Recommended Q&As

Can a dog get a blockage from raw legs? Someone I know has fed raw for years and her 10 year old male just got sick and died. Vet said it was a bowel blockage? I started feeding this way and now am concerned.

Please help me! My husband and I have consulted our trainer who has suggested things that just don't work and I have yet to find an answer that really relates to our problem. We have a 7 month old Boxer mix (we think--we adopted him from a shelter at 2 months). He is such a good dog! He has been in obedience classes since he was about 4 months old and does amazing everywhere but in our backyard. Even then the only issue (but a big issue) is that he will attack our coats and shoes when we are ...

Hello Cindy, We have a 1 1/2 year old Australian Shepherd who is aggressive when on leash with other dogs in a classroom situation and walking around our neighborhood. She does not show any aggression while on leash walking around at dog shows which deal with conformation and obedience. We have her in an agility class where all the dogs are crated and one dog works at a time on the course. When it is her turn she has recently taken off and runs over to where the other dogs are crated and b...

Hi, Can you point me to any articles or eBooks, or give me some advice on how to handle a young female in heat. This is her third heat and we've handled it so far, but we just got turned on to your videos and methods and philosophies and we would like to learn how to handle this right. We have chosen not to have her spayed, as we plan on getting one litter out of her, probably this time next year, when she'll be two and a half years old. Thank you for your time, and thank you for the gr...

Cindy, Need a quick answer if possible. Is the "Finishing Work" video used after training all behaviors, ie: basic obedience, heeling, retrieve, send away, etc. Or is it used after training each behavior? Thanks, Bob

Cindy, I have a 5-month-old 2-1/2 lb male Yorkshire Terrier. I attended a local puppy kindergarten 8-week session for obedience training, and am planning on attending additional obedience training sessions with him. Everything with that is going fairly well, but after spending the last 2 months with my puppy, there are a few behaviors he refuses to listen to me concerning, namely barking and staying away from the cat food. I have been very consistent with him in teaching him "no" and even...

Hey Cindy, You were very helpful with me previously in the past with my boxers aggression issue. She just had 2 mass cell tumors removed that were cancer. She now has 20 staples in her back as well as stitches above her rear leg. She loves to play as all dogs do. We have historically played with her in the morning, afternoon and night. The stitches and staples will not be removed for another 2 weeks. The vet said to keep her calm, no jumping etc. Any advise on how to keep a dogs energy lev...

Hi Cindy, I have several Michael Ellis DVDs purchased from Leerburg and really enjoy them. My problem is I have been working on the retrieve and send away (Michael Ellis way)?but recently, when I tell my female to "bring" the dumbell, she thinks all she has to do is go out and touch it (like in the send away) and come back for a tug reward. She was doing good until now. I think I will quit working the send away until she gets the retrieve down better but I am looking for help to solve ...

Hello, My wife and I bought and have watched the basic obedience video, on recommendation from a previous trainer, and absolutely love it. We noticed a number of little problems with our own behavior and have since begun implementing the techniques. I was hoping I could get a little advice on the place command. We have a rescue dog (4 or 5) which we have been crating since she came home. She has always shown strong anxiety while in the crate. She tore her way out of one, and will not...

I have a 1 year old female black mouth cur who had 12 pups on 02/20/12, 1 was still born and 2 more have since died. Can you tell me how many normally survive in a litter this large with a first time mom?'

My dog got spayed about 3 days ago. While she was being spayed, the vet said that she was in heat and had to get her hernia repaired. She also got her rabies vaccination. Is it normal for her stomach and chest to be swollen up?

Cindy, I have a client who just purchased a super nice male pup from us. They have 25-30 chickens and want to introduce him to the chickens... What would you suggest as the best way to do this? Thanks in advance.

I am referring to Ed's article, What Would I do if Attacked by a Dog? After you pepper-spray a threatening, loose dog from charging at you and your dog, what if its owner denies his dog was unleashed and accuses you of animal cruelty?

Cindy, We have a Standard Poodle who is in the early stages of her first pregnancy. She has been on a raw food diet since she was 6 months old with no problems. We started her on the raw diet because she was having skin issues and goopy, runny eyes and the diet just makes sense. Her skin and eye issues have disappeared and she seems to be very healthy and happy. We live in a very small town so my Vet options are limited. I was told a Vet in town was familiar with the raw diet, but what...

Cindy, Can you tell me how you set up your training sessions? For example, do you work on only one exercise at a time? Do you go over learned behaviors and then teach new behaviors? As a trainer, I do the familiar exercises, then the new stuff, then go back to an exercise the dog does really well, so we can end on a positive note. How do you set up your sessions? How long do they run? How many minutes do your sessions run? How frequently? 7 days a week? 5? 3? Thank you for your input.

Cindy, We have a litter of 14 black and tan bloodhounds that were supplemented with Ed's amazing formula. They look fantastic at 3 weeks old. All sizes of pups are consistent, coats shiny like minks, and puppies are very healthy and content. We ordered Ed's DVD Whelping Puppies and educated ourselves on his excellent level of expert knowledge on newborns. We did not lose one pup. We are extremely grateful for Ed taking his time to put a DVD together with so much amazing information. ...

Hi Cindy, We have a 4-month-old Caucasian Shepherd puppy and he displays uncontrollable dog aggression to unfamiliar dogs. I have read that this breed of dog is very independent and does not have the best recall. Having owned a protection-trained Malinois and a German Shepherd, I am amazed at how intense this puppy can be. He lives with an 8-year-old male German Shepard and a 10-year-old female Border Collie. They all get along although his "puppy play" can be rough. We socialize him at...

Hi Cindy, I have a high energy 6 year old female GS. She?s gone through basic obedience but seems to have a growing issue with barking. My house backs up to a park and she often hears other dogs etc, which spurs the barking. I have heard the best way to control barking is to teach the dog ?when to bark? thus I would assume this works in reverse? If this is the case, can you give me some direction on how to control her barking when told?

I just got a male 10 week old GSD puppy 3 days ago. He has coccidia and I have started him on the medication the vet recommended. His appetite is decent not voracious. He is lively and healthy. However, I wonder if I should hold off beginning high value rewards for marker training until he finishes the medication? At the moment Zuke's small cookies do not interest him enough.

First, let me say all of your videos/articles on engagement have made my life much easier, but I've run into something where I'm stumped, as is everyone at the dog school where I take agility. My 2-year-old Pit runs great for me at home and everywhere, except our dog school, where she will run for everyone but me. When I walk in the main agility ring with her, she stops and looks like I'm about to beat her. I can do my engagement exercises with her and get her engaged and playing with me,...