obvious reasons. We did use the one he has on her for a while last night, and she did get the me...

Hello Cindy: Thank you very much for your answers to my e-mails in the past. It always helps. My GSD pupp Emma is 6 months old today; doing great!! I have a question about sizing the dominant dog collar if you are going to use it as a safety with the prong collar. I follow your advise on how to properly use and size these collars; however, should the dominant dog collar be a bit bigger if you use it as a safety with prong? I am a bit confused. I want my prong t...

Cindy, I have a white Lab and have been using a metal prong collar. Lately I've noticed that his fur around the collar is discolored (grey colored). Is the discoloration caused by the metal prong collar? Will his fur return to its original color if I stop using the metal prong collar? Thanks, Steve

Hello Cindy. It is always a pleasure to get your newsletters. Today I have a quick question. My dog does not like to wear the prong collar. He does not mind me putting it on him. I followed your instructions on how to fit it. At first, he does great. You can walk him with just one finger on the leash, but after a few minutes, he scratches like mad trying to get rid of it. I can redirect his attention and he will stop for awhile, but soon after, he scratches again. It looks l...

Hi Cindy: First of all let me thank you for the education and the information Leerburg provides. Very professional and helpful, thanks again!! I have a question about the prong collar use. I have 5 months old GSD female pup. I would like her to become our family protection dog and companion. I follow your methods of puppy training and family pack structure. I started her on marker training according your Marker Training video. I observed that your dog Rush wears a pro...