Most Recent Q&As

September 9, 2023

Recommended My 8 year old housebroken German Shepherd stays with friends when I travel but he goes to the bathroom in their homes, no matter how much they walk him. How can I correct this?

Hi Cindy. I have an eight year old GSD who is housebroken and obedient. When I'm home he either goes tot he bathroom off-lead in my fenced in back yard along the fence-line, or on-lead when we're walking through the neighborhood. In the yard when I let him out he won't actually go in the yard and do anything until I walk out. The problem is when I travel, which is only once or twice a year, I have friends that were willing to watch him for me but every time they do he just goes to the bat...
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September 8, 2023

Recommended My 4 month old puppy sleeps in his crate at night and readily jumps in but during the day he throws a fit if he's confined in there. What can I do?

I have a now 4 month old (European) Doberman puppy. We have done a fair bit of crate training, and he sleeps in there at night, and readily jumps in with a treat. He doesn't "hate" the crate - but since day 1 when he came home at 10 weeks old, he HATES being locked up and not being right by you or what interests him. Barking and throwing a fit since the day he came home unless he's flat out exhausted, and sometimes even then. There is plenty of play, exercise, training, enrichment, etc. H...
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September 8, 2023

Recommended I would like to get a new dog for obedience competition, would you suggest starting with a puppy or young adult dog?

Cindy, again, thank you so much for your availability. This is a terrific help, and I love Leerburg. A question please... I'm interested in getting a new dog for AKC Obedience and Rally. Several professionals have recommended choosing a young adult such that the dog's potential is more readily assessed, stating that there are too many unknowns with puppies even when well bred. Others have said that getting a puppy is best to form an early relationship and to begin early luring and attent...
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August 22, 2023

Recommended My rescued pitbull's oral fixation is getting worse and is becoming a problem, which course should I take?

Hello! I have a 20 month old pit bull mix that I rescued. Her oral fixation is getting worse. Please let me know which course I could take to work with her. It is becoming a problem. Thank you!
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August 15, 2023

Recommended I have an adult Border Collie and hope to get a new puppy in the future. Do you have any advice on how to introduce them?

Hello Cindy I have a 3 year older female Border Collie and am hoping to get a new puppy in the future. Do you have any advice on how to introduce them successfully? For example, should I keep them separated in the house for the first few days so that my adult dog realises that she is not missing out on anything and can gradually get used the idea of sharing the home? My adult dog ignores strange dogs outside, except when they come rushing up to her or me, in which case she charges at ...
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August 14, 2023

Recommended My 6 month old pup loves to chew on sticks and branches after a play session but that causes him to vomit wood chips afterwards. Any suggestions or is it OK for him to chew on sticks?

Hi! Thank you for great contents on YouTube! My 6months old mini Australian shepherd loves to chew on sticks and branches when tired after play session and that cause vomiting wood chips afterwards. Any suggestions to stop that behavior or is it ok for him to chew on sticks? Thank you!
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August 14, 2023

Recommended My terrier is possessive and will destroy toys. He will not release his ball for food, I have to trick him into releasing by showing him an identical toy. Is there a video that addresses this?

Hi, again. I'm hoping you can direct me to one of your courses to help me out. I have watched your basic and intermediate obedience videos and Relationship Games 1 plus parts of some others. My 15-month-old Parson Russell terrier is doing very well with all the food exercises. He is very good at "leave it / yuck" until he gets hold of a ball or frisbee or tug. I would love to eventually have him reliably retrieving, but while he will sprint after anything I throw, his next instinct is to dest...
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August 14, 2023

Recommended Is my 5 year old German Shepherd too old to have a litter? is there danger to her health if I don't get her fixed?

I have a 5 yr old female German Shepherd that is still intact and has never been pregnant. Is there a danger to her health in not getting her fixed and is she too old to have a litter? Thank you
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August 13, 2023

Recommended My 5 month old Boston Terrier bit my mother because she wouldn't let her jump on the couch and last night she bit me! Is this a personality issue or a training problem?

Hi. My 5 month old boston terrier bit my mother monday because she wouldn't let her keep jumping on the couch. last night i was petting the dog on the floor and she was sniffing in my pockets for treats. i didn't have any and she got frustrated and nipped me. i am shocked and horrified! Do you think this is a result of poor training (I have been training her since she was 8 weeks old) or a personality issue? If it's training, would I be able to rectifiy it? I am really the only person that tr...
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August 13, 2023

Recommended We just picked up a 17 week old puppy today and he lunged at our toddler three times. Is there anything specific or tips we can start right away?

Hello! I wanted to say first thank you for answering a previous question I had sent to you. We just picked up a 17 week old puppy today. Our puppy ended up lunging at our toddler three times and one was at the face. We’ve never encountered this before and don’t know what to do. We have a crate for their space and keeping him on a leash (which I’ve seen done on leerburg videos). Is there anything specific or tips you’ve found helpful that we can start right away? Plan is for our pup t...
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August 12, 2023

Recommended I have been working on the retrieve with my terrier for two months. He'll pick up and bring the PVC and a dowel but he will not pick up the dumbbell. What can I do to resolve this issue?

