Most Recent Q&As

I have a 7-month-old mal/dutch shepherd puppy and I am just starting to put his behaviors on cue. Up to this point, he looks really good being lured into position and I am about 90% happy with the positions he is ending up in. We are both also having a ton of fun with a lot of engagement. Previously in my routines, we have worked through several different positions/behaviors which seems to keep him more engaged. Lately, I have limited the sessions to one behavior per session and have begun to...

Hi Cindy, I saw an article recently on the subject of marker training, specifically the use of a no reward marker or negative marker. The article argues that the use of NRM's while it may not seem like it, is actually "aversive" to the dog and that it does not help to tell the dog that they did not succeed or that they did something wrong. They said that dogs learn faster if just encouraged through what they do correctly. This is the first I had ever heard of this idea and I know you have ...

Hi, I have a 14 week old Rottweiler puppy. She has a bone and when I went to pick it up, she went after me. I thought she was kind of young to do that. What would be the best plan to handle this?

Hi Cindy, I've purchased all of the Ellis DVDs and the Basic Dog Obedience DVD and the Marker Training DVD but still am unsure how to train the basic "stay" command - whether in a sit or down. All of the DVDs seem to assume the "stay" command has already been taught to the dog. Anyway, can you assist in how to teach the "stay" command so that I can move on to some of the more skilled obedience commands in the DVDs with my Dutch Shepherd? Thank you!

Hello, I just got my first German Shepherd puppy on 12/4 she is 9 weeks old. I've had Akitas and Belgian Shepherds in the past and haven't had many issues teaching them their names. With this puppy, I am having ZERO luck. Do you have any recommendations on what I could do to teach her what her name is? Also, she is incredibly mouthy. And when she bites it isn't a very nice one either she is very vicious with it. I have plenty of toys and I take her outside but she just likes to bite her...

Hello! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your website and all of it's contents. We have a 9-week old Golden Retriever puppy and the information you've provided has given us such a firm foundation. Thank you! My question has to do with running. I know pups this age shouldn't be running/jogging until they're older, but what age is that? Also, is playing fetch considered running as well? I've searched your database but couldn't find this answer. I'm sure it's in there but I couldn't l...

My apartment is right in front of the elevators so people constantly come and go in front of our door. My pitbull always barks and growls at the door when he hears things outside but he is very human friendly and loves people. How do I get him to stop barking every time someone passes by our door?

Greetings, Most of the puppy toys are not made out of burlap, I assume not to associate possible tooth pain with the texture of jute. At what age should a Schutzhund puppy be introduced to burlap? Thank you much for all the great work you do!!!

My 17 month old dog has travel anxiety, she pants and won't relax in the 2nd seat of our SUV. She is in a safety harness and can lay down. I tried a name brand herbal calming product which did not seem to help, I'd like to avoid Benadryl or vet Rx. Chew toys or treats are ignored. Would it be o.k. to use the e-collar to break her thought process, say as part of saying down, (she ignores commands when so agitated) or would a tap or click make things worse? She didn't have any trouble tra...

I have a GSD who can be quite reactive when on-leash and who tends to 'check out' on walks. I've used a number of Michael Ellis DVDs for training so far and off-leash, he has good engagement, recall, and is not particularly reactive around other dogs. It feels like I lose all engagement once he is on the leash. I am currently using a check chain, which is helping to a degree with his pulling but nothing I do (pop the leash, walk another direction, ask him to 'watch') helps when it comes to...

I take my dog to a training group where we train for an 1hr once a week it's mostly fun stuff, since we finished out good citizen scheme. But I still struggle a lot with her food drive and after about 45mins at training she just switches off and refuses all the treat I offer. She also will refuse to play at all at my training club. I've worked a lot on engagement, making her work for her food. She just has very little interest in food (sometimes she doesn't even want breakfast or dinner after...

I just got 10 week old Australian Cattle Dog. He has been home 5 days now. I read about not letting others not pet you dog and I have a question. I live alone in a rural setting in a neighborhood with about 4 houses pretty close by, so I interact with the neighbors a lot. One of the neighbors will be emergency contact for the puppy. I carry a tag on my key chain that says my pet is home alone please call .... and the neighbor will make take care of the dog. Should I let the dog interact more ...

Hi! I was wondering what characteristics you would advise looking for in a PTSD service dog prospect in a litter of pups? I?ve selected an outstanding breeder, whose previous litters had pups that went on to successfully complete service dog training, so there?s a history showing promise in genetics. So as far as temperament, what specifically would you look for if you were choosing an ideal candidate? Thanks so much!

Not sure If I should call it defiance, but my 5-month-old malinois puppy has gotten defiant and bit and growled at me when I tried to correct him with a verbal "nope" command when I went to pick up a bag of trash. Typically the "nope" command works well. He started to drag a bag of trash that was sitting inside the fence that I was about to take out. I think he may have just gotten amped up into thinking it was a game of play because it seemed like he thought it was more of a fun game like tu...

Hello, you've probably been asked this a million times but, what treats to do you use when you train? Thanks.

Hi Cindy, I train dogs in the UK and have recently been helping a family with a 7 month old Frenchie. When I first went round it was because he was showing aggression over food and objects but not just his own. If anyone had food he could show signs of aggression toward them. The family was getting ready to move house so there were boxes around and he started to guard the boxes. He was a nice dog but he jumped up, pulled on lead, barked at dogs on lead as well. We stopped all of those t...

Hi Cindy! I've emailed before for help with my Belgian Malinois pup and your suggestions have been helpful, particularly in regards to puppy biting. A new problem has arisen: he barks, and it appears to be motivated by him seeking my attention (there is also the possibility that the attention seeking barking behavior may result from anxiety - anxious about me leaving - but I'm not sure.) Question: Any suggestions to curb/minimize the barking behavior other than ignoring the behavior?

Thank you for the recent correspondence and the great deal on many of the videos. We chose Ed and your basic and intermediate videos because quite frankly, my fiance and I are beginners. Our puppy however is brilliant!! We have our first GSD puppy, a female rescue from CA. We live in Oregon and my question pertains to our schedules. I am a graveyard electrician and I do most of the training and exercising with our puppy. The pup wakes at 2-3am when I get home and is instantly in full "dri...

Hi Cindy, I have a two month old puppy that has no treat or enough toy drive. Thus I can't do luring, crate training, etc. He is also very slow eater with same food from breeder. Have never experienced this before so I am a bit perplexed. Any advice please?

I have a 13 1/2 week old puppy that I feed a raw meat and bone diet to. For the last few days I would give her a raw, meaty shank bone to chew on while she?s in the expen. Just today I noticed two of her small front teeth missing and one is loose. It seems too early for her to be teething (but maybe not). Is it a bad idea to give her beef bones with baby teeth? And is there any potential problem with her teeth missing early? Thank you.