Most Recent Q&As

Hi Cindy, Which puppy harness is recommended in Leerburg's puppy training videos, and which size should be purchased for an 8 week old German Shepherd puppy?

Hi! We adopted a shelter dog around a year ago estimated to be around 4 years old, a female Shepherd mix. She doesn't seem to know how to play with toys, even though she will show some interest in small stuffed toys I toss, she quickly loses any motivation she has. If try to trade or toss her another toy to get her to play with me, she would drop the toy very easily and refuse to get it again. She likes and chooses to play With me, punching and running, play bowing. I just can't get her to ho...

Hi Cindy, I often see your husband refer to the use of a raised bed in the home, training, etc. on your videos. Comfort being considered, none of my dogs ever choose the raised bed over their memory foam bed if given an option when we are just hanging out for example in the garage watching television. My question is, what is your reason for the use of a raised bed specifically? Is it mainly for training purposes for the ability to attach a leash easier, will you transition off the raised bed...

Hi Cindy! I have a 7 year old female fixed lab mix who is balanced, social, and all around great dog. I also have a 3 year old male hound mix (fixed) who has struggled with reactivity. I am very proud of our training with him - he is now neutral to dogs, people, and other previous triggers and his obedience is very strong. In this training, we did a lot of groundwork to provide structure and leadership in our home. However, infrequently (once a month or so), my younger dog will correct my ...

Our puppy has developed the habit of not coming when lose in the yard (fenced) at home. He is especially bad if he has a ball. In Obedience and agility, he has a pretty good recall - actually listens quite well in class... Then when he is out with a ball he has no interest in treats. Our trainer/breeder did suggest giving him his daily food only by hand as a reward. If he does not do enough to get rewarded with his normal food portion - do we feed him the rest at the end of the day?? Do...

Good morning Cindy, I am currently working with a Dachshund puppy 5-month-old in regard to potty training. So far I was able to work with the client to establish a potty schedule and while client at home with puppy to have the puppy on a drag lead. He does no longer use a diaper as well the potty pads that he was trained on by the breeder are no longer spread out throughout the house. The only place that he frequents now are 2 spots in the kitchen. He lives with 2 other dogs therefore I mark...

Hi Cindy, I have a 9-month-old GSD and I cannot get him to stop eating rocks. I have bought a muzzle from you and I was wondering if you have a plastic muzzle that I can feed food rewards through to him?

I have recently purchased a replacement Large Guardian Dog puppy as our others are starting to age out of guarding the sheep. This new puppy is half English Mastiff and half imported Gumpr. He is 3 months old now. He is usually good about coming back to me when we are out feeding the livestock (he lives in 1/3 of our small barn 24/7, the sheep are in the other 2/3), but he is getting to that playful/chasing age. If the sheep don't run, everything is fine, but I had one incident where the ...

Hi Cindy. I hope this question makes sense. I am looking for a little guidance on how to use what I've learned in Michael Ellis's e-collar course. I think I understand his process of introducing it: verbal command, followed by stim+leash pressure, escape upon compliance. However, I haven't really used leash pressure to teach any of the behaviors ME suggests using leash+e-collar for: foot targets, down, back. We taught those with luring and shaping only. I do use a prong and leash pressure for...

Hello Cindy, I have been following your training advice with my 18-month-old English Lab, gently starting when he was 8 weeks old. He is doing pretty well and we continue to work on commands and manners daily. I don't like for visiting, screaming, small children to have access to my dog, and definitely don't leave him unattended should family members bring kids. In fact, I remove him from the chaos when the kids enter the house. Friends with bratty kids believe there is nothing wrong with ...

Hi, our Border Collie is a 10-month-old male. We were doing well with him, reliable recall, etc. until the last month or two. Now off leash, while playing with other dogs he will not return. He is super interested in other dogs. Likes to play, but if the other dogs are not so interested, he will do some "herding" behaviors. Previously he did. Also, now while walking him he "loses it" if near a playground, seeing a rabbit etc. He really needs the off-leash to get his running and exercise in. ...

Hi Cindy! I have a 1 y/o Belgian Malinois. He has had a history of aggressive behavior, specifically biting, and has bitten me, my wife, and my trainer. I had him evaluated by Tarheel Canine Center, in Sanford NC. They are well familiar with working with Belgian Malinois and other shepherd breeds. To address the biting they recommended: 1 Plenty of exercise. He gets exercised 2 hours a day and 2. Obedience Training. He attended in-board basic obedience training for 5 weeks and advanced ob...

Hello Cindy, I really need your help! I own a 2-year-old GSD with a great pedigree and I'm not able to get his attention on the club field only. He works for me perfectly anywhere in public. I also purchased Forrest Micke's Engagement Skills foundation which he mastered just fine and I still continue on a daily routine. What worked in the past was only a deflated big ball, but a workshop trainer from Finland by name of Marko told me to put it away and get back to engagement, which I di...

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...

Dear Cindy, This might have been obvious to some, but I missed it watching the "8 Week" stream. The way to teach a dog their name and "charging the mark" seems to be the exact same process. If they differ, how do they differ? Should you do one before the other? Can it be done around the same time? Do they get combined at some point? Hopefully, you can provide a little clarity. Thank you

Hello Cindy, my 6-months old puppy eats plastic bags when she finds them in the (only) field she can run off-leash. She already swallowed one and we caught her trying on several more occasions. As an alternative to keeping her leashed at all times, since she does need to run some (GSP), the vet recommended a basket muzzle. Which one do you recommend that would prevent her from eating things? Thanks.

Hi Cindy, I have a friend that does not live near me so I am unable to physically help her with her new cattle dog puppy. She is having a problem with him constantly tugging at her pant legs and healing her ankles. She has asked for help. I am a trainer where I live. I’m thinking of redirecting the tug desired to places in each room with an attached tug. Also, a slow feed treat ball for him to chase and to keep his brain occupied. I wanted to get your opinion on my ideas and tugs you...

Hello Cindy, Our vet explained earlier today that we should have Olga spayed to prevent the likelihood of her contracting uterine or breast cancer. Really? We made a reasoned decision two years ago, before Olga’s first birthday not to have her spayed. What specifically do you suggest we tell him on this serious matter regarding our Olga, her health, and her longevity? Note: This is the third vet we have gone to with Olga over disagreements with a specific conventional veterina...

Hi Cindy, I just got an 11-month-old intact male Doberman from Europe who has strong working drives but is also not very socialized. He arrived a few days ago here in the USA and I was warned that he was very dog aggressive, especially with other males. My big challenge is we have a fairly large house with at least 30 windows and 5 glass sliding doors on one side and when he sees his reflection in the mirror, he goes after it with fury. It could be day or night, even while driving in t...

Hi Cindy, Would you please give me some advice? My 13-month GSD would bark like crazy and lunge at the windows from within our van ride at the passing by trucks, people standing at the crosswalk, people riding bikes! We popped her prong collar and told her “leave it” or “quiet” but she couldn’t stop as we saw her hair on her back standing up. It looks like she’s very panicky and scared. But when we took her out of the van and walked her, she’s totally fine with people, animals, ...