Recommended Q&As

Good Morning Cindy, My 2 year old female was bred to my male (1 tie) and she had a false pregnancy. Vet said I could try again she is in good health otherwise. I have been researching the issue and have read conflicting information, some say yes it is safe to try again, others saying false pregnancy will happen again. My female has Leerburg breeding on her 5 generation pedigree stormfront on her 3rd. Have you ever experienced false pregnancy and if you have, have you had success in a secon...

Thanks for taking the time to read this email. Your previous responses to my questions have really helped. I just finished placing my order for some training videos; retrieve, tug, puppy bite work, and some equipment. I have a question regarding engagement. I have been training my dog with Michael Ellis' The Power of Training Dogs with Food. It has been a few months now and my pup is doing great. My problem, I have noticed, is that it is harder to keep his engagement with food. Befor...

Hi Cindy, Trust you are doing well. I need your help, Cindy. I attached a video of a puppy. This is the puppy the breeder selected for me. He is 8 weeks old in this video. Can you give me your honest opinion? This really is a big step for me and this will be the first Dutch Shepherd in my country. According to me, the dog shows a lack of drive or interest in the bite work. The breeder reckons he is independent and will be a slow maturer. Whatever that means. Maybe his prey drive has...

Hi Cindy!! Well, Dexter loves his walkeez harness!! I may have to get one or two more in different colors!! :) We just started in nosework--we've had two whole classes! I was wondering what you guys think of using one certain piece of equipment just for nosework (say a particular collar or harness) that tells the dog "when you wear this you are working." I've heard guide dog and tracking people say that they only use a particular harness when the dog is working and they get the idea tha...

I have a 3 month old professionally bred working line GSD. She is high drive with a tenacity to learn. I have both 8 weeks to 8 months and Working Puppy. While both videos are extremely helpful I still have 2 questions. 1. We have "conquered" ankle and pant leg biting and work relentlessly on redirecting with hand biting. Little progress has been made there - but it is the lunging at the face that concerns me most. Once she begins the lunging it does not quit until I leave. She wears a lea...

Hello, I just rescued a 5 year old Lhasa and he was defiantly dissocialized in his last home with health issues. I have two boys who are 6 and 10?who are completely non aggressive and our environment is very tranquil. First 2 weeks were great but Chico has decided that he is a little higher in the pecking order and very loyal to me. Even though we have established a good routine if my youngest walks in the room and is just standing there he will run up teeth glaring and growling, etc... It...

Hi Cindy, When I am sure my puppy knows a command and he does it 99 times when I tell him, but refuse to the 100th time, do I give a negative marker(NO) or do I just repeat the command and lure him into a sit? This puppy of mine knows exactly what a sit is but sometimes he looks at me with those "what are you talking about" eyes. Thanks

Ok, this might sound bad, but I'm going to become Homeless this year and I'm a Girl. So I, want to get a dog to protect me. So I want it to be aggressive toward people. I know its a liablity and dangerous but I don't have $$ for protection training. Is there certain thing or things I can do to making him this way. And is there a test I can do on him to see if he can be aggressive? I'm think of getting a German Shepherd or American Pitbull Terrier. 6-10 months old. Also I would be very car...

My 1 1/2 year old Golden suffered from bad GI issues as a pup. Ended up having surgery at nine months: vet called from OR and said it's mesenteric torsion. Basically asking if I wanted to stop the surgery and put the pup down. I decided to finish the surgery and see what happened. Vet removed an estimated 30% of the small intestine. Miraculously the dog recovered and is thriving with no apparent side affects, except the dog has terrible intermittent gas. I had him on Pro Plan salmon and o...

Hi, I have found your website very informative. I ended up using a prong collar as a result, and so far I'm happy with the results. However, I did have one question. I have a large (3mm) collar for my german shepherd mix. Basically I took off enough prong-links that the collar fits around the jaw and below the ears, as it's supposed to. However, there's still just enough play that it slips down during walking/training. The problem is that if I take away any more prong-links, the collar...

