Yes, its called a "correction." I know some people don't agree with Leerburgs training methods
BUT when a dog is aggressive to the pointing of biting I think "physical" corrections is needed. If you aren't willing to do this then you need to walk the other way when another animal is present.
We took in a 3 year old GSD. We were her 3rd home. She's a great dog, super smart and friendly except with other dogs, especially little ones! When Lucy would see another dog, even from afar, she'd get aggressive and give the evil death stare. When they'd approach closer she would try anything and everything to pull away from me.
There were a few occasions where she was very close to biting them. We're talking an inch or two. Anyways, I was very lucky her collar stayed on. For awhile if we saw other dogs I'd keep my distance or walk the opposite way. I'd even loop the leash around my dog's neck like a choke collar (groomer taught me that) just incase she got any ideas.
Anyways, I tried the
"touchy feely" approach but this was way too
dangerous. I considered myself to be a capable male adult (former Jarhead and in Law Enforcement), but when this 60 lb dog goes crazy she's like a 180 lb man. So after watching the Leerburg video on Dominant Aggressive Dogs, I gave Lucy a correction just like he did (use the leash and pull her back) I started low, which she totally ignored. I then gave her a 2nd correction at level 7/8 pulling her back a few feet into a down position. She yelped but at that moment I had her instant attention.
Now where I differ from Leerburg is that I gave her a Reward marker the instant she looked at me and not the other dog. I praised her and showed her I was more interesting than the other dog. I learned this from my obedience trainer
"let the leash be the bad guy not you." Leerburg says most dog owners won't give a hard correction, but instead just give little annoying ones. He tells you to
correct the dogs behavior not to
nag the dog. I know people here think his methods are
"mean" or
"cruel" but he clearly states that giving a correction higher than necessary is abuse.
With that said Lucy now listens to me. I haven't given her a hard corrections since that one time. I may have to give her a low or medium correction once in awhile (near small dogs) but she quickly remembers to behave. She now enjoys the dog park and plays with my friends dog. She can still get aggressive but now listens to voice commands and will recall.
Lastly, I never used a choke or prong collar, but not I use a prong collar per the trainer. Tonight at obedience class Lucy decided to go after a little dog, but after she pronged herself (lunging after the other dog) she changed her mind. So really, I didn't have to do anything.
**Leerburg does warn that some Dominant Agressive Male Dogs can turn on there handler if given a hard corrections and recommends a choke collar or a professional trainer.
Here's a link Leerburg put in the video
http://leerburg.com/pdf/theoryofcorrections.pdf