Hi all,
I just wanted to share a little success with my dogs that is making me pleased as punch. A quick background- my 2 dogs both have serious dog aggression issues. I've tried it all, with no success and many bloody battles. It got to the point that I avoided walking them for fear something would happen while on a walk. but recently i've been using the e-collar to correct them when they show the early signs of agitation, and its working beautifully. We practice during nightly walks when we encounter other dogs in yards. Another place they have had problems is when we sit on the front porch and someone walks a dog by the house. They go ballistic, and I have to hold them back.

So after last night's walk, I sat on the porch with Gracie, a 4 yr old boerboel. Anna, a 5 yr old himalayan mix dog, was in the house with the door open (but behind the glass storm door) with a clear level view of the street. I saw a couple coming with a dog and prepared for the worst. Gracie was laying down and noticed the dog but then looked away. I couldnt see Anna from where I sat, but I didnt hear so much as a peep from her. I heard one of the people comment to the other person: "Woah, theres two of them" (probably realising there were 2 very big dogs). Gracie put her ears forward and started to stare, at which point I calmly said NO and she looked away. They were then in the front of the house, maybe 15 feet from Gracie and I on the porch, when the little dog started peeing in the grass. Still gracie stayed calm, barely paid attention to them. The woman called out to me, "Wow! Look how calm your dogs are! Dont they care?" At which point, I said "actually they are quite aggressive with other dogs but we are working on ignoring them." She said "Well theyre doing great." and kept walking. I got up to look at anna, and she was still laying behind the glass door, kind of unsure of herself, to which I made a big fuss and praised the heck out of her.

I guess I underestimate how much progress they have made, but when that lady made the comment, it made me realise that they have come really far. I never believed they could behave like this, and I am excited to see how things will continue to progress with more training. I am going to try to start training them to do an alternate behavior when they see another dog. Any suggestions? Maybe a Down-stay since it is hard for them and submissive? Or should I start with a "Watch (me)" command? Or maybe a sit? Thanks for any suggestions, and thanks for reading. I feel like learning dog training is a never-ending process, but every so often you need to celebrate your successes!

Regards
Lauren

Congrats!

I'd do a "watch me" command. I also recommend the booklet "Feisty Fido" by Patricia McConnell for how/why to use the command. It's usually for sale between $5 - $8.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the suggestion on the book. I will be sure to pick it up from Amazon!
I think its important now that my dogs are going into "avoidance", as Ed describes on his video, that now I shouldn't waste time, and I should begin teaching them an alternate behavior immediately. It's one thing for them to avoid looking at other dogs (what NOT to do), which of course is great, but to take it a step further and teach them to watch me when they see another dog (what TO do instead), would be even better. The way I see it with e-collars, you can't just stim them for doing something wrong and then not give the dogs instructions for what they should be doing...thats not fair. Like in the DVD, when Ed is demonstrating the COME command, he doesnt just say NO and stim the dog and just leave it at that, he continues to tell the dog to COME. Dogs, like people, need to communicated with. So with aggression, I'm thinking its only half of the process to tell them what they shouldnt be doing (looking, getting worked up at the sight of another dog). The other half is to tell them what they should be doing. Often for me, that comes in the form of calm, quiet, verbal praise when we walk by other dogs and my dogs ignore them. I'm not sure if "not looking" is considered an alternate behavior or not, but I dont think it could hurt to teach my dogs to watch me as soon as they spot another dog, which will take quite a bit of work. They can WATCH when in the house, or when on a walk in a sit position, but I cant seem to get them to watch WHILE walking. maybe that is a question for a different section of the forum. Maybe its addressed it the book! Just thinking out loud,

Lauren