The Wolf Pack Method? Anyone?

[szariksdad]

I am no expert on dog training but I think that some of what the lady is suggesting is a little off base, in particular the work together thing. If she is has having problems with a packmate working them together more will not necessarily solve the problem but make it worse. Where in CO are you for there are more dog trainers that what have been posted but they may be out of your price range it sounds like.

[Whiteshepherds]

If you honestly believe your dog is reactive please don't start using compulsion, it can do more harm than good.

Look into this group on Yahoo, you'll find a lot of good resources and information.

shy-k9s : shy-k9s

[Twyla]

Originally Posted by sashadog

So we went and met with this lady today and while I wasn't completely blown away by her knowledge and ability, I figured we'd give her another try and have an actual lesson next Sunday. Hopefully it goes well and we get some new information. Her main "tips" that she wants to help us work on were... You don't sound confident in her ability. I would say follow your instincts.

(1) Establishing tighter rules in our house, and essentially establishing more "dominance" between us and the dogs, Sasha in particular since she seems to be the cause of most of the problems. This terminology worried me a bit but we'll play it out one more week. It isn't about dominance, it's about leadership. With Woolf, we have to do NILIF in spades, micromanage him, but it isn't done to dominate but to lead him to making the right decisions.

(2) Always work the two girls together. Walk them together, etc. and then crate them when we can't focus 100% on them. If they are out together in the house, Sasha will be muzzled. Her theory is that even if she attacks Scarlett with the muzzle on, she'll learn that biting doesn't get her anywhere and stop the attack. This was kind of a red flag for me as I've never heard that reasoning in all my years of training. Does this ring true for anyone else?? If Sasha is allowed to attempt to bite, how does she learn biting isn't acceptable?

(3) Quickly correct and redirect when Sasha spazes out on people or dogs. This also was a bit off in my mind because I really believe her barking at people is totally fear based and I wasn't sure you were supposed to correct (with a pop on the prong) a fear response? Again, I'm not really an expert so I'm gonna stick with it for at least one more session.

Any thoughts? Sound decent or should we stay away? I'm on the fence right now which is why I thought one more week couldn't hurt. We'll be there the whole time and I have no problem speaking up if I don't agree with something.

I'm definitely not an expert, so can just go by what we have done and do with Woolf. This trainer reminds me of one we interviewed right before we found Chris. Woolf is fear based DA, his answer was to take Woolf to the dog park and step on his leash and pet other dogs.... in other words a dog fight and law suit waiting to happen. When we began to question him he stated he wasn't going to share all his secrets. We ran the other way.

[sashadog]

Originally Posted by szariksdad

I am no expert on dog training but I think that some of what the lady is suggesting is a little off base, in particular the work together thing. If she is has having problems with a packmate working them together more will not necessarily solve the problem but make it worse. Where in CO are you for there are more dog trainers that what have been posted but they may be out of your price range it sounds like.

We're up in Fort Collins. The other trainer I've actually talked to is at the Canine Learning Center up here and she didn't feel she would be able to help us and referred us to a behaviorist at CSU. She sounded somewhat promising but asks nearly $500 for a couple week commitment and if