Great pictures, Anne! I'll have to save those for the other forums I frequent where not everyone likes prong collars. I wish there was something that showed potential neck damage on a head halter. I personally think a Halti/Gentle Leader is fine for a low drive dog who is not going to charge after a squirrel or other dogs or people or whatever, but then again, why would you need one in that case? You sure shouldn't correct a dog on a head halter.

Flat collar: You'll hurt the dog trying to correct hard enough on a flat collar to make the dog mind unless the dog is a super soft dog... flat collars are for times when either you want a dog to pull, want the dog to have freedom, or have a dog who is trained pretty well n will now listen regardless of what collar they are wearing.

Choke Chain: IMO for hard/aggressive dogs who only get more worked up by a prong collar... the choker will bring them down in drive, a prong can often cause aggression to escalate. For your dog, I would never use a choker.

Prong Collar: Every dog should be trained/proofed with a prong, a prong collar can be used both motivationally and as a correction tool.... but I don't care for compulsion training, I wouldn't use a prong on a dog that didn't understand the command. Teach the dog the meaning of the word "heel", THEN correct the dog for not walking in heel position. The only time I deviate from that training idea is with a dog who lacks food or toy/prey drive and needs compulsion and praise to learn. I am not a fan of the "keep changing directions and jerk the prong" method.

E-Collar: If a dog has issues with off leash OB, I love the e-collar, it's probably the least intense and most controlled and consistent correction you can give a dog, n you can reach the dog no matter where he is as long as he's within range.

Just my opinion <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Happy training!

I use choke chains and martingales on our dogs because my parents won`t allow me to use a prong. All three of our dogs are pretty soft. The boxer takes only a tiny pull on the chain to get him to stop pulling and he needs only soft pops to correct his OB. Our lab on the other hand is very soft temperament wise but physically his neck is so muscular he needs a pretty hard pop to feel it. He kind of gagged after some really hard corrections so I`m sure it can cause damage when you pop them hard. I have switched to a martingale that I can adjust while it`s on him so I can put it higher on his neck where he feels it a little better. Our border collie mix is very sensitive to collar corrections due to abuse by a previous owner so he only is worked on a flat collar with a light pop and occasionally needs to be tapped with a toe when he gets "locked" onto prey(small dogs,quail,mice, etc...). I`ve tried a prong with Einstein(lab) and he does really well. It`s like he finally gets what I`m telling him but my parents put their foot down with the prong even after seeing how well he did with it and how happy he was. That Triple crown collar didn`t do anything but irritate his neck. Choke chains are okay if you don`t have any choice and you have a soft dog but if your dog needs anything past a very light pop a prong is definitely the way to go.

My Chow is also aggressive and I use a dominent dog collar as well but it does not seem to curb his aggression. He will stop at that time but never hesitates to do it again later.

When we started obedience training we we're only allowed to use a flat collar. I think the best all-in method is simply good sound training however; we started using a prong while on lead and it worked very well. We would put the collar on him and he would get excited because he knew he was going out. Now we use the e-collar but we try to put it on way before we use it so he doesn't get collar wise. I think the prong is an excellent tool and would not take my dog out without a prong or e-collar.

My experience in dog=dog aggression is limited to this one dog, which we have had for about 9 years. The DD collar really did change her behavior, as did desensitivization with treats. After about 3 months of concentrated training, she will ignor most dogs. I put her in a down-stay whenever any dog approaches. However, she will still go for certain dogs if they are very close to her. I can usually avoid this, but if the elevator door opens and another building dog is standing outside the door, she still goes ballistic.

Constant reinforcement of obedience is absolutley required for this dog.

Bruno is not aggressive toward other dogs, as of yet. He is aggressive around food or when laying down. We leave him alone when he's eating but he likes to lay on the cool floor of the kitchen. We'll go in the kitchen for kitchen purposes and he will stand and growl/bare his teeth. If we go in and pass him or turn our attention to something else he stops. He's like this around his pas as well. He'll quiet down allot faster for me than anyone else in the family. He'd be an excellent dog if we could get him to stop his aggression toward the family. Any suggestions

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Bruno is not aggressive toward other dogs, as of yet. He is aggressive around food or when laying down. We leave him alone when he's eating but he likes to lay on the cool floor of the kitchen. We'll go in the kitchen for kitchen purposes and he will stand and growl/bare his teeth. If we go in and pass him or turn our attention to something else he stops. He's like this around his pas as well. He'll quiet down allot faster for me than anyone else in the family. He'd be an excellent dog if we could get him to stop his aggression toward the family. Any suggestions

I train pet dogs (not working dogs). That said: I think you have a problem in the making that has to be corrected immediately. Not even in the making..... you have an aggression problem. Not knowing your pack leader abilities or practices (but suspecting that they need work), I would suggest that you order the Dominant Dog DVD right away, and in the meantime listen to "Groundwork to Becoming your Puppy's Pack Leader," and read Ed Frawley's dominant dog articles.

http://www.leerburg.com/301.htm
http://www.leerburg.com/domdogdirectory.htm
http://www.leerburg.com/dogtrainingpodcasts.htm


JMO.

P.S. You don't have children around this dog, right?

I second Connie's remarks. Our dog ran things for a long time, and chows are just known to be difficult. Our dog does not guard her food, but when younger, she did once nip our daughter when she approached the dog while she was eating. If the dog is growling now, at 20 months, you have to assume she has the potential to move on to biting shortly. There is a lot of material on this site for dealing with dominance that you really should read.

My dog wears both while training a flat collar and a prong,
I use the prong for corrections, and the flat when he is
doing bite work it is easier to wear two then keep changing them,even soft dogs do ok on a prong it depends how much force you use, a snall tug, would be a lot better once/or twice with a prong, then a hundred million hanging tugs on a choke or flat, try it if she becomes overly submissive then go back to flat, nothing wrong with trying, make sure you don't use a lot of force in your corrections just test the reponse, and see how she reacts. I use to have a tug of war with training but now the prong has changed all that.
Can you imagine trying to choke correct a 38 kg male?
and you only way 63kg yourself.

Older, shoot, he's been growling at us since he hit 4 months old. We have the dominant dog DVD, DD collar and have seen a behaviorist. Basically what we've been told is to try and re-direct him prior to growling. This works for the most part but some times it takes longer, mostly at night. He used to growl and approach us when we got off the couch, that was around 6-8 months old. He went after my 15y old daughter and I got to him first and convinced him otherwise. For awhile we would get his attention and have him come to us before getting off the couch and he'd be fine. Now his aggression in this manner has ceased.

I tried using the DD collar with a drag leash I bought from Leerburg. He ate the drag leash even at 1 foot long. I use the DD collar in the manner described in the DVD. It works for the moment but has not stopped him from doing it again. This is what I'm hoping to accomplish. It may never go away and we may just have to work around it but; this problem keeps him from being considered a part of the family by everyone but me. He's my boy and I can get him to do whatever I want but it would be nicer without the aggression. Any other thoughts?

DZ