I have an 85-lb shelter dog who loves to go after ever cat, squirrel, and yappy dog he sees. I use a prong collar but at my age of 31, I find it painful to control him. Ideas?

Question

Hello,

    I have a dog that has the largest prey drive and the strongest body I have ever had to deal with. He wants to go after every cat, squirrel and small yappy barking growling dog. He pulls all of the time not some of the time even with the prong collar on. I am not strong enough to hold him next to me and walk by me as I have buldging disks in my neck and back. When I try to resist him it hurts me.

    I have tried the halti collar and it did not work. I also have the gentle leader which works a lot better but he still pulls and when he saw a cat in the bushes he hurt himself yanking on the halter really hard.

    I am 51 years of age, have pulmonary hypertension, 103 pounds and 5 foot 2. My dog is 85 pounds and big and long. I adopted my dog from the shelter last month. The shelter policy was no leash walking because they were not set up for it. The only thing we could do is visit in a room.

    I had no idea that he was a prey dog. He wants to go after the animals I mentioned. I can only let him walk in front of me and I lean back while he pulls me with the choke collar, when we walk. I can tell him to sit when walking after he sees a prey animal but he is still excited. Also I can tell him to sit in general when we are walking and heel him butt he never will stop pulling me, it is a no win situation with he and I. I would never ever get any where down the road, he would not get to use the bathroom and I would be hours fooling around if I told him to sit so he would not pull anymore. I have a shock collar that I bought last month but have been waiting to use it.

    My question is this:  I see you have a collar that is called the dominant collar, will this keep him from pulling somehow? Or is it just for aggression? Would I have to pull the collar up every couple of feet to get him to see the message that I don't want him to pull?

    Thanks,
Sheryl

Accepted Answer

The dominant dog collar is not going to help with pulling. The dominant dog collar is for aggression/excitement but if you have neck and back problems you are not going to be able to use it properly It seems to me like the shelter didn’t do a very good match, I’m not sure this is the right dog for you. This dog is going to hurt you and/or possibly someone else.

I’m much larger than you are, with no health issues and it would be difficult for me to control an 85 pound dog under these circumstances.

This dog could probably be trained with the electric collar but he will need to be taught on leash as well, do you have anyone to help you? I can recommend equipment and resources, but unless you can physically handle this dog I’m afraid I don’t know what to suggest.

If you do have someone to help you this dog needs to have his entire life structured, Start with our groundwork program and Pack Structure for the Family Pet.

I’d also recommend Basic Obedience and Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs.

Honestly, if you were a neighbor, friend or family member of mine I’d recommend you find a dog that has a more manageable size and temperament for your situation. I’m afraid you are going to be hurt.

Cindy Rhodes