Cindy, I have recently purchased the videos "dominant and aggressive dogs" and "ecollar training" from your site. I have a 9 month old alpha female doberman and a 4 year old Golden Retriever. The doberman shows handler aggression, aggression towards our golden retriever and toward her bones/toys. I have watched both videos and we have implemented the back to basics approach where we ignore the dog for 2 weeks, keep her on a leash with us in the house at all times, removed all of the t...

Hello, We have a male Golden Retriever who is turning one year old next week.? He was neutered at 7 months of age and we have had him since he was 8 weeks old. With the help of your videos on Establishing a Pack Structure and Dealing with Dominant dogs we have for the most part an obedient dog who stays and comes on command. Walks well with us and responds to verbal correction when he wants to wander toward other dogs or to sniff around. Unfortunately he has tendency to get very agg...

I have a 9 week old male pup from strong working lines. had him a week. Really super, level headed, drives that us working folk are looking for. One snag though. When playing with a towel, rag, old shirt, he has started humping it? after winning it. Is this a worry, what action should I take. So far I distract him and continue the game. I'm following Micheal Ellis systems on training. Would appreciate some sort of guide.Thanks

I have a female pit bull, spayed, I've had her since she was 5 weeks old, she was born at the shelter and I'm a failed foster! She is now 3 years, went to puppy classes, obedience, agility, she is a phenomenal dog and I could probably take her on to do anything I chose to do with her as she is just that smart and obedient. That is until it comes to her tennis balls. She is so ball driven, and uses that as her reward system instead of food. This dog has no food drive whatsoever. Only ball driv...

Cindy, I have had a few high drive GSD. Great dogs, except when we are in the home relaxing. I am relaxing but the dog is pacing and whining. He never seems to be able to turn it off. I was not able to ever find his "off" switch. Can you help me with some ideas or make a DVD on how to turn your dog off when you are not working? Think there is a need for us novice dogsters. Thanks

Hi there, We have adopted a beautiful dog, who likes to bite other people. In order to protect them and himself (from being destroyed) while we are trying to alter his behavior we are going to try a muzzle. I'm not sure of the which one to get and ask for your assistance. Also, before proceeding any further, do you post to Australia? Muzzle size: nose length from top (just below eyes) to end is 4", and circum (fairly snug) is 11". We have tried a plastic muzzle which was not the righ...

Hi, I have an apricot colored GSD, she will soon be 7 years old. She is adorable with people. In fact, so much so, that I have to pen her when we have visitors after a while, as she wants a fuss all the time. My problem is I can't trust her with other dogs when we go out to the local woods for a walk. She lives with a greyhound, and I lost my male GSD a year ago. She is wonderful with them, and is very good with a stray cat that has adopted us. Although I keep an eye on her with the cat...

I have a 2 year old (65 lbs) Belgian Malinois. Have had trouble with him fence fighting. He pays too much attention to the dogs behind the fence because they are barking at him. I need to work on his recall. I have been working with someone that has me putting him on a long line and calling him when he starts to get too close to the fence. I was watching some of your videos on YouTube and I saw the restrained recall with the tug toy. Is there a video you recommend to learn more about the reca...

Hi Cindy, I just brought home an 8 week old F Belgian Malinois. I have 2 other dogs. A 3.5 year old F Rottweiler and a 5.5 year old M Boston Terrier, and so I'm pretty familiar with how to raise a pup. But it seems that the Malinois pup is a bit more challenging when it comes to the crate. I've had her for 2 days and 2 nights. She goes in voluntarily and comfortably in and out of the crate, when the door is left open, but once it closes, she goes on a high pitch barking/whining/crying t...

Hi Cindy, I just finished watching the new training dogs with food video with Michael Ellis. Owning the old and the new, I found the new one to be considerably better - good job Leerburg! I do have one question, which was highlighted after watching the new one (I thought I understood it before watching the new one). At the end of the video, Michael talks about reward schedules. He gives a few examples, all of which skip the marking - he simply just gestured like he was giving a relea...