Thanks for the help... - Page 3

Deanna, read what Jim said again. He is 110% right.  Right now the nicest thing you can do for him is toughen up. If you had a 15 year old son that punched his teacher in the face, what would you do?

Second, raymond, I respectfully but strongly disagree. Sport training is NOT what this dog and handler need. There are a lot of great SchH trainers out there with little to no experience resolving aggression in social situations. THIS is what they need right now.

Deanna, to get Prince to tolerate people (tolerate, not like!) you have to get him around people under the watchful eye of a professional trainer experienced in aggression. However, you cannot get him around people if he is a danger, so what you must do is get yourself a basket style muzzle and get him used to it. Feed him treats out of it and make it a good experience for now.

He needs to understand that your command is the word of God to him and if you tell him to sit, he needs to remain sitting whether he wants to or not. Your obedience is your key to containing his aggression, and he needs to comprehend that if he lunges at someone for no reason YOU are going to bring the hammer down. (figuratively!)

If you want to PM me your number I'll call you tonight. I'm still planning on heading out your way whenever my female's hormones cooperate.

Ruger, the main problem here is your trainers. You could not give a proper correction from five feet away and the excersise itself seems idiotic. Dunno about the first post dissappearing, this whole place seems to be messed up. I'd love to see the dog sometime, but your too far from me here in Indiana. I think if you find a better trainer you will have better results. And I agree with Jim, a strong correction was required and at the speed of light. Also you may need better instruction on how to use the prong collar. Moons.

Has anyone taught you how to properly correct you dog with a prong collar?  The correction should be a surprise and get a reaction from your dog.  For aggression the correction should come across your body with both hands if needed and be very fast.  The dog should be caught off guard and if he yelps you did it correctly.  You may need to turn to the right and put your hip into, like you were swinging a tennis racket or baseball bat.   In this case I would apply this correction several times in a row with a firm "NO" or "knock it off."  After the correction the dog should be surprised by your firm reaction and stop this behavior. 

You need to realize the correction you are giving the dog is designed to immediately stop this behavior and to also stop the dog from doing it again in the future.  The correction should be a lesson to the dog to never do this again.  This is much fairer and more humane than a thousand nagging little corrections or pops on the prong collar.  Once you master this you will be on your way to training your dog.

Jim

Wow, Donald, where did you train? We do "dog over dog" here too, and I've never really seen it used elsewhere. Works damn well, too!

Why do you feel he needs to be OK with being touched over and over again by a stranger? It's not necessary.

What happened to you finding that working dog or SchH trainer to help you in private lessons...or weren't you able to find anyone?

     FYI.....    I have stayed in contact with Prince's breeder since we brought this guy home at 8 weeks. She is  aware of the problem I have had with Prince. When Prince first showed signs of stranger aggression, the breeder said I could return him for another puppy if I wanted. I explained to her that I would not bring him back. The breeder has invited me to her kennel to evaluate and work with Prince. She is a good 7 hour drive from me. I want to work with a professional trainer, rather than a breeder.....I feel that at this point the breeder has been fair with me in every way.     

                                                                           Deanna aka.. Ruger1  
                                                           
                                                                           
        

Totally agree with there, Deanna. Lot of breeders think they are dog trainers because the do a little schutzhund. You need a real trainer specializing in aggression.

KC,

Normally I'd agree with you but in this case I'd think Mittlewest would have access to some good and credible trainers.

Donald Deluxe, Slamdunc, KCzaja........I hear you loud and clear. I know you are right....

Moons.You are right.,I do not think I am using the collar correctly.

Donald and Kczaja,
When I proof my long down, I use two dogs.  I take the dog who is being proofed and place it in a "platz" in a field.  I then take the second dog and heel around and over the first dog.  I throw a toy past the downed dog and allow on the second dog to retrieve it.  I will do a complete obedience session over the downed dog and reward and play with the second dog very energetically.  The downed dog is not allowed to move and I try to tempt him by throwing the ball across his feet and the second dog runs practically over the first dog.  

Once I finish, I release the downed dog and just reward and play for about 10 minutes.  I do this especially before the BH or a SchH trial.    I will also do this periodically just to reinforce the down under severe distractions. 

Jim