I’ve been working on the forced retrieve with my terrier for the past 2 months. I started from the very basic. From take, to hold and now bring. I also used a starter kit similar to the one sold at Leerburg. Which includes a pvc section as well as a dowel. He’ll pick up and bring the pvc and dowel. He just will not pick up the dumbbell. What did I do wrong? Also, what can I do to resolve issue? Thank you in advance for your response.
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August 12, 2023

Recommended What size Kuranda bed do I get for a 10 week old German Shepherd puppy?

Hi Cindy - I am a new student of Michael's videos for my puppy I pick up on Monday. He is a 10 week old German Shepherd. Should I buy him a Kuranda bed he will grow into or start small?
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August 12, 2023

Recommended My recently adopted 8 month old Husky is frantic if I kennel her and leave. What is the best way to retrain this?

Good morning, I've just recently adopted a 8 month old female husky. Her precious owners were Hobbie breeders, and she was kept in her kennel constantly. I have no other behavior issues with her beside when she is kenneled and I'm not home she becomes frantic and will try to destroy the kennel. What is the best way to recreate train a puppy that panics in their kennel? If I am in her eye sight she will lay in her kennel with the door open or closed with no issues. She will engage in relax...
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August 11, 2023

Recommended My German Shepherd puppy is confused. I'm trying to use spatial pressure to teach her to back up and she lays down instead.

My 15 wk GSD is confused and I know I caused it. She takes the down as I am trying to use spatial pressure to push her into ‘back up’. I don’t name it til I love it, so I have successfully Named/marked ‘Down’ with her . It’s just the movement toward her that I think confuses her. What or where should I ‘Go back’ and focus on to truly distinguish this for Her.
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August 7, 2023

Recommended My German Shepherd gets whiny when he sees people or goes to a new place with us. Can you help?

Hi! I love your website and refer to it often. I have a 15 month fully intact male GSD. He is our first GSD so we are learning
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August 7, 2023

Recommended How do we tell what kind of aggression our 2 dogs are showing when we have guests over? Is it fear, frustration or prey drive?

Dear Cindy, we have 2 dogs (a 5-year old Beagle/GSD mix and a 4-year old Australian SD/Lab/Black retriever mix, both males) which have been exhibiting increasing aggressive behavior issues over the last 3 months. I am not sure how to identify what type of aggression it is (fear, frustration, or simple prey drive) and therefore what type of training/counter conditioning would be the most suitable one. Indeed, I suspected fear aggression. However, I learnt in one of Michael Ellis' videos that ...
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August 5, 2023

Recommended I'm getting a puppy soon and the breeder told me that he has an umbilical hernia, would you still consider getting that pup or not?

Hi Cindy, I‘m about to get a male puppy in 2 weeks and the breeder told me now that the pup has a small umbilical hernia which is not congenital. Would you still consider getting the puppy or not?
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August 2, 2023

Recommended I have been watching your videos and working on tug with my adopted shepherd mix. I'm having trouble getting play with my dog, I've watched the videos over and over and I think my presentations are good. Do you have any ideas?

I am watching your tug videos. Michael Ellis says that letting your dog carry and keep the toy will build possessiveness. Mark Keating seems to say the opposite. I have a 3.5 year old shepherd mix we adopted. He seems mostly motivated to take whatever toy we tug with to keep and chew. If I give him wins, he keeps walking away and when I bring him back, he gradually loses interest. The other day I thought I would try just tugging and outing, never giving the tug to him completely. Now h...
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August 2, 2023

Recommended When I take the leash off of my 6 month old Rottweiler she forgets all of her training and we are having an issue with mouthing. Someone suggested a muzzle or ecollar , will this help my situation?

Hi, I've been watching your videos and they really helped me to realize what is normal with puppies. We have a 6 month old female Rottweiler we also have 5 children ages 15 to 6. We did puppy kindergarten at 8 weeks and then at 16 weeks we did a 4 week training class where we dropped her off 4 days a week and brought her home every night at 4pm. We still go back for training 2 times a week together for a half hour. My problem is when her leash and prong are off she forgets all her training...
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August 2, 2023

Recommended Can a dog bite through a cloth muzzle enough to draw blood?

Hi, we have an 13 year old terrier who is diabetic and blind. Recently we visited a family member with her. Also living there is a sister who has 2 large rescue dogs, both with bite histories. Their owner trains them daily. They are mostly leashed when outside, except when she is out with them. When we arrived for the visit, both of these dogs were off leash but I didn't see their owner (she was around the corner at her car). The female dog was wearing a cloth muzzle. I walked to the hous...
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