Prong or e-collar????

[katdog5911]

Originally Posted by JakodaCD OA

I know you said you kind of slacked off, but the dogs she encountered , were they dogs that were charging her? or ones you just seem to cross paths with

It seemed like all of a sudden we ran into loose dogs wherever we walked. A few ran out of their yards into the road (we don't have sidewalks) at us. One was just for a sniff, but one actually attacked my other dog that my husband was holding. Stella didn't get involved physically because I pulled her behind me and was yelling leave it but I am sure she sensed the craziness. Another time my neighbors dog was running loose while Stella was in the yard. I had just put my other dog in the house and was going to get Stella. She barked at the dog and the other dog just ran into out yard and went for her. I yelled something, not sure what, and it ended when the other owner, (who was walking up the street) called his dog. This has also now added to the barking nonsense in the yard....but that's a whole other thread! And to top it all off, a dog in her Obedience class that she played with previously, decided she didn't like Stella anymore and got snarky. So we had a bad couple of weeks. But she has gone to doggie day care and been fine with the other dogs. And she still has her little yorkie friend.
Anyhow, I guess I will go back a few steps with the prong and hope to make up some of the stuff we lost.......
Thanks for all the advice.

[Jolynna]

I am a fan of my e-collar. My German shepherd wanted to kill my cats when we first got him. Now he gets along fine with them and the only times I use the e-collar are when company comes over with a dog my dog hasn't met before. Or if I am going to be outside with him off leash--we have a woods with trails on our property. My e-collar has become more of a precaution than anything else.

But, it was the only thing that got Max to get past his attempts-to-kill-cat obsession.

[katdog5911]

I really need to get some training with the e collar. I have been using it in the yard to stop her from her barking frenzy. It has really been helping with that. But I have also tried to use it for her reactivity (after speaking to trainer) and I don't really feel totally comfortable with it. I plan on using it to teach better recall in the future after meeting with the trainer. I didn't feel totally comfortable with the prong at first either. So maybe it is just a matter of getting better trained at it myself.
Curious as to how most people have used it.....The vibrate mode does not seem to do anything with Stella.
My trainer said I should use the "C" mode, not the "N" mode.
One thing I have noticed is that sometimes it seems she doesn't notice any mode at any setting. She is not particularly long haired and I think I put it on tight enough. Not sure what that is all about.....

[mchcthrn]

Katdog, my guess is that if you need to use a serious training tool such as a prong, your timing or management or something else still needs some work, particularly if your dog has regressed. I would tend to focus on making myself a better handler. Also, in my experience, prongs can sometimes amp a dog up instead of having a calming effect.

If your timing is off, you wouldn't want to use a super precise tool such as an e-collar. Punishments given at the wrong time with the wrong level of intensity will damage your bond with your dog and increase her overall level of anxiety, since she may not know what the punishments are coming for and/or she may associate it with something you don't want her to, such as yourself, the other dog, or anything else in the environment, like passing strangers. Increased anxiety often leads to increased aggression.

The fact that she sometimes plays with other dogs does not really help. I would tend to keep a reactive girl like her only on-leash around other dogs and work on making myself the primary target of her focus. If you let her play with other dogs, you are only allowing her to be aroused around other dogs. From her perspective, why is it okay to be aroused in doggy daycare, but not on walks? (Unless you have one of those really rare but amazing, organized, and CALM doggy daycares) I'm not saying don't socialize her, but more with things like calm down stays around other dogs or just "hanging out" calmly around well behaved dogs - no chasing, mouthing, roughhousing, pinning, mounting, body slamming, wrestling, etc - just co-existing calmly.

I really like head collars for redirecting eye contact without increasing anxiety. A loose lead plus no eye contact equals no reactivity. A head collar combined with a buckle collar or front clip harness can be a GREAT pair for walks. However, I would highly recommend working with a trainer skilled in reactive dogs who can help you learn to work with this equipment, as it does require quite a bit of skill.

After a couple of months, she should get the pattern and begin looking to you when she sees another dog instead of staring and reacting. At that point, you can wean off the head collar; although, a no-pull harness is probably a great long-term management tool for a reactive dog.

I hope this helps!

[katdog5911]

I have the no pull harness and that is what I was using before the prong. I haven't used a head collar before.
Actually, I have been working on the focus issue lately. It is a work in progress.
I have to agree about my timing or something being off with the e collar. Will have to speak to trainer about it. The holidays have really played havoc with my schedule and being able to see trainer.
Haven't noticed that the prong amps Stella up. It was the only thing that seemed to help. We were doing so well. Not sure what happened. Charging dogs, crazy schedule, not enough walks.....a combination of everything...??? But after the next 2 days I am hoping life gets back to normal and we will start again. Will try and take it slow. Maybe it won't take too long to get back to where we were at.......I can only hope.

[mebully21]

you can also try Control Unleashed: Leslie McDevitt: Control Unleashed®, The Book

and the book Help for your Fearful Dog by Nicole Wilde: Welcome to Dogwise.com

both are really good books to help dogs with issues, whether fearful or aggressive or just to fine tune .. i have used both and they give you a neutral perspective and sometimes a new way to work with something

[Jolynna]

Here is a picture of a former cat killer after just two weeks of using an e-collar. As you can see in the picture he isn't wearing the e-collar any more. He almost NEVER wears it any more...and when he does we only use the sound button.

[katdog5911]

Scrapped the e collar for walks and leash/dog reactivity. Just use it in the yard when she charges the property line and barks. Giving her the leave it command with a stim. A lot of the time I don't even have to push the button any more, just have to say leave it.

Am using the prong for our walks....along with canned spray cheese/meat. Trying to stay as far away as we need to from other dogs. No reaction =cheese, reaction=prong correction.

Also am starting flower essence therapy. Not sure what I think about this but it was recommended by the trainer. We'll see.

[lmuns349]

Jolynna,
How exactly did you use the e-collar to train with the cat? I've tried positive reinforcement with our 1-year-old, but he gets so worked up over our cat. I'm afraid to get a collar and use it the wrong way. But if it worked for you, maybe I will try it as a last resort...


Sent from Petguide.com Free App