Recommended Q&As

I have a 6 months old GSD Working Line puppy, at 8 weeks he was very good biting, but now he doesn't have any interest on biting tugs, a towel or something else, I have been using the techniques on The Power of Training Dogs with Food and he is chasing the food very nice and no issues with the food, tones of food drive, what should I do differently? Should I forget about him been a Sch Dog as the protection work might be an issue? I watched a video from Michael Ellis saying that some dogs sho...

Hello. My 12 year old Border Collie has been getting peri-anal tumors for the last two years. I don't know what to do to help him. He is slim, doesn't like to eat, very energetic, but tires sooner than before, alert when awake, but like his naps now that he is aging. What can you recommend? We tried Darwin's raw food, but he did not eat at all for days and he is underweight, so I gave him his cooked hamburger, chicken, plus kibble earthborn. I really need help please. Thanks.

Hello, I have a question regarding marker training and feral dogs. Do you think marker training can be used in rehabilitating extremely afraid feral dogs? Thank you!?

Hi, I am looking for a video on how to teach a dog to fetch (retrieve an object, bring it back to me and drop it in my hand). I hope to be able to teach that dog to retrieve all kinds of objects, even a set of keys. Would you have that?? Thanks

Hi Cindy, My husband and I have a spayed female mix, approx. 1 - 2 years old, we adopted 5 months ago. We have a dog door that gives our pooches 24/7 access to our fenced backyard, so they are able to go out to do their business as needed. Our two older dogs never defecate or urinate in the house, and this younger one does not about 95% of the time. It's that other 5% that I'm trying to figure out how to resolve. It would seem she knows she's supposed to do her business outdoors, as that'...

Hi Cindy, When I throw the dumbbell and she runs out to get it but doesn't pick it up, I either will race out there with her and give it a little kick and repeat bringand "usually" she will pick it up or sometimes. I may go pick the dumbbell up and put it in her mouth then I run backwards a few yards and tell her to bring and she will normally do this with a front sit (she doesn't hold the dumbbell tight, which is another whole different topic). She likes to retrieve but she is just a ...

I recently started playing tug with my four month old BC. Outside of food it seems that's when I get the most focus out of her when training. It has helped me out tremendously in working on recalls, getting a solid out and building a retrieve (she does not like balls). The problem is now she is teething. Is there a soft enough tug that I can use if I lessen the intensity of the game or any other form of play that you think might be as useful? Thank You

Hi, My husband and I will be training a yellow lab puppy (later this year) to ultimately do therapy dog work. We've been educating ourselves about proper training techniques through your videos, articles and Q&As, as well as with service dog trainers and materials. My question is this: You stress the importance of engagement work while socializing a puppy and young dog. The dog should view other people as "furniture," as you've said. This makes perfect sense to us. However, if we ult...

Hi, I have an apricot coloured 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, as...

Hi, I have just recently discovered your training techniques for my 7 month old husky female. We got a prong collar on her a couple months ago, as per suggestion of our trainer to correct her pulling, but made a huge mistake in not correcting when she would not come when called. We thought that if she didn't listen, but then eventually came to us, we should not correct her because she is after all coming to us. Writing it now, I know that was the WRONG choice. So now we have a pup that ...

I am interested in purchasing the Training the Retrieve with Michael Ellis DVD. Particularly to get my dog to be better at delivering to hand. I am not a fan of "force fetching" and a trainer recommended this web site to me. My question is: If I am not familiar with "marker" training, will I need to to buy 2 DVDs? Or is there another way to learn "marker" training without paying another 65 dollars? Also, how much time would I need to dedicate to marker training before I could start th...

Hello from Australia, I have recently purchased the Send Away DVD and am currently teaching my 17 month old dobe the send away. I have trained her to work from a touch pad and the touch pad was gradually replaced with a disc (water frisbee), which virtually sits flat on the ground. The cue to go to the touch pad/or disc is "step." My sendaway pre-cue is "where is it," then the actual send away cue is "go" followed by "step" - she is progressing well. Only still doing short distance...

I have a 5-month-old Aussie. Until last week, her experiences with adults & children were all positive. Then, while we were visiting my parents, my 5-yr-old nephew tried to ride his bike into her. He was scolded but made no amends, & she understandably avoided him the rest of the night. As an "antidote," the next day I invited my two nieces, 5 & 3, who were great with the pup a few days earlier, over to play w/her. The puppy greeted them the first time, but now shied away. She never shied awa...

First I would like to commend you and thank you for sharing your great knowledge and experience in in such a easily accessible medium. We have tried local training classes only to leave feeling frustrated with the lack of structure and the inability to engage with our pup during the lesson. One question we have had as we have going through the Basic Dog Obedience course is whether we should use "Yes" or the clicker to mark. I know the answer to this depends somewhat on the dog, but I am wo...

Hi Cindy, I have a doberman raised on Leerburg. So my dog and I are well trained on the Leerburg method as of 1 year. We are new and doing great. We were walking on a forest trail yesterday when our leashed dog was attacked by a dog whose owner was irresponsible and completely without any control. The dog was on a harness which was useless. My husband and I had to kick the dog repeatedly in the head to get him off. He was sinking his teeth in our dog's back and side, while our dog was ...

We plan on getting a schnauzer puppy in April. I have received 3 of your DVDs to help prepare myself for house training, etc. the puppy. One breeder told us to get a belly band for the puppy in the house while house training--even in the crate. I haven't seen you mention anything like this. Is this a good idea or something to disregard? Thanks.

I am an obedience instructor for my training club and I have a question about training collars for large breed, protective dogs. I currently have a 120 lb Cane Corso in my class and I'm unsure what type training collar I should use. The dog seems very mellow, but it was only the first class. I have experience with prongs and use them quite often with success. Since this breed of dog is known for aggression and because of the size and power, I really need help. Currently, the owner is using a ...

Hey Cindy, I am contacting you because I am a dog trainer and I have recently stumbled across something that I have not encountered before and I am not exactly sure how to correct it. I have a 6 month American pit bull terrier that I am using for a demonstration dog. He is very smart, and attentive. I have taken him through the learning phase for basic obedience (come, sit, down, down stay), so he knows the difference between sit and down. But when entering the correction phase I have f...

My new border collie puppy is just 10 weeks old; I've had for 1 week. In the last 2 days he has noticed cars and wants to chase them. Is it safe to use a prong collar on such a tiny puppy? If not, what do you recommend as a correction for such a young puppy? I have tried to distract him/hold his attention with a treat as soon as I detect a car approaching, but that is not working - he still looks away toward thee car and/or tries to start after it. I want to nip this in the bud. Thanks

Hello, First off, I would like to tell you: You have a great site.I have been utilizing your website and products for over 10 years (when your website was blue). My question pertains to electronic collars (new dog).?I heard, when first using an electric collar, I should put the collar on and take it off many times a day for two weeks. Recently, I have encounter other established trainers state to me that this is unnecessary. I was told, I could use the collar the day I got it. Just make...