Do you think walking him with just the dominant dog collar would be better for him than the prong?

 Quote: Steph Schneider

Do you think walking him with just the dominant dog collar would be better for him than the prong?

Have you read this? http://leerburg.com/746.htm



Please read it so you know what the DD collar is.

I have read that before, I have looked through a lot of the articles on this site. I bought the DD collar as a back up for the prong (like it says to do on the website). I have heard that using a prong can make dog aggressive dogs even worse, but I thought it would be o.k. to use since he doesn't lunge.

"This collar was designed to be used on handler aggressive or dog aggressive dogs. Using a prong collar on these kinds of dogs often over stimulates the dog and makes them hectic and more aggressive. Using a dominant dog collar correctly (with emphasis on correctly) on the same dog takes drive and fight out of the dog."

I worry that a correction with the DD collar would be too much. Am I correct in thinking this? His aggression towards other dogs probably started out fear based, but I have never seen him act fearful around other dogs, just dominate. His body language shows no fear, just a dominant attitude.

I have been looking into local trainers so that I can get some hands on instruction. The problem is, I am being laid off at the end of this month, so I need to wait until I get another job to spend that kind of money.

If you let him look at the other dog and then prong him, yeah, you can escalate his aggression. You need to work on him keeping his attention on you and give him an absolute obedience command like sit that he will not break. Work on it at a distance from other dogs where he is comfortable and as he gets better with it, you can probably decrease that distance.

 Quote: steph schneider

I have read that before, I have looked through a lot of the articles on this site. I bought the DD collar as a back up for the prong (like it says to do on the website). I have heard that using a prong can make dog aggressive dogs even worse, but I thought it would be o.k. to use since he doesn't lunge.

"This collar was designed to be used on handler aggressive or dog aggressive dogs. Using a prong collar on these kinds of dogs often over stimulates the dog and makes them hectic and more aggressive. Using a dominant dog collar correctly (with emphasis on correctly) on the same dog takes drive and fight out of the dog."

I worry that a correction with the DD collar would be too much. Am I correct in thinking this? His aggression towards other dogs probably started out fear based, but I have never seen him act fearful around other dogs, just dominate. His body language shows no fear, just a dominant attitude.

In your situation, you are only using the dominant dog collar as a back up for the prong, in case it comes apart. You are not (nor should you be) giving a correction with this type of collar.

re the prong and correcting your dog for staring, you first need to work on his reactivity by desensitizing him to other dogs, at a distance, using positive reinforcement. A good command to teach him (I think you are working on this?) is 'Look' or 'Watch Me', which teaches the dog to look at your face. Start out in an area of no distraction (ie inside), and work up to higher distractions (outside, but no major distractions). As his focus on you improves, you can increase the distractions.(USE REALLY GOOD TREATS!)

This is something that you will work on continually; this is not an exercise that you will teach the dog, and then he will just stop staring at other dogs/people. Desensitizing takes time, but you will see results from it.

For now, on your walks, keep him moving along and walk him with the prong collar. This will give you the control you need to keep him moving. Put yourself between him and another dog or person. Don't worry if he's not focused on you yet; it will take time for him to get to the point that he can focus with another dog present.

If you feel the need to redirect him physically, an effective means is to give him a good nudge with your leg or hip. I use a lot of body language with my big dog to redirect her; it's more effective than my voice, and she understands easily what I mean when I give her a nudge to get her moving and focused back on me.

Use the prong collar to control him, not correct him at this point.