Recommended Q&As

Hello, We have an outdoor dog (beagle, cocker spaniel mix) that loves to dig. She digs anywhere and all the time. We have tried a lot of different things to get her to stop but because she is outdoor it is hard to catch her in the act. We have had to fence her in a paved portion of the yard in order for her to not dig while we are gone and can only let her out to play when someone is watching her. We have even hidden to where she didn't know we were there and used a shock collar to get her...

Hello, I found your website while searching for a holistic vet. I adopted a Chihuahua Yorkie mix, but he is a biter. We started crate training him, but inconsistently. He had trouble getting house broken, and we discovered he had a bladder stone. Next came surgery, then the diagnosis of liver shunt. We searched for nutrition answers and found your site. We spoil the dog now, because we expect him to have a short life span, but he does have aggressive tendencies. My concern- after reading t...

Hello Cindy, I am hoping you can help shed some light on a particular chewing behavior our dog has. He's a 7-month-old male Malinois who has grown up the Leerburg way and he's a great dog with no real problems. However, he can sit for hours constantly mouthing a stuffed animal toy. If there's no stuffed animal, he will do this with his dog bed. By mouthing, I mean he chews on the toys. He's not tearing it or trying to destroy it, just repetitively "mouthing" it and he looks like he's zoned...

Hello, I've been watching your videos with Andrew Ramsey on the upcoming nosework DVDs. One question I have is how much equipment is necessary to do this sport? I see on the short video clips that you have the dogs learning to search many plastic type containers. Can you give me an idea of what I will need in order to get started before I commit to buying the DVD? Thanks! Mari

I have been a dog trainer since 1984 in law enforcement environments in SA. Why do some dogs show all the potential to become working dogs, go through training and pass the evaluation for working dogs (patrol and/ or sniffer), but when you deploy the handler and dog, some (a very small%) will report back that the dog doesn't want to work during operational deployment? Is this a mystery of dog training?

Hi Ed, I just finished watching your DVD "Establishing Pack Structure... and as eager as I am to start the program with my dog Ziva I have 2 questions/issues. The first is I work full-time, like most people, and in order to give my dog a little break from her crate and a mid-day potty break I have been using a dog walker. She visits for about 1/2 hour, takes her for a walk and bathroom break and returns Ziva to her crate when they're done. So I guess my question is that if during the gro...

We recently rescued a starved emaciated female pitbull from the side of the road. I have been watching her closely to pinpoint any aggression issues; but so far she has shown no aggression to our dogs that she has seen but not closely encountered or people. She is very submissive and shy although hasn't even really thought about biting anyone even when poked and prodded by the vets. Evidently she was never trained on a leash. This is fundamental stuff she needs to know ASAP. I have tried to b...

Cindy, My 4 year old GSD does not bother with two of my three cats. They are smart enough to know that he's a big goof ball, so they let him lick them a few times until he gets bored and walks away. He likes all the cats, BUT the third cat is too damn stupid to realize the dog is just being playful. He's not afraid of the dog, he just doesn't want to be bothered. Of course, the dog's natural prey drive kicks in when the cat runs from him. The dog would NEVER harm any of the cats, but how d...

We have a 8 1/2 year old Kangal from Turkey. His name is Yurek. We have, since he was 10 weeks old, fed him a raw food diet. He weighs 136 lbs. We boil Chickens, have raw meat cut into 1? stew size and he eats around 3 lbs per day. He recently has been having some stomach problems. Is there anything I can give him to settle his stomach down? Robert

Dear Ed and Cindy, 14 days ago we picked up a GSD puppy (12 weeks). The dog is playing and playing... He runs around the house with his ball and his Kong but as soon you start to play with him he freeze and just stared at you. He is also not willing to play outside (walking is fine, meeting new people and new dogs is also not a problem and he is not scared for cars, buses, trains or whatever). Can you maybe give me some advice about how I can teach him that playing with other people (me...

Hey, Firstly let me say "thank you" for the your website. I have found it very valuable and great info. I am interested in some of your DVDs, as I have a 10 month old shep, but don't know which ones would best suit. We currently attend obedience training at our GSD club every week, my problem isn't the obedience side, it is my dog's reaction to other dogs. When he was approximately 4/5 months old he was barreled over from behind by a strange dog off leash and he got sent flying, since the...

I have a question, I have a 11 month old pyr/berner mix and generally she's an all around great dog. She has had training since 10 weeks, finished 2 sessions, and knows all her basic commands. She views my husband as the Pack Leader and he just needs to point and ask her to do something and she does it. Not with me. I try to do all the same things he does, but she will only listen when she "feels" like it. I know she can do it because she only needs to hear his feet walking to the room and sh...

I got your puppy package of 4 DVDs and enjoying them. High quality production values and great info. I am on marker training one now.... one piece of info I have not yet found.. is how much time to train on a daily basis? I am retiring and getting a 3 1/2 month old standard poodle... I have lots of time to walk, train and be with him AND I do not want to over train. How much time each day should be spent "training" as he grows up? Mark

Hi - I found your website last night and ordered a muzzle, a dominant collar and several of your DVDs (set 301, 302 & 308 and the house training ebook). I was very impressed with your website and your knowledge and wanted your expert opinion. I am divorced with 2 girls 15 and 16. We have 4 dogs and 4 cats. They all get along pretty well but several issues need to be corrected - thus the above training tools. The dogs are Candi - 12 year old golden - hips going, eyes going, etc. I made a mi...

I retired from the military and now have a seizure disorder due to a TBI (traumatic brain injury) I received while overseas. I have a 10 month old German Sheppard that I have trained in basic obedience, but I need to train her in seizure alert. I can't find any training facilities that are local to me. Are there any videos I can get to aid me in this process? Thank you for your time.

Welcome home, Jeff! I can't believe how much he sounds like Ed. Loved the video of you and Rush biking. My large dog has a high prey drive, but he does great biking. Just in case, I use a Walky Dog attachment so he can't pull me over. But as much as my dog loves running with the bike, I come close to quitting every day. We live in the city, and I've lost count of how many times unleashed dogs have come after us. I hear this from other bikers and joggers all the time. It's always a diffe...

Hello! I have 2 questions- my dog has given birth to 6 gorgeous healthy pups. Samoyed x husky - the pregnancy was planned. She is 2 and I would love to keep a puppy. Is it recommended to NOT keep a puppy from a mother's litter?? Also, our local vet said there is no evidence now days to show puppies need the 6-8 week vaccination, they only need the 8-12 weeks then the 12-16 weeks one. I was sure they need 3 in total, but he gave me info saying only 2 times worth of injections. Your help...

Hi Cindy, I train my dog with German commands. I use platz for down in training. If I am at home and just want to call my dog over to come and lay down by my side, what German words should I use? It seems platz should only be used in SCH training. Thanks.

Hi Cindy, I'm wondering if you could answer a question for me regarding socialization. When I take my 11 week old Malinois puppy out into new areas, should I be working on keeping her engaged with me 100% of the time and then putting her back in the car? Or should I allow her to explore a little with short periods of engagement work in between? She is still very easily distracted and I am struggling to find a good balance between exposing her to lots of new scents, sights and sound...

I have a 3 year old black lab mix (who does AKC obedience and rally) and an 8 month old GSD. Is a dog ever too young to start Michael's training program, for example the power of food and tug. I have both of them. Is my black lab to old to start it? And what should I do differently?