May 13, 2011
My dog wouldn't go into his dog crate so I pulled him in with a prong collar. He growled so I pulled him out and jumped on top of him. Was this the right approach?
Full Question:
Ed,Quick question. I have a 9 mo GSD Male about 80 lbs. He has been great, very good with our 1 year old and very out going, has not shown signs of bad nerves, etc. Recently though he has been getting a bit possessive of his kennel I think. He has snapped at my wife twice when she has tried to reach in and pet him in his kennel and he gas growled at me twice (never snapped) and yesterday he barked and snapped at my sister when she tried to pet him when he was in his kennel. He has not showed any signs of dominance otherwise. I can take his food bowel away without a problem and he doesn't mind me taking away his toys either.
So, this morning he gave me a low growl when I was putting him away and then reached in to test him. I gave him five or six real sharp corrections with the prong collar and then pulled him out and got on top of him while telling him how bad of a dog he was.
Do you think this is the right approach? Is this something I should be worried about? Could I be doing anything better to deal with this problem? Thanks!
Zach
Ed's Answer:
I think this was exactly the wrong approach.
You should be using food to get the dog to go into the dog crate. I have this opinion on dog training – WHY USE FORCE WHEN YOU CAN USE MOTIVATION? Force is the last option.
Getting on top of a dog to dominate him is stupid and dangerous. It may work on a 1 year old puppy. But what will you do if the dog is 2 or 3 years old – mature and pissed off? It’s a great way to have your face eaten by your dog – because that’s exactly where your face is – right in his face.
I suggest that you spend some time learning how to obedience train your dog.
If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that tape you will see that my customers feel the same way.
You should be using food to get the dog to go into the dog crate. I have this opinion on dog training – WHY USE FORCE WHEN YOU CAN USE MOTIVATION? Force is the last option.
Getting on top of a dog to dominate him is stupid and dangerous. It may work on a 1 year old puppy. But what will you do if the dog is 2 or 3 years old – mature and pissed off? It’s a great way to have your face eaten by your dog – because that’s exactly where your face is – right in his face.
I suggest that you spend some time learning how to obedience train your dog.
If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that tape you will see that my customers feel the same way.
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