I have a 2 year old Aussie mix who has some fear issues toward people. we have done a lot of work and on leash he will ignore people unless they make a move towards him. Movement is his nemesis however. Off leash, anything that moves he will aggressively run after, which limits most sport activities I can enter with him. I keep considering an e collar, but I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Thoughts? Thanks, barb

 Quote: barbara costello

I have a 2 year old Aussie mix who has some fear issues toward people. we have done a lot of work and on leash he will ignore people unless they make a move towards him. Movement is his nemesis however. Off leash, anything that moves he will aggressively run after, which limits most sport activities I can enter with him. I keep considering an e collar, but I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Thoughts? Thanks, barb

Hey Barb! Simple answer is if you can't control him off lead he should never be off lead.

What do you do when he starts to go after movement/distraction?

Ideally you need to correct it the split second you see any form of his noticing what triggers him.

It may be something as simple as a head turn, the ears coming up or even just a stare at the distraction.

The earlier in the cycle of the see, stalk, chase, catch, kill, the better it is.

If you wait till he starts barking or lunging then it will be harder to control.

Do you understand marker training?

Most here on LB use it because it works and there are may dvds offered here on LB.

I greet absolutely no benefit mentioning them but after 60+ yrs of training and the last 12-13 yrs with marker training I can attest that nothing touches it and both you and the dog will enjoy it.

Plus, don't be shy about asking questions here.

Lots of excellent advice here on marker training plus more in general on dog training.

Hi Barbara. Listen to Bob. Never off leash - unless... But when do we know when a dog is off-leash proof 100%???

Even if he is trained very well, obeys your recalls perfectly, you can't ever foresee what will happen n an unexpected and mostly sudden situation.

The trainer I had in the first three months tuaght them all the sit and down stays off-leash. I'm really shivering thinking back of what could have happened. I never again take my dogs on walks off-leash. Within a secure, restricted áreas - yes. But on walks everything is too unpredictible.

If you haven't marker trained your dog yet, (sorry, don'tknow), you'll run a great risk. Even if on-leash, marker training will be absolutely necessary. Do work on this and don't try to use what the dog has understood in your training space at home too rapidly in an área with too many or even high distractions.
I've gone through all those mistakes too.

Always ask here, when you have doubts. I've had DVDs and courses which I love so much, but when it comes to the comportement of a dog I found the greatest help here from Bob and various of regular and experienced members. I wish you all good luck.

Hi Barbara and welcome to the forum.

I'm not sure using an E-collar is a good idea if you haven't yet laid down a good foundation of obedience, behavior, and marker training. Our dog was highly reactive also and I can't tell you how happy I am to use the work "was". At two years old, Bailey, a Malinois, was a mess. She would bark and lunge like crazy at people and, especially, other dogs.

I would highly go back through the past treads on this forum dealing with marker training, applying corrections, aggressive behavior and desensitizing. There are also good, free e-articles on these topics.

With our dog, the use of the command "leave it" became a very powerful tool in shaping her behavior in situations where she wanted to react to people or other dogs. With that, however, your willingness to apply strong corrections and ability to time them correctly are very important when giving that command. At the same time, apply the principles of marker training to the use of that command, with lots of copious rewards and celebration when she succeeds in showing good behavior near other people, animals or moving objects. It takes time but if you stick to it, your dog should come around. Ours did and we thought she was the worst 2-year old dog in the world at the time.

I should clarify, I never let him off leash, but I trusted him in an dog agility trial. He was doing well in the ring, when he caught the movement of the Judge. He went after him and all our obedience training and call offs went in the toilet. He wont bite and keeps his distance when they face him. I had warned the Judge in advance that it might happen. Well, we wont be repeating that for awhile. Seems like marker training would be the way to go. The video sounds good. Thanks for suggestions and wish me luck. He is a handful

Re: eventually using an ecollar for a FAIL-SAFE recall...

Once this dog is Solid on commands & has been proofed under Distractions, there is no reason you should not introduce the ecollar to insure Fail-Safe offlead recall compliance -- Then if your beastie should suddenly rev up into High-Drive "selective deafness" mode & disregard your !COME! command, the e-stim WILL guarantee obedience ... I trained my Akita this way & she NEVER required ANY corrective stim while wearing a remote collar, after just ONE training session with it (using Ed Frawley's DVD "Remote Collar Training for Pet Owners")

http://leerburg.com/318.htm

He sounds made for herding.
Perhaps attending a herding class would give him an outlet, teach him what critters we like him to boss and push.
Not humans!

 Quote: Betty Landercasp

He sounds made for herding.
Perhaps attending a herding class would give him an outlet, teach him what critters we like him to boss and push.
Not humans!

EXCELLENT IDEA!