Dog Fights and Leerburg's Dominant Dog Collars Don't Go Together

By Ed Frawley  |  Last modified: January 23, 2021

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Every day, we get customer questions from our Ask Cindy section. Some of these questions jump off the page because the person really needs help. The post below is a perfect example.

This poor woman has two problems. She has been given bad advice on the use of our Dominant Dog Collar (DDC), and she mistakenly thinks a piece of training equipment will solve her very serious dog fight problems.

A DDC was never intended to be used to break up a dog fight, especially with a “tab” line. Not only will it not work, but there is a real risk of the dogs redirecting their aggression back on her. A small woman can easily be killed by two large pit bulls.

Dog owners often do not understand the concept of redirected aggression. When people have a seriously reactive dog, one that shows strong on-leash aggression towards people or other dogs, those dogs are in a crazy state of mind. They are zoned out, some call it the RED ZONE.

When that dog is given a leash correction, there is the possibility the dog will turn and attack the owner. This can happen with a dog that in other situations, would never bite the owner.

In the article I wrote titled How to Break Up a Dog Fight Without Getting Hurt, I explain that the first question every dog owner needs to answer when faced with a serious dog fight is “Am I physically strong enough to deal with this situation?”

If the answer is “NO” or “I AM NOT SURE”, then they need to go get help, or if help is not close by they, unfortunately, need to let the dogs fight it out. The bad thing with two large pit bulls is this may end badly because one of the dogs could be killed. As terrible as that is, it's better than the two of them turning and redirecting on her.

Don't for a second think this could not happen with any number of large breed dogs. It is most definitely not a breed-specific phenomenon that can only happen with pit bulls.

This brings us to her second problem, proper management. Once dogs like this have fought, the odds of training them not to fight is probably not going to happen.

The solution is to only allow one dog at a time to be loose in the house. This means the second dog is in a sturdy dog crate or a dog kennel. The key here is this needs to happen for the rest of these dog's lives.

The second thing the woman should consider is to train her dogs to wear a sturdy muzzle. She first needs the correct muzzle. She also needs to learn how to put that muzzle on the dog so it will not come off. When muzzles are not sized correctly or not put on the dog correctly, they will come off. We already know what happens then.

If she is not comfortable with her ability to deal with muzzles then she needs to either walk the dogs separately by themselves or rehome one of the dogs.

I have owned dozens of dogs for over 50 years. I can't even count the number of dogs I have had in my life that I could never allow them to be together. My solution was management. 99% of the time, I simply had one-on-one time with the dogs by themselves.

Unfortunately, I often have to tell new dog trainers that just because they want to do something, or they want to live in a certain way with their dog (or dogs) doesn't mean it's possible.

Important Note About Dominant Dog Collars

When a DDC is sized correctly and used correctly, they are an excellent substitute for a prong collar. Not because prong collars should never be used, they too have a place in training some dogs.

However, prong collars on reactive dogs often become a problem. They overstimulate the dog and once again, could cause redirected aggression. A dominant dog collar on these dogs is often a better solution.

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About Author

Ed Frawley

Ed Frawley is the founder and owner of Leerburg.com and has been producing professional dog training videos since 1982. Over the years, he has collaborated with some of the most respected dog trainers in the country. His body of work includes 194 full-length training DVDs and 95 comprehensive online courses. In addition to these, he has produced and published over 4,000 short training videos available free of charge on Leerburg.com and across the company's social media platforms.

Ed and his wife, Cindy—also a professional dog trainer—bred working-line German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois for more than 35 years. Although they retired from breeding in 2009, they had produced over 300 litters by that time.

Ed also served as a K9 handler for the local sheriff's department for 10 years, working in partnership with the West Central Drug Task Force. During his time in law enforcement, he handled multiple narcotics and patrol dogs and conducted more than 1,000 K9 searches. If you want to learn more about Ed, read about his history here.

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