VANITY - How to deal with a dog that has become aggressive

You can't use an electric collar for punishment.

An Ecollar can only be used to reinforce already trained behavior. You probably need to get an experienced retriever trainer to show you how to use the collar. You can do an awful lot of harm in a real hurry if you misuse one.

Rather than use "No!" when my dog misbehaves, I put her into "Sit." Sometimes I'll say, "No! Sit!" to get her attention. She has been Ecollar conditioned to "Sit" so even if the Cat Box Roca looks REALLY yummy, that "Sit" will take precedence. Then praise, then get rid of the you-know-what.

Most folks who are collar-conditioning will start with a heeling stick - the idea is to give the command, then give an annoying (not so severe as to be painful) stimulus, which the dog "turns off" by performing the action commanded. In other words, you would walk the dog at heel, then command "Sit" - tap with the heeling stick -then repeat "Sit". Then praise when the dog sits. The Ecollar is rung in by substituting that stimulus for the heeling stick - at the LOWEST level that the dog can feel it.

My TriTronics collar has 45 levels - 1-15 on low-medium-high. I keep the collar on medium 1, and I have never gone above low 3 even when the dog was in hot pursuit of a squirrel. She still sat. You should never "screw the dog into the ground" with a high level of stimulation on the collar. The dog should not flinch or vocalize - you should see only a slight hesitation or a swallowing motion. The Retriever Guru who used my dog for a training dog at one of his seminars did say that my dog was exceptionally sensitive, but your dog may be too.

Thanks so much.

Yes, my dog is the sweetest and he is very sensitive. He has a puppy brain and it's hard to stop him when there is something he desperately wants to do. Those things are few. He wants to chase cats, but can be discouraged. He wants to get birds...that is very hard to discourage.

We got him as a rescue dog and he'd had a hard life. Everything was wrong with him and I still don't think he's the healthiest dog in the world though he looks great and weighs 100 pounds. He also had separation anxiety and had to be on clomicalm for a long time.

We still crate him when we leave, but mainly because he feels secure there. I don't think he'd do any damage if we left him out.

I'm just very uneasy about the collar and I don't think it's necessary. The DP is just agitated right now; I think he'll forget about it.

Thanks again.

If your dog's a rescue and has issues, I would DEFINITELY not use an Ecollar on him. Most Labs are pretty tough (mine is really just sensitive "for a Lab" which means she's just a little less stoic than your average cast-iron Lab.) No point in going out of your way to do something that may traumatize him.

Putting the stuff in the food to stop him eating the poop is probably the best route. You're also doing right by picking it up pronto. That's the very best way to deal with it. You can also investigate vitamin supplements, because some people think that dogs who eat poop are missing something in their diet.

My girl occasionally commits that dreadful sin - usually when she's missed a meal or something - and it's hard to stop them (they're so quick and so food motivated.) I wouldn't worry about it too much if it only happens occasionally.

Hi, catching up this morning from yesterday. been busy!

I agree with AAM that a shock collar is not the right tool if this is the only need for it. Like she said, it can be used to enforce a command they know (but are ignoring) but they aren't used to just punish. It's a fine line, but an important one. You wouldn't want to just shock them without warning for going after the poop, for example, that would just make them nervous about unexpected jolts... You could, however, use it to enforce a command of "Leave it" by commanding the dog to "leave it" and then follow that with the jolt if they ignore you. That's the difference.

I wouldn't try the shock collar first, though, unless you have tried and so far failed to get the dog to obey other off-leash commands. The trick is to make the dog think you can reach him for any command, not just this one. Shock collars, even with long probes that are made for a dense coat, have to be very tight on a lab to get good skin contact. With my lab I sometimes even had to wet his neck down to get it to work. So they're uncomfortable enough, that you wouldn't want to leave them on the dog indefinately until they happen to walk by a poop.

Now - what would I recommend? First of all, I'd acknowledge that he's a dog. He'll put things in his mouth that will disgust you, and disgust your husband :~) In my lab's lifetime he ate a baby diaper, countless forms of animal poop (we have horses and cats) a sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil, a baggie full of sausage, the hide and hoof of a deer carcass, a few small animals the cats brought in, and who knows what else that I didn't witness. Some of the above items needed a veterinary enema to help get 'out' the other end. Yes, sometimes your dog will nauseate you. Get over it :~D

But when in public, or when you don't want to see him eat poop, teach the dog "Leave it". You can teach this with a treat and a leash, to get him to resist the treat by putting the treat on the ground and say "leave it" and correct him with the leash if he goes for it. When he holds back obediently or ignores it, say "OK" and let him go for it. You can use "leave it" for anything you want him to leave alone... other dogs, squirrels, sniffing the guests, the plate of food on the coffee table... the cat box... and various other kinds of poop. Once the dog recoils from anything you say 'leave it' about while on leash, you can try it off leash with these tips: Don't say 'leave it' unless and until you can get to him in short order to enforce it. In other words don't just sit across the yard and repeatedly yell this or any other command unless you're going to briskly move to go smack him (or whatever it is you do to enforce commands) if he fails to listen. And know that sometimes, they'll think crime is worth the punishment if they really want the thing. :~)

Good luck altura :~D

Very good to hear!

Not a shock at all. I had a very dominant (but NOT insecure - I was NOT "constantly manipulating" to stay alpha myself in the household!) 60-lb female GS. She was very stable and non-aggressive, but other dogs knew she was boss.

She ruled my sister's 110-lb GS male when they would visit. He was dominant too - but not as much! She just somehow telepathically let it known she was in control. She would never drop her toys, and would go and grab her toys or food before any other dog could get it (she was a picky eater who really didn't much care about food).

When Yanto was younger (but big), he tried to mount her - by far the most aggressive I eve saw Shana get. They were simply standing - Shana forward - and panting. She turned on him suddenly after he got a foot up and literally drove him 30 ft back into the yard with her severe toothy "punishment". Lots of nasty noise and white showing. But she never really bit him. Then it all stopped quickly. If Yanto had any doubt before, he knew now not to "cross the line".

It's not a surprise at all when small(er) females are dominant! (I love the bucking the stereotype!)

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