Obedience Q&As

I have question about dog breeding, I want to know how do dogs breed?

We have a dog that is a mixed breed and just a wonderful dog. She loves people, but yet will bark if someone pulls into our driveway. She's not aggressive at all and like I said just a very loving animal. She is now almost two years old and in the last week or so, when we let her outside she disappears for two or three hours, sometimes longer. She used to come right back when I would whistle for her but not lately. When she does come home, she's not panting or wet like she has been running. H...

Hello Mr. Frawley, I have a very large 4-year-old male (neutered) Irish Setter and two small daughters - ages 2 and 4. My kids spend a lot of time with the dog and he has never shown even the slightest sign of aggression toward them. He follows them around the house and seems to view himself as their "nursemaid." The other day my sister-in-law stopped by the house (she let herself in) when my kids were playing with the dog and I was in another room. When the dog saw her, he placed himse...

I ran across your article online about your thoughts on marker training. I was taught to train by only correcting bad behaviors in the early 90s. Yankin and crankin. It has worked well for me in obedience training my dogs over the years. Your article however has caused me to rethink my approach. I have 2 german shephard puppy?litter mates male and female. I got them at 4 months. They are now 6 months.?I walk them and train them every day. As a side note, I train and walk them separately. They...

Ed, My name is Frederick from Australia. I would just like to tell you my story about my tragic loss and maybe you can share this with people dealing with the same kind of problem. I am a big reader of your website and I read all your articles and QAs. Your teachings have, in a lot of ways, been the foundation of training I trained dogs although I still consider myself as a youngster in the field. I used to own a Bullmastiff dog. We got him from a breeder at 8 weeks old and he was th...

Hey there, Let me just start with a big thanks for the wonderful website and DVDs you've created. They've been a huge source of information for me and they really help me a lot! If it wasn't for you, I would've been raising my Beagle the "old school" way and would probably have had a sadder dog to live with. I'm sure he is also very grateful for you teaching me better! :) I've read most of the stuff you wrote about the all natural, raw diet, and I have just one thing i had a problem ...

Cindy, My dog has been on a raw diet for over a month now and I've noticed he's panting quite a bit. I've searched the website and looked over the books but haven't seen anything on this. Do you know of any correlation between excessive panting and raw? He seems healthy otherwise. Otherwise, the diet has been a dream. Earwax-gone, itching-greatly diminished, coat-like a puppy, I mean it is really noticeable. Thank you for teaching me about raw though Leerburg. I have already convinced...

Dear Cindy, My question is regarding avoidance corrections. I have a 2.5 year old cattle dog mix that I have just adopted. I am constantly around horses and my dog will be as well. When the horses are not really moving the dog leaves them alone but if they start running around his herding drive takes over and I can not get him out of the zone. He chases them and barks at them while nipping at their heels; characteristically of his breed. He understands "come" and "no" and is almost alwa...

Not that it matters to you, but i think your advice is awful and you are doing a diservice to dogs with it. Dogs need socialization to be happy, a lonely life in a crate does not provide it, they also need plenty of fresh water, not just when its convenient for the owner to provide it. Puppies mess just like babies do and pet owners have to accept this and if they cant maybe they shouldnt have dogs. Becky

I emailed you about 1.5 years ago regarding my GSD being too aggressive. Your reply was was that I should turn him over to "someone who knows what they are doing, start over with a puppy, and do it right this time." This was not helpful, rather I found it to be instead insulting and rude. Upon reviewing most of your email responses this seems to be a theme. Instead of offering helpful advice as you claim to be interested in doing, you tell the owners that the dogs problems are all their fault...

Hello there, Our family have just purchased a 6 going on 7 week old Rottweiler Puppy.It is a male puppy and very heavy for his age,he was the biggest in the group of puppies,and the heaviest,as his present weight is 5 and a half kilograms!There are 2 things we are worried about.Just to let yopu know,we have never put any dogs in a crate and never intend to.Our puppy seems to be getting confused with which is inside and outside,after feeding and excersise and sleep,we always put him...

I bought a German shepherd that was suppose to be a protection dog and they brought him out stayed 45 minutes showed me the heal sit and down command then 10 days later after keeping the two males separated one created one out he came back and said when the protection dog is out keep them both on a leash and if they try two smell each other hit them on the nose with the end of the leash well after 3 fights and one bad where my 125lb rottie was determined to be king everything was fine and aft...

Dear Dr. Frawley: I searched frantically to find someone to help my husband and I and I found this site and read almost all of it. This will probably be long but in order to get some help I must explain my situation to you in detail. We have three dogs. One dog is fine and we got her first. She is a small-medium mixed breed, bull dog mix with very light brown eyes.. Someone dumped her off and she is very loving and loves everyone vice versa. But she likes to kill any creatur...

Do you think we should protection train our dog in Schutzhund or through a professional trainer - or do we need to at all? What are your recommendations? I think that anyone who trains a dog to bite human beings (outside of law enforcement officers) is just asking for trouble. Once you train a dog that it's "OK" to take a full mouth bite on someone, you have crossed the line of pets and bonded companions and entered a world of almost constant and vigilant training requirement. The ...

I plan on getting a Rott, Doverman, and German Shepard. If I get them all at the same time will they all get along?

Hello Ed, I was looking for a kennel to board my bitch while she was in heat. I went to a kennel near my house to take a look at his facilities before I boarded my dog. Well all I can say is thank god I did that. Everything looked fine at first. He had a nice little set-up that was secluded with lots of land and room for the dogs. He had indoor kennels for the dogs and everything. Well I was sitting there just bullshitting with the guy, asking him how long he has been involved with dogs. He t...

On December 18th I had a litter of 4 Miniature Pinscher puppies. Three very healthy, and the first runt I have ever had in my life. I noticed the first day he was in distress. He weighted 2 1/2 ozs. I began tube feeding adding a little Nutri Cal to his formula. I Live in a Very small town with not allot of help from Vets to be honest the Vets here leave allot to be desired. Anyway, I tube fed him for 10 days, Using the measurements on the can of Esebilac to insure I was feeding the proper...

How about some tips on how to properly breed a first time bitch that is giving me problems, and also how the pups grow inside the bitch, nice video would be great if you would make on, like, when do the pups get hair, teeth, etc. consentrate on breeding and puppies growing inside the bitch more than fighting dogs. would buy those videos or books more than the ones you have on training dogs to bite. regards pat

I have read a lot of your articles and I want to ask your advice because you seem to follow your tried and true methods, not what is popular at the moment. We have an 11 week old Lab puppy that we have had since she was 6 weeks old. From the time we got her, we have worked with her to teach her proper manners. She understood house breaking within the first couple of days and is quick to catch on to almost anything we try to teach her. Most of the things you suggest in your articles, we ha...

Hello Mr. Frawley, I have been spending some time on your web site, and read many of the Q&As that were on the site as well. I have been doing a lot of surfing on the web lately, looking for answers to some training questions I have regarding my current dog, a 10 month old, spayed female German Shepherd. I rescued her about a month ago. I certainly would not say I am a dog trainer, I have not even gained any titles with a dog. I am a working mother of two small children who ...