Should I use a prong to correct my 10 pound puppy from lunging at other dogs in class?

Question

Good morning, Cindy.

    I wanted to thank you for offering me help with my dog in the past. I have a quick question for you if you have a minute.

    I have been taking my dog to training classes, and although there's been some progress, they are very against corrections of any kind. They are 100% reward based trainers. I told my trainer that I purchased a prong collar from your site, and he was mortified. The reason I purchased it is because my dog is a little dog, and she has a bad habit of barking and lunging at other dogs if I allow it. His solution is to pull her off to the side and feed her while the other dog passes, but this unfortunately doesn't always work, and I need to be able to provide a correction if she decides the dog is more interesting than the food. My trainer believes that she does this because she is a little dog, and feels the need to "act big" around other dogs. He said some dogs never actually get much better with this kind of behavior.  I feel it is an issue, and his explanation is not good enough for me. I want a dog that I can take anywhere, and I believe every dog is trainable.

    I know that there are a lot of variables, but do you believe I should be using a prong collar on my 10lb dog to control this behavior? I've done some reading on the E-Collar and have been thinking a little about whether or not I should purchase the E-Collar DVD and learn to use it instead. I am receiving mixed advice about how to deal with the barking and lunging at strange dogs, and I could really use a little advice from someone who actually knows what she's talking about.

    Thanks Cindy. I appreciate any time you can offer.

Accepted Answer

I do not believe you should use a prong for THIS behavior and I also believe you shouldn’t be putting your dog in this situation. She’s not ready for it. If she is barking and lunging at other dogs the worst thing you can do is continue to put her in this situation. She needs to learn to listen to you under distraction and you don’t get that kind of behavior by overwhelming her in a class full of dogs. A prong collar actually makes things worse. It’s great for finesse work in obedience, or for pulling but to use it when a dog is excited/aggressive actually makes the behaviors you DON’T want worse.

If your dog is reactive to other dogs you need to work on this at a distance from other dogs. If she reacts to dogs 20 yards away, then go to a distance that she can relax and focus on you and gradually work your way closer. By doing what you have been in a class, you are actually teaching her the very behavior you want to extinguish. Engagement with you should be your goal.

If I recall your dog is a puppy, so you need to back up and start over using a strategy that isn’t based on corrections. I am all for corrections when needed, but in this situation a correction (especially with a prong) is only going to cement the idea that dogs are bad and scary because their presence means a correction.

Become a student of marker training. When your dog (AND YOU) know and understand markers you are going to be able to tell him the EXACT instant he does something correctly or just as important the exact instant he does something wrong.

Markers opens a level of communication between you and your dog that was never available when we all started training dogs many years ago. We have a free 85 Page eBook titled THE POWER OF TRAINING DOGS WITH MARKERS. It’s on the web site in the list of eBooks on my web site. This is the place to start.

I would also recommend you go to the free streaming videos on the website and watch the lecture of Michael Ellis where he talks about his philosophy of dog training. Not only will you learn a lot you will understand why we are doing a series of training DVDs with Michael.

Here is the short list I recommend to new trainers: Engagement with YOU starts here. I train all my dogs from puppies using this method.

The Power of Training Dog with Markers
The Power of Training Dogs with Food
The Power of Playing Tug with Your Dog **optional
Focused Heeling with Michael Ellis

The work in these DVDs will take you through the first 6 to 8 months of your dogs life but the foundation you established with this work will be used for the rest of your dogs life. It will give you tools to train any endeavor you care to get involved with.

Good luck,
Cindy Rhodes