AboutKristen Cabe Expertise I can answer training questions, both basic and advanced, and am familiar with almost all of the methods and tools used. I am not closed-minded and do not think that one method and one tool is the best/only way to train. I answer questions with consideration to both the owner`s and the dog`s needs and abilities. I am also very knowledgeable about canine nutrition.
IF YOU HAVE A HOUSETRAINING QUESTION, PLEASE go to my web page on housetraining, located at http://housetraining.angelfire.com. If you try the suggestions there, and are still having problems, let me know.
Experience I have been training for more than five years, and studying canine nutrition for more than six years. I have taken three online veterinary assistant classes given by the local community college, and received final grades in the high 90's for all three.
We got a dog (our first) from the animal shelter in March. She's now 6 months old (and weighs about 35 pounds). My problem is that we have a dog park very near us, which she loves going to and she plays very nicely with dogs that she knows. However the minute there is a dog that she doesn't know - she becomes very aggressive, barking, baring teeth. We often intervene so that it won't become all out war and once she gets to know the other dog they play very nicely together. She also bark/growls at children/people especially when they are on her territory (she does this a lot when people she is less familiar with walk into the house) and we obviously want to stamp out any of this kind of aggression.
We bought a prong collar which we haven't used yet (as neither of us really know how to fit it properly), but we have been told that it may be better to use a choke collar as she is still young. She's already very strong and sometimes pulls when we walk which i would also like to work on.
Can you give me an opinion on choke v. prong collars? and also any suggestions as to how we can make her less aggressive towards dogs she doesn't know?
thanks,
Deborah
Answer Deborah, your dog's behavior is part of the reason I don't like dog parks. Dog parks can often teach/encourage a dog to be aggressive or dominant towards other dogs, which is, I think, what is happening with your girl. Dogs that go to the park frequently begin to view it as an extended part of their territory, and they establish a hierarchy with the dogs that they play with at the park. This can result in aggression towards 'intruders' (new dogs). Here's why; wild canines, like most wild animals, are territorial. Many live in family groups called packs. They interact with the members of their pack, but will savagely attack 'outsiders.' Sometimes outsiders will eventually be accepted as the lowest ranking member of the pack, but other times the outsider is driven off, seriously injured, and/or killed. Our companion dogs still have these pack and territorial instincts, and that is why your dog is behaving this way. The fact that she's behaving this way at such a young age bothers me. A 6 month old puppy should not be showing this degree of aggression. It's VERY important that you get on top of this NOW, as it appears you are trying to do; otherwise you could end up with a serious problem on your hands as she matures. What breed(s) is she? Do you know?
You say you intervene when she behaves this way at the dog park; could you explain exactly what happens?
As for choke collars vs. prong collars, for me there is no choice. Prong collars are MUCH safer, MUCH more humane, and MUCH easier to use than choke collars. Especially because you mentioned that she already pulls on walks makes me want to suggest the prong collar even more. Here's why:
1. A prong collar has a limited slip (like a martingale-style greyhound collar). This means that it can only tighten so far. This feature prevents the dog from having the breath choked out of him. It also prevents neck injuries that can be caused by choke chains, such as a collapsing trachea, soft tissue damage, and damage to the spine. Radiographs (X-rays) of dogs that have been trained with choke chains have shown misalignment of the cervical vertebrae, and choke chains have also resulted in injured ocular blood vessels, severely sprained necks, fainting, transient foreleg paralysis, laryngeal nerve paralysis, and hind leg ataxia.
2. A prong collar cannot be put on backwards like a choke chain can. When a choke chain is put on backwards, once it is tightened, it does not release. This means that the user is continually 'correcting' the dog even after the correction has already been given. This is not only confusing and frustrating to the dog, but it can also be very harmful. Since the collar isn't releasing, the dog has trouble getting enough oxygen and may start to cough and hack, or even pass out.
3. A prong collar does not require NEAR the amount of 'force' during a correction, in order to be effective. With a choke chain, the user has to make a very precise movement, and jerk the leash to administer a correction. With a prong, all the user has to do is usually just a flick of the wrist for training in basic obedience or for teaching good leash manners.
