I do not feel that I am in the same league as some of you that are giving great advise here. But I have had really great luck with the remote coller and it has been much more humane than-"YANK & CRANK." my boy responds to it. He does not respond or respect 1-7 leash corrections with or without a prong coller-very hard dog. I do not like doing it as much as I had to. "Now that being said"-Ha Ha-getit? He respects a normal nick, just enough to see him blink a little. But if he decides to be a dink-I get respect from the 2-3 seconds of the continuous button-then he's good to go.I have only had to do that twice. Like Ed say's-One hard correction is better than a thousand nagging ones.

BINGO, Connie & thanks, Anne -- THAT is sound advice on controlling dog-aggro in a powerful breed...

For handlers who lack the physical strength to administer an effective correction with a dominant dog collar and/or for dogs that re-direct their agitation into handler-aggro after a high level prong correction, an e-collar works VERY well for managing dog-on-dog aggression.

Dave,

You can take Mike's advice to the bank. He has been with me when I've had to deal with the same problem you have. A truly dog aggressive dog will hate ALL dogs...strays and household dogs alike. A dog aggressive dog that accepts pack members or the next door neighbor's dog is a dog with pack leader issues. Your dog will need to be led by you and shown that you are the protector of the pack as Yuko said. It can be dealt with but the correction has to be a respectable one. I use the dominant dog collar. The pinch only got me bit as the dog is pretty hard and he redirected to me.

Howard

It sounds simple (and it might not work) but maybe try rollerblading or bicycling with the dog so she's really moving fast. I've found that if they really have to concentrate on where they're going and what's coming next they're a little less likely to be distracted because they have to "keep up."

-Vanessa

Vanessa, My dog has been in full prey drive and in a nanosecond redirected to another dog. It all depends on how deep rooted the problem is. It may work on some dogs, but on others it might get you some skinned knees :-)

Howard

True!

I agree with Howard AND Mike 100%! I have learned a lot of techniques to deal with my Pit Bulls DA, and I too thought she was a truely DA animal. I am very sure part of her problem is her genetics, but she does live with another dog my male APBT, so in the end her DA really ended up a pack order issue. I retrained her at 2.5 years old from the get go. She started over in the crate, lead on in the house AT ALL TIMES, she ate in her crate. She did not get ANYTHING until she earned it. She was always given the opportunity to make the right choices, but she was always corrected when she made the wrong choices. Over a period of 6 months - during which time I injured my distal tendon and could not correct her with the force she respected, I transitioned to a remote collar....God Bless the remote collar.

Don't get me wrong, my dog now knows her place in the pack, but being a PB she just doesn't need to be around any other dogs but my male, and I will NEVER forget her genetics. When we walk I can relax now, if she sees another dog she looks to me for her guidance. She is very good around other dogs during walks for the most part, but if someone lets their dog run up on her, she gets commanded to stay and I step in front, if her drive starts to take over she gets a correction from the remote and she immediately falls in line no matter who is around.

I was the one that gained the most from this process, I would see another dog and my tension would run right down that leash and light her right up.....not anymore.

Good Luck
BTW I too went through at least 4 trainers until I found the one that really helped me...they are out there and they are worth every penny

Dave, you have some great advice here, but there are some key things that Ed covers in his video that you seem to have missed. The other trainers on here have replied to some of your concerns but I'd like to step in and highlight them for you if I may.

 Quote: dave wysocki

She's at the point where she doesn't respond to prong collar corrections. Her neck has grown thick and strong.

This can only happen if the prong collar is fitted incorrectly. It needs to be snug up under the dog's jaw. I think Yuko provided a link to the page where Ed has photos of how it should look.

 Quote: dave wysocki

She almost has to be picked up by the prong collar and held until she can't breath, that cannot be the answer.

Actually, it can and it is the answer. Just not with a prong. You need to use a dominant dog collar (nylon choke) when she is already "in drive", as Yuko and others have described. (Lift her front feet of the ground for 3 seconds until she calms down. This is the ONLY thing that worked for my fence-fighter).

 Quote: dave wysocki

I always watch her body language and I can instantly tell when she senses another dog. I give the correction anytime she starts to growl or bark at the other dog.

You aren't reading the posts. Read Yuko's post 5 more times. You are not giving the correction at the right time. Do NOT correct her with a prong collar when she starts to growl or bark. Correct her when she LOOKS at the other dog. You are waiting too long, which is another reason why your corrections aren't working. You need to use prong collar corrections BEFORE the dog is in drive, or a dominant dog collar AFTER the dog is in drive.

 Quote: dave wysocki

Until I find some new ideas, I'm afraid I'll be in the "crank and yank" training mode.

You have some great ideas here. Just read them carefully. Go back and watch Ed's Dominant and Aggressive dogs DVD. Watch the part where he takes the dog up to a fence with other dogs behind it. Notice not only HOW he corrects the dog but also WHEN he corrects it. His method works. The only thing is I WISH he would have shown how to do it with a dominant dog collar, not just a prong.

Hope this helps.

Edited by Angela Burrell (04/13/2007 01:03 PM)
Edit reason: Forgot some stuff