I know Ed is not real fond of dogs who are fear aggressive, but I sure wish he or Ellis would do a DVD on just them. I have one and I have been using cc on him with a lot of success, ,but we still have issues. I have watched the aggressive dog video and I just don't think it applies to my dog. He is not a dominant dog, at all. I am now doing the marker training video, hopefully that will make a difference too. I just am confused on the ghosts in his head, will aversive treatments like prong collars and ecollars help or just make him even more fearful. Very frustrating......

There is more than one way to deal with fear aggression. Some go the aversive route and teach the dog that their reactions are unacceptable. Once the reaction is not allowed many dogs will relax and learn that they are fine. You can also go the positive route and teach the dog that it doesn't need to be afraid.

Both ways work. One or the other normally works better for a given dog.

Yes, and IMHO a fear-aggressive dog is a candidate for desensitizing.

The links below are sometimes about a fear-aggressive dog, sometimes about a generally dog-reactive dog, and so on. The steps described remain the same.

I'm glad you're marker training. For me, marker training with HV rewards is the perfect activity to pursue OUTSIDE THE DOG'S REACTIVE ZONE. (You'll see what that is in the links below.)

Here is a quote (me) from an earlier post:

"The gist for me is working with the dog, upbeat sessions with HV rewards, just outside her trigger range so she can focus on me instead of the trigger and let the trigger become mere background noise (desensitized to it). There are many ways to set this up, and there are lots more details about inserting myself between the trigger and the dog, starting the work in a completely distraction-free area to have a basis before taking it "on the road," teaching a simple focus command at home first, and much more, including success stories."


http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=28694&page=2#312269

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=24037&page=3#249885

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=24232&page=2#251710

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=24388&page=1#253391


ETA
"Outside the trigger/reactive zone" is different for each dog.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (11/13/2016 02:42 PM)
Edit reason: ETA

My dog is filled with fear. He would be dangerous if he was bigger and more brave.

I found the best help for him has been to just have him really, really well trained. I always have treats of some sort in my pocket, even though he is pretty old, now. I reinforce the behavior that I want, constantly, but randomly.

For my dog, being given a command puts him in "professional mode".

It took a long time.

 Quote: Betty Landercasp

My dog is filled with fear. He would be dangerous if he was bigger and more brave.

I found the best help for him has been to just have him really, really well trained. I always have treats of some sort in my pocket, even though he is pretty old, now. I reinforce the behavior that I want, constantly, but randomly.

For my dog, being given a command puts him in "professional mode".

It took a long time.

Really good reminder, Betty! "Professional mode" is great.

And always, a dog who is doing what he's told to do is not doing the undesired action.

Obedience proofed against distractions can be HUGE in controlling many different temperaments.

Ditto to all the great comments above. Our dog was also a reactive mess when she was younger and we found there wasn't any single magic bullet that fixes it. With us, our success centered around lots of obedience training, introduction to a high quality prong collar, and as much desensitization opportunities and training as we could give her. Those links Connie provided are priceless and there are more if you do a search for thread featuring desensitizing your dog.

The obedience training is paramount because it disciplines your dog to pay attention to you, even with loads of distractions like barking, yapping dogs. Gives them something to focus on. The prong collar gives you leverage if you need to apply corrections, if done properly. If used correctly, it can be a very positive tool even though it's connotation may appear negative. Our dog loves to get her prong collar on because she perceives a fun activity is about to take place. It just gives you the equivalent of power steering if you do need to apply a correction, something that should lessen over time. Finally, the desensitizing is something that just takes lots of practice and perseverance. Every day and every encounter is a training opportunity and your job is to create as many of them as you can.

Good luck!

Just my 2 cents, added to all the great advice here.

Now granted, I don't know you at all. So I could be way off the mark here.

What I look at frequently when one of my own dogs misbehaves, I do a mental check to make sure it's not me or whoever he is with that he is reacting to. Very often it is a reaction to who he is with, and not necessarily his environment (sometimes it's both).

Be aware of your own feelings when your training, frustration/anxiety can be felt through the leash too, it goes both ways.