Headcollars - Page 2

Instead of using a head collar, why not spend more time working on shaping focus? I don't like head collars because I want my dog to choose to look at me - I think that choosing to do so teaches the dog better than a head collar forcing them to look at me. I sit outside a dog park and practice focus, using either a clicker or marker word and a reward (food or ball). He is very aggressive with other male dogs. I have also practiced focused heeling around another male dog, using a prong for (strong) corrections for even a glance or ear twitch towards the other dog and his ball for a reward for focus. If you can't get any focus at all, I would think that 1) you are starting too close to other dogs and 2) you did not give a strong enough correction. Start far enough away that the dog has the ability to be in the right and doesn't get overloaded. Supposedly some people have worked on dog aggression using pure positive, but I prefer my dog to know that there are consequences for unwarranted aggression.

I'm not working around other dogs at all just yet, except maybe a couple in the kennel runs while I work her on leash in the nearby field. She's okay with that, as long as the other dogs are quiet.

When she's turned out in the runs or in the indoor kennel, she goes NUTS the minute she sees another dog move: jumps 4 feet in the air (no, NOT kidding, I swears she's part kangaroo!) and barks!

Let's just say training her is going to be a challenge! 

"I suspect 'Fry, like myself, has a slightly different perpective because we are talking 'all breeds' and not only highly reactive GSDs."

I train all breeds. Not one of the dogs I tried a headcollar on was a GSD, and not one of them was highly reactive. They all freaked out.

As for headcollars being safe for leash walking, I've seen dogs hit the end of a six foot leash real hard, so snapping the head back and injuring the neck is still a risk I would never take with my dog or a client's dog.

If you want the dog to voluntarily focus with high distraction you need a super high value treat or toy and even this will not work with some dogs if they get distracted enough. Also it will usually not give you a reliably safe dog if the dog is real committed to being dog aggressive. Slamdunc is right, you need some serious correction so the dog learns that ignoring other dogs is his only choice. I wish there was a nicer way to do this but making nice with a seriously dog aggressive dog (not the same thing as unsocialized or scared) just about guarantees that someone will get hurt real bad.
 

I assume dogs with those types of collars have no training and I try to keep my dogs away.

Those collars might help prevent the dog from lunging, but do nothing to deal with the underlying issue of your dog's aggression .

I'm not an all-positive trainer, BUT if I can find a way to reduce the amount and strength of corrections needed to achieve results, I will definitely give it a try.

I do use a prong collar on her (bought it before I bought the Halti).

She responds well to both treats and toys as long as there are no distractions. We're still working on getting her to surrender the toy/ball!

NO Headcollars...Use a Prong Collar to Train and Correct...the...Use a Muzzle to Prevent...PERIOD!

how about electric collar with multiple settings (vibrate to low, med, high, shock)?....I use vibrate setting on mine when she gets too ball possessive by ramming a dog who actually caught a ball...it redirects her effectively at the right moment and saves me from screaming commands and trying to get to her..

.......
I was going through my dog boxes (I have 2) since we moved 5 months ago some items unfortunately are still in boxes so anyways, i was sorting my doggy boxes and placing items into doggy cabinets which i have 2 floor cabinets and 2 wall and i bet i have at least 3 grand worth of stuff in there, from fur savers, chokers, prongs, leather leashes, remote for old electric collar, extra collars for electric fence, broken electric fence collars, extra batteries, brushes (I have 7 different brushes) plus 2 furmigators, shampoos, sprays, creams, toys......i mean these dogs have more accessories than I do....it was actually little shocking to see it all sorted and seeing it all at once, i had no idea how much stuff we  (well mostly I) accumulated for dogs..no wonder i get b*tched at for spending $ on dogs....and all that does not even include stuff thats already out there for day to day use...

People need to be very careful when using a prong or E collar for dog aggression.  A pain induced correction form a prong or E collar can cause the aggression to escalate and some dogs will redirect to the handler.  If you are unsure how your dog will react to a prong or an E collar correction while it is in a rage I would advise being very careful.  Most dogs will not redirect or escalate their aggression but the ones that do will certainly leave you with your hands full and a worse problem.  

With out seeing the dog or working the dog I would be very careful in recommending a prong or Ecollar for dog aggression.  I use both, but I have a good read on the dog first and a lot of experience using them.  The dog is introduced to the collar and used well before being put into that situation.  With a strong aggressive dog that is dog aggressive I probably would not use either.  It really depends on the dog and it's reaction to a hard correction in an elevated state of mind.  

SS,
You can train a "watch me" command and focused heeling positevly and have an acceptable behavior for the dog to perform.  If the dog disobeys the command then correct but not in teaching the command.  You can also have a "leave it" command and redirect the dog back into a heel.  All of this has to occur before trying to modify the dog aggressive behavior and the obedience training has to be very reliable.  For a weak dog or a soft dog that will not redirect back to the handler, dog aggression can be stopped pretty easily.  

This is not the sort of dog that goes into a rage on seeing another dog. It's strictly prey drive: very intense focus with the ears and eyes, and pulling towards the other dog. She bit my male on the hind leg when I tried to introduce them without giving the slightest warning: no bared teeth, no raised hackles. It looked like she was going to do the usual butt-sniffing thing, then WHAM!

Needless to say, the next time she gets that close to another dog, she'll be wearing a muzzle. 

She's not the sort that's going to come back up the leash at you, thank god. A couple from my schutzhund club that have a dog training business worked her around two of their dogs on a prong, and she put up with their corrections without getting upset.
 

SS,
That sounds pretty fixable.  My comments regarding the prong and E collar were geared towards folks reading that may have an issue but lack the experience to correct or handle it themselves.