Food and Health Q&As

Our dog rubs his butt on the rug what is going on here?

Dear Cindy, At what age do you suggest that a female be spayed (if at all) when she is going to be used as a personal protection dog. I am getting lots of mixed info on this one. I have only had males before and have always left them unaltered. I obviously want her to be the best that she can be. I do not want to make a mistake and spay her if that might make her less of a protection dog down the road. If you could get back to me as soon as possible that would be great. Thanks for y...

Hi Cindy, I have a 6 mo. old GSD. For training treats, I use beef liver. He LOVES IT and seems so much more willing to work and please me when I use it versus other types of treats!! I cook it slightly so it isn't quite as messy and holds together. After refrigeration, it cuts into small treat size pieces wonderfully. Anyway my question is: Although I am sure the liver is good for him, I also realize that too much of a good thing can become a bad thing at times. Can you let me know...

We have an 18 week female GSD purchased from an excellent breeder here in Florida. Both parents are A stamped and certified. They are European shepherds (Hungary) as we wanted to steer clear of American bloodlines. I am concerned about her hips as she appears to be a bit weak in the hind quarters and a little "hocky." I am wondering if, since she is still a puppy, it is too soon to worry about her hips and I also would like to know at what age you would recommend we have her x-rayed. ...

Dear Cindy and Ed I am writing to give you an update and ask a health related question concerning Taiko Vom Leerburg, CD, SAR (Ron x Ida; 10/30/99), call name "Grace," who will have her ninth birthday in a couple of weeks. I obtained Grace from Leerburg in January of 2000 for the purpose of training her for search and rescue work with Missouri Search and Rescue K-9. http://www.missourisearchandrescue.com/ "Taiko" was chosen because she came from a "T" litter and is Japanese ...

Hi, We have corresponded a few times in the past. It is amazing how much of difference a couple of years with your web site has made on me. Went from knowing a little to knowing quite a lot. Thanks! I have a question about my 13 week old male GSD pup. Last night he was relaxing/sleeping in his crate and all of a sudden he started to wine a little and then it turned in to some screaming. His front left leg was bothering him. I picked him up and massaged his leg and it seemed ...

Cindy! I have 5 g/s dogs and every year in the summer the flys attack these dogs' ears. I also see an increase in bees. We tried the fly off paste and spray, It works for about 5 mins and also the other dogs like to lick it off each others ears. My one female that's about 14 years old is missing the tops of her ears from all the years that this is happening. I also have a long hair male pup that is getting his nose attacked. His hair is to long for them to get to his skin. The pen that th...

Hi Cindy, I feel as though I should have you on speed-dial. . . Recently you answered a question we had about x-raying for dysplasia and now we are seeking advice again. Whether or not we find Abby is dysplastic, we plan to have her spayed as we do not want to breed her and feel this should be left to people who know what they're doing anyway. However, in speaking with friends who raise and show goldens we were told it is best not to spay until after the first heat. Our vet said th...

Hi, Cindy. Thanks for all of your great information and hard work. I just have a question about dosage for the Probiotics Supplements. I've order the granules and I'm not sure how much to measure for my 95 lb 15 month old black labrador retriever. The powder instructions give dosage for dogs but the granule instructions only give measurements for livestock. In comparing the dosages for powder vs. granule, they appear to be similar but there a some differences. I just want to ...

My 8 month old Blud Brindle Pitt is in her 1st heat, is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable? She is very nervous and spooked. How long do the heats last?

I have a 71/2 year old Doberman that has been as healthy as a horse until February of this year. I came home from work and noticed that his belly was quite bloated. We took him to an emergency vet hospital and they determined that he was leaking Albumin Protien. As this hospital could not help us and suggested two other vet hospitals. We took Nico to the Veternary Specialist Hospital in East Greenwich, RI. They did exploritoy surgery and took several tissue samples for testing. All o...

I am a fan and a believer of your work. I have a small problem that I would like your advice on. Now, before I ask you I would like to say that I have done all the groundwork on this problem and conducted a great deal of research. I simple would like your own take on the matter since you have quite a number of years experience dealing with dogs. I currently own a doberman/lab mix he is a bit dominant, but i have managed to solve this using your techniques. The problem is, recently he has b...

I am a novice with German Shepherds. I have 2 GSDs one is 4 and the other is 18 months. The problem is with the one that is 4 years old. After exercising or just playing with the other dog he shows up lame. This afternoon after a game of chase (in which he was doing fine) a few minutes later he begins to limp on one of his back legs. This has been going on for 3-4 weeks. This is not like him. He loves to run and play. He has also been trained for protection and obedience, any suggestions...

Hi Cindy, I have two dogs - west highland terrior and pit-bull-coon hound mix (88 pounds). I use the gentle leader and pretty much it works and one time he got loose I think because my husband didn't attach it right, fortunately it had a second mini leash that connected to his collar and I held on to it. Because of that I always have this fear now and it makes walks torture. The little dog Snowflake, gets Bear more excited by her behavior. He does occasionally try to lunge at the c...

We have an 18 week female GSD purchased from an excellent breeder here in Florida. Both parents are A stamped and certified. They are European shepherds (Hungary) as we wanted to steer clear of American bloodlines. I am concerned about her hips as she appears to be a bit weak in the hind quarters and a little "hocky." I am wondering if, since she is still a puppy, it is too soon to worry about her hips and I also would like to know at what age you would recommend we have her x-rayed. ...

Hi Cindy, A couple of months ago, I sent you an email about my 11 yr. old German Shepherd who has arthritis in her hips. I have switched her, as well as the rest of my dogs, to the raw diet and all are doing very well on it. Their excitement at meal time is unreal. Thank you so much for advising the switch. I have a few questions that I couldn't find the answers to on your site. One is a feeding question and the other three are about medications/vaccines. 1. We've ...

Hi, We have corresponded a few times in the past. It is amazing how much of difference a couple of years with your web site has made on me. Went from knowing a little to knowing quite a lot. Thanks! I have a question about my 13 week old male GSD pup. Last night he was relaxing/sleeping in his crate and all of a sudden he started to wine a little and then it turned in to some screaming. His front left leg was bothering him. I picked him up and massaged his leg and it seemed ...

I have been a religous reader and user of your website articles and training DVD's. I recommend them to all my friends and family that have dogs. I have been able to train my 2 year old GSD to listen to me and follow my instructions and I have had many people comment on how well behaved, albeit excitable but still well trained puppy she is. Unfortunately about a month ago, she broke her leg in play. I blame myself since she jumped too high to catch a ball I threw and landed on unev...

Cindy, I placed an order for some Leerburg training videos and other equipment this past Friday and intend to order some more items in the future. When I ordered, I mentioned to the friendly, knowledgeable lady who took my order that my 75-pound, 6-year-old Malamute, Samson needs TPLO to fix his left rear cruciate ligament. (Sam had TPLO on his right leg about three years ago). We feed Sam a raw food, organic diet from a local organic farm, Trippett Green Tripe, and Nordic F...

Mr. Frawley: I wrote to Cindy, and wanted to copy you on the same request for comment. I was referred to your site by a friend who thinks my 11 month old Mastiff's diet might be contributory to a 6 week limp on his front right paw. A round of x-rays of his entire front yesterday under anesthesia and a lime test, were negative. Yet, the limp is pronounced. The examination yesterday followed two 2 week rest periods with anti-inflammatories. I suppose I am next looking at a specialist and an...