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training advice for my rescue BC


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My husband and I adopted a BC 5 months ago.  He is a male 2 year old. When we first got him, he was perfect. He was introduced to my mother-in-Law’s dog (cockapoo) the second day we had him and he has always been fine with him.  He also seems to be fine with the neighbors dogs.  After a month of easy walks and near perfect behavior our dog started becoming aggressive towards other dogs.  He lunges and barks at other dogs and can be challenging to control at times.  We tried avoiding other dogs.  We tried distracting and positive reinforcement (not effectively).  We switched to a no-pull vest, which was a game-changer for a few weeks.  Then it was ineffective.  We began working with a trainer as soon as we could get in with someone.  We have tried pinch collars and are now encouraged to use a shock collar to correct his behavior.  He still lunges and barks aggressively at other dogs.  I really hate shocking him.  I am worried it is driving our training backwards.  I know a lot of his behavior is because it’s part of his breed and he might be trying to heard dogs.  I also know it’s harder to train dogs when they are older.  

 

Other than the dog aggression, he is the sweetest dog.  He’s gentle and loving towards all humans. 

 

I honestly don’t know if we should switch trainers and try a new approach or continue with the shock collar.  Please don’t judge, I’m just trying to do what the trainer told me but all of you seem very knowledgeable. 

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Get a new trainer.  If part of your dogs aggression problem is fear the shock collar will only make it worse.  Of course having never seen your dog in action I have no idea what's driving his behaviour, I just know that I would only use a shock collar as a last resort and after training many, many dogs, I have never come to that point yet.

There is a really good way of teaching a dog not to be dog aggressive.  It's a bit involved and uses a few volunteers and their dogs but it's highly effective.  You put the most submissive dog of the opposite sex in a down on the other side of a chain link fence (their person should ensure the dog holds the down).  Then you start to walk the aggressive dog toward it.  As long as the dog is not behaving in an aggressive manor it is allowed to continue to approach.  As soon as any negative behaviour shows, give a leash correction and walk the other way.  As soon as you have control again turn and go back toward the other dog in the down.  Praise them quietly as long as they are calm and well behaved.  When your dog can approach without behaving badly you allow the submissive dog to stand and repeat the whole process.  Then you move on to more confident dogs and finally dogs of the same sex (begin again with the most submissive in a down).  It takes some planning but I've never known a dog that it didn't work with.  

 

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Run, don't walk, away from any trainer who suggests a shock collar for this (or anything else). It is guaranteed only to make things worse. Consider the dog's point of view. He is showing aggression to other dogs because he is confused or afraid or wary or feeling for some reason he has to keep them away. Now,  on top of that every time he sees another dog he gets a shock! So now he associates other dogs with getting a shock. Clearly this will not improve the behavior.

Ditto with pinch collars (throw those away) or any other "leash correction" or form of punishment. All will only cause the dog to associate negative things with other dogs and increase thereby his desire to keep them away = aggressive behavior.

Get the book CONTROL UNLEASHED. Follow the "look at that" protocol. It is designed for reactive dogs and has proven to be effective and doesn't require another person and dog to participate, nor does it use "correction". 

 

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