April 12, 2011
We have a 5 year old GSD and a 5 year old Rat Terrier. Both are aggressive to visitors. Should I put an electric collar on these dogs?
Full Question:
We have a 5 yr old Rat terrier and we recently adopted a 5 yr old German Shepherd male which we immediately neutered. The dogs get along ok and they are very good with my 2yr old son. The GS has been obedience trained although I bought your video so I would know how to properly handle him. When people come to the door or drive down the driveway they bark and they get VERY aggressive. I try to correct them but I'm not sure if that's what I should be doing or maybe I should get the visitors to throw them bones. (I'm not sure if that's rewarding their behavior). The GS has a low confident bark - his tail is high and his hair on his back is down. I just purchased a remote trainer for the GS because I felt bad correcting him in front of my son (unless I correct him hard he just ignores it). On the other hand the RT shakes if you correct her, (and makes you feel bad). I feel the dogs are trying to be protective and we have never had the problem before with the RT. We were absolutely shocked when the RT bit my friend today in the leg (fear bite). He was not antagonizing the dog, he just went to pet her, she moved away then he turned to walk towards me then she bit him! She has never shown any signs of aggression. Will it help if I get barking collars for both dogs as well to control the barking? I was thinking that they might stop being aggressive if they didn't hear each other barking. After the person has entered our house all is forgiven and the dogs are back to normal. Both dogs are trained and very obedient except the RT tends to get babied by my wife. Should we treat both dogs exactly the same? The GS sleeps in the cellar and the RT sleeps on the bed. The GS is not allowed on the furniture and the RT can sleep on the couch. Neither dog is fed at the table, and both dogs are allowed to go outside unleashed (we have 5 acres in the woods, they never leave our yard and it's never been a problem until now, they follow us around the property and keep us company). I've read a lot of books on dog training and nothing makes more sense than your methods. 
Ed's Answer:
Your email indicated that you need to rethink what you are doing. There are too many mistakes being made. Here are the issues:
1. It's OK to bark when strangers come. But when a dog is told to be quiet and lay down - then IT MUST DO IT. Your dogs ARE NOT obedience trained unless they will do this. If they will not (and after reading what you wrote I am sure that they will not), then you have a bad situation. It is a total mistake to have the visitors give the dogs bones. This accomplishes nothing. The dogs are going to bark harder at the next person that comes. This is an obedience issue and not a reward issue.
2. You are doing everything wrong with the Rat Terrier. It should not be in bed with you, it should not be on the furniture. This is foolishness. The dog needs a dog crate, even if it does not like it - tough!
3. When the Rat Terrier bit your friend it should have been corrected (by you). This means a really strong correction. It must learn that this behavior will NEVER be tolerated. So not only is the dog not trained, it is not corrected for very bad behavior.
4. The GSD sounds like a very nice dog. It sounds like it has good nerves and a good temperament. Just train it. Your comment about not correcting the dog in front of your child is foolish. It makes ZERO sense. If for some bizarre reason you do not want to correct the dog in front of your child (and I have no idea why this would be) then put your child away when you train your dog. Do not use an electric collar in this scenario. You will only be causing problems with your dog. Focus on proper control and training - not on punishment. If you plan to train with an electric collar (and I do all the time) then get a training tape and learn how to do it properly. We have several good ones from Tri Tronics.
5. Putting No Bark collars on the dog is not going to accomplish anything. Yes, one may get the other excited, but this does not change the fact that the dogs are not trained (contrary to your statement that they are well trained - they are not).
6. I would get prong collars on both dogs and work them separately. They need to learn to mind under distraction.
1. It's OK to bark when strangers come. But when a dog is told to be quiet and lay down - then IT MUST DO IT. Your dogs ARE NOT obedience trained unless they will do this. If they will not (and after reading what you wrote I am sure that they will not), then you have a bad situation. It is a total mistake to have the visitors give the dogs bones. This accomplishes nothing. The dogs are going to bark harder at the next person that comes. This is an obedience issue and not a reward issue.
2. You are doing everything wrong with the Rat Terrier. It should not be in bed with you, it should not be on the furniture. This is foolishness. The dog needs a dog crate, even if it does not like it - tough!
3. When the Rat Terrier bit your friend it should have been corrected (by you). This means a really strong correction. It must learn that this behavior will NEVER be tolerated. So not only is the dog not trained, it is not corrected for very bad behavior.
4. The GSD sounds like a very nice dog. It sounds like it has good nerves and a good temperament. Just train it. Your comment about not correcting the dog in front of your child is foolish. It makes ZERO sense. If for some bizarre reason you do not want to correct the dog in front of your child (and I have no idea why this would be) then put your child away when you train your dog. Do not use an electric collar in this scenario. You will only be causing problems with your dog. Focus on proper control and training - not on punishment. If you plan to train with an electric collar (and I do all the time) then get a training tape and learn how to do it properly. We have several good ones from Tri Tronics.
5. Putting No Bark collars on the dog is not going to accomplish anything. Yes, one may get the other excited, but this does not change the fact that the dogs are not trained (contrary to your statement that they are well trained - they are not).
6. I would get prong collars on both dogs and work them separately. They need to learn to mind under distraction.
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