Obedience Q&As

Hi Cindy, You have always been so helpful in the past. I attribute my dogs wonderful behavior to your DVDs and informative website. I purchased a Dogtra 280 ecollar and have used it training my dog (boxer-chow mix) with recalls since he was 1 year old. He responds well to the collar and marker training and is extremely well behaved. After my dog turned a year old he developed a shyness toward people (mainly men). He warms up after being ignored and approaches on his own terms and eventual...

I have an 8 week old puppy & have been crating her since day 1. Although it's only been 4 days. She still gets pretty frantic after putting her into the crate. She sreams, howls & barks exsesivly. It can last from 1 solid hour to 3 hours off & on. We ignore her while in crate. I have tried placing the crate both in site of us (day time) & out of site (night time) with no change. I do put an everlasting toy/treat along with another chew in the crate with her. Also at night I place a blanket ov...

Hi, Love your all you are doing :) I have a 13 week old puppy(Weimaraner). Things are going well with marker training. He is crate trained and we are getting there with house training. He is a soft to mid temperament. Started marker training first few weeks with his name, now he just about gets whiplash when I call his name. He's learning sit already. When we walk I made the mistake of thinking I could 'marker' train the "slow" command by marking him when he slowed and turned. But I realiz...

Hello, I purchased an electric collar on my vet's advice. I have a three year old American Bulldog (112 lbs)and a 10 month mastiff mix (90 lbs). Both are rescue dogs, and both have serious behavioral issues. I have made a lot of progress with most of their issues, but one definitely remains. I was having difficulty walking/jogging with these dogs (each is walked individually, never together due to their size) and their over stimulation regarding other dogs/stimuli. Choke and prong collars ...

I have a 3 year old Shepherd. Is he to old to train in search and rescue? I have a trainer willing to train, but is it really worth it? He is a great dog, but I'm not sure if he's to old.

I retired from the military and now have a seizure disorder due to a TBI (traumatic brain injury) I received while overseas. I have a 10 month old German Sheppard that I have trained in basic obedience, but I need to train her in seizure alert. I can't find any training facilities that are local to me. Are there any videos I can get to aid me in this process? Thank you for your time.

Hi Cindy, I would like to ask what is the appropriate feeding temperature of a raw diet? That is, do I serve it straight from the fridge or at room temperature? Thanking you in advance. Best regards, Dennis

Hello, As a responsible dog owner and I pride my self on having two non aggressive dogs. I find your web site contents stupid. To put it politely. I have a dog and a bitch the bitch is only aggressive to the two sets of dogs who attacked her when she was a pup. She is perfect with other dogs. The dog is a bully and a coward who I have had to teach not to attack smaller dogs. Which he now understands is not acceptable. As for advising people to use a pepper spray which is ill...

We have recently adopted an adult neutered male pit bull from the local shelter. They asked that we take this dog because we have had two other pits in years past with no issues. He is relatively smart and obedient to basic come, sit, down and stay, and he is fine with our Sheltie. The problem is that he is determined to kill my cats. All training goes out the window when he sees one. He is not dog or person aggressive. We have done obedience classes and had a professional trainer come to the...

I have some of your old tapes and your new Marker DVD. Great stuff. After teaching my dog stay I use a release word okay then my marker yes with a treat am I doing this wrong. What about when a dog is in stay and your about fifteen feet away from him and want him to call him, Fido Come does he not get confuse without using a release word before the word come?

I am in the process of buying a pup with good family history of schulzlund. The breeder now informed me that pup is long haired. I checked her pedigree and found no history of long haired dogs. My question is can I still show her? I know I can train her. If all things are good such as hip, elbows and Sch. Title can I breed her? I really need some info, hope you can help me. Thanks, Tony

When getting a crate, being that my puppy will be about 6 pounds when I get him, what size crate should I get? He will grow rapidly (Rottweiler) and I may be spending a fortune on crates to accommodate his growth. Can I get a medium sized crate and put something in it to take up extra space while he's young and remove it when he gets to be big enough?

Cindy, I would like to take advantage of the seasonal availability of whole turkey. My 2 dogs are 60# and are good eaters who chew well. Are there any precautions on feeding turkey and are there any parts that I should avoid? Thanks. Dave

I have a 3 year old black lab mix (who does AKC obedience and rally) and an 8 month old GSD. Is a dog ever too young to start Michael's training program, for example the power of food and tug. I have both of them. Is my black lab to old to start it? And what should I do differently?

I spoke to April in the office about this and she recommended I write to you. The new slow down feeders offered by Leerburg, are they effective with dogs that eat their raw too fast? I have a dobe male and he likes to eat his food fast then horks it up and re eats. I went to your raw feeding pic and saw the bowls all lined up very clean and nice. I feed a variety of meats and textures as well has have purchased your kelp powder. I use Olive oil as well. Any suggestions or hints? Do you think ...

Hi Cindy, I watched the video with you and Rush and really liked the idea of exercising him with the bike. I have a GSD that weighs 98 pounds, is very fit and has high prey drive. In your experience, do you think this will be a major concern if I were to try this form of exercise? Have any of your dogs lunged and pulled the bike over when they saw a rabbit, fox, deer, etc.? My dog has done intermediate level obedience, knows "attention heeling" and is generally good on leash but the ani...

Hi Cindy, Just wondering if you could help me out with a quick question? I am bringing home my new Malinois pup next week, she will be trained in schutzhund. I have read through your all of the eBooks on your website and also have quite a few of the DVDs. I understand that I should not allow strangers interact with or pet my pup, also that she should learn to hold a neutral value towards them. One thing I am confused about though is if (and how) the puppy should be allowed to in...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Frawley, Firstly I would like to give my thanks for your website. The free articles and videos have been an immense help in training myself and my dog. I was clueless about training dogs, and my dog took full advantage of my weakness in that area. After reading your Q & A sections and your training videos, I immediately set down rules and began to enforce them. I noticed a significant change even after the first day and the improvement since then has been nothing short of...

Dear Cindy, I feel hopeless. I have a 5 year old Dobe that is completely disengaged in me when we show/match and most of the time when I train if he can help it. I'm willing to do the time to retrain but there is so much information out there, I just don't know where to start. Where would you suggest. I'll try anything. I'm tired of him avoiding me. I know it's due to my stress in the ring partially but no more excuses. If I want to be a great trainer, I need solutions. Thank you so much f...

Good afternoon Cindy, Looking for any tips on quicker sits and downs. I have a shepherd and he was doing great but has come to be more sluggish and don't know why. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Ted