“Finally, you are right about how Pops shouldn’t be using the shock collar. I hadn’t seen how the dog had been trained to that point when I recommended it. No wonder he freaks, and begs to be locked up when someone new comes to the house.”
Excuse me? What are you saying? My dog was pretty much trained by the book. Should he not have developed a fear of other dogs after he was attacked as a puppy after the dog’s owner assured me their dog wouldn’t hurt mine? I actively worked to correct that issue without success. Fear can be an extremely hard thing to overcome. I’ve done psychiatric nursing so don’t tell me otherwise. I’m not going to get into the socialization issue with people because it would take too long to relate the lengths I went to. I spent hours on the Leerburg.com site when my dog was a puppy and my daughter and I watched “It’s Me or the Dog” nightly. I’ve had many dogs I’ve trained in my life time (I’m over 50), I’ve been to obedience classes and worked one-on-one with a professional before. In college, I was a nanny for a man that had a dog from the New Skete monks and I have read their book, along with several other dog training books from highly respected professionals, not just Joe Blow. Please don’t imply I don’t know how to train a dog. I know what my dog needs, but up until just recently I haven’t had the money, and I’m smart enough to know that I’m not a professional and try it. Slamming me is rich after you publicly admitted to spoiling your own dog and creating a behavioral problem. I didn’t create my dog’s temperament, and after so many years working with newborns, I know they all have a discernible personality at birth. So do dogs. If a dog is born with a timid, fearful personality it is a challenge to overcome and many consider a dog like that to have an unsound temperament. I’ve been at least willing to work with my dog as much as possible. And I’d like to reiterate- the dominant dog caller is NOT for training. It’s solely for getting the upper hand in an emergency situation with a dog’s kill instinct in full blown mode.