4. A prong collar distributes a correction evenly all the way around the dog's neck, simulating the way one dog would correct another by biting the other's neck. A choke chain has only one correction point - the ring (where it left the bruise on my leg, see below). That's why so much force is needed for a correction with a choke chain to be effective.
Before actually using a training collar on your dog, I recommend to everyone that they go to the store and try it out on themselves first – on their thigh. I did the same thing more than 3 years ago and I haven't touched a choke chain since. I was wearing shorts when I did it. I got a medium sized prong collar and fitted it to my thigh so it was snug enough not to fall off when I let go. I hooked a leash to the live ring and gave a gentle tug. Surprisingly, it left no long-term marks (just a few light pink marks that went away in the amount of time it took me to take the collar off). It also wasn't painful, even when I yanked on it a couple of times; of course, it wasn't a pleasant sensation, but it didn't hurt either. I did the same thing with the choke chain (placed correctly, in the shape of a P) on my other leg, and ended up with a nasty bruise/pinch mark where the ring of the collar was (it actually pulled some of my skin through the ring with the collar when I 'corrected' with it!). It HURT, let me tell you! That was more than 3 years ago and ever since then I vowed I would NEVER again put a choke collar on a dog!
She should wear the collar periodically throughout the day inside the house (while you're there and able to supervise), so she can get used to having it on and so she does not learn to associate it with training. After a week or so of putting it on and taking it off periodically throughout the day, you can start actually using it. Put it on her at least 15 minutes before you leave, and leave it on her at least 15 minutes after you get back.
I would recommend that you get a clicker and teach her that any time she hears it click, she gets a treat. This is SUPER easy. Several times a day, when she isn't paying attention to you, click the clicker and give her a treat (a very small treat - I like to use Pup-per-oni broken into pea-sized pieces, or Bil-Jac liver treats broken in half). Repeat several times until she's just sitting there looking at you and waiting for you to do it again. Stop at that point, and repeat later, when she's not paying attention to you anymore. It shouldn't take more than a day for her to catch on, and you will probably be able to click the clicker from the kitchen and she will come running from the living room or bedroom to get her treat!
Once she's mastered that idea, you can then take her out on leash to an area where there will be other dogs (also leashed) nearby. Take along plenty of treats. I like to use those cloth 'toolbelt' things with 2 pockets that you can get from Home Depot or Lowe's for less than $1 as my treat bag. Fill each pocket with treats and go!
The leash should be kept slack, so you will be able to correct her if you need to. A proper correction means the leash is slack, then tight, then slack again, all within the span of about 1 second.
Start off at a far enough distance so that she does not become aggressive. Click, treat, and praise her for looking in the direction of other dogs. Click, treat, and praise her for wagging her tail at other dogs, and for any other positive behavior that she exhibits. However, the very second she growls, lifts her lip, barks at, or lunges towards another dog, you should immediately say "NO," give a swift jerk on the leash (which should be forceful enough to make her stop the bad behavior - she may yelp when you do it and she may not; each dog is different in that respect), and then begin praising her again right afterwards, because then she will no longer be acting aggressively, right?! At first, she may think the correction was caused by the other dog, and she may refuse to look in the direction of the other dog for a while. That's okay. Continue praising her, and click and treat her when she DOES look back in the direction of the other dog.
Repeat, in different places, until she is no longer acting aggressively towards other dogs. When you are ready to let her off leash around other dogs, let her wear a long line and drag it around, so that if she DOES start to act up, you will still be able to still give her a leash correction. If this occurs and you are not close enough to be able to give the leash correction within 2 seconds of the act of aggression, you should say "No, no, no" as you approach, to bridge the act with the actual leash correction.
Another thing you could do would be as soon as you have to correct her when she's off leash, or dragging the long line, you should take her home. This will serve to teach her that as long as she is playing nicely, she gets to stay and play, but if she acts ugly, she doesn't get to play anymore.
Good luck and please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with!
