My 18 month old female is so dog aggressive I cannot control her with a prong collar or a shock collar. What can I do?

Question

Below I have put my thoughts in email after reading your section on dominant dogs. I would appreciate your thoughts and ideas. I broke my comments into sections. My dominant dog:

1. Bedroom: My dog slept in the bedroom for first 6 months She is now 18 months and has been sleeping kenneled for the last 12 months downstairs away from master bedroom. She is not allowed to be in our bedroom.

2. Toys: She will 'drop' a toy if I command her to. She used to fight for it. This seems to be better.

3. Food: She eats with other dog and is extremely aggressive with him should he get near her bowl. Feeding together - good/bad idea? Interesting behavior: these two dogs were separated for six weeks this summer. She is a good eater. This summer she would not finish her food. Showed little interest?

4. Petting my dog: Petting is on her terms, (not good). She wants pets when I am petting the other dog. She does not come for pets like most dogs. She does not wag her tail and enjoy pets. She seems to 'take' them. My other dog, wags tail, wiggles, & seems to enjoy pets.

5. Aggression with family and friends: Jumps on and sometimes snaps at visitors. She is reprimanded. I usually keep her on a leash when visitors are expected so I can control her. But I do not see hackles, and stiffened tail. She barks when doorbell rings. (Learned from other dog.)

6. Doors and stairways: I am teaching her about this daily. It will take me 5 minutes to get down a flight of stairs as I work her and tell her 'get back'. We get to bottom of stairwell and she is put in a sit. I struggle to keep her there. Finally I get out the door and then she follows. This is a battle but I am CONSISTENT now and she gets it.

7. Adult dog aggressive: Incredibly dog aggressive. I am not strong enough to alpha roll without getting bitten. I do not do this. I have a prong collar and I have a shock collar I use with her. I can string her up, but not strong enough to hold her there & mean it.

Most notably is her aggressive reaction to other dogs:
1. My dog sees another dog. (Other dog can be on other side of busy street)
2. My dog becomes visibly agitated. (Hackles go up, tail curls, accompanied by whimpers.)
3. If other dog is near, she begins barking and 'shrieking' for lack of better word. I cannot control her with prong collar or shock collar. She has literally gone 'over the edge' as her reaction has moved beyond my controls. This reaction will literally stop anyone within earshot. When I correct this behavior publicly I cannot tell you how many times i have been approached and reprimanded by someone who tells me I am abusive to my dog. In their eyes, a sharp pull on the prong collar is ?abusive.?

This dog is female. She is not spayed. She is one year, 8 months old. She is Australian cattle dog. What can I do with her? Have I made too many mistakes to correct?

R. Cooper

Accepted Answer

You have not made enough hard corrections. If you had, your dog would listen to you. This is not rocket science. The dog either respects your position as pack leader or it does not. If it does not mind you when you tell it NO - then it does not respect the consequences.

Your dog has learned to work through your corrections. It is going to be very difficult for you to solve this problem.

Disregard the people who come up to you. Ask them if they would like to take the leash and walk the bitch over near another dog. You have not read my web site on overly aggressive dogs. An ALPHA roll is dangerous and foolish. I explain this on my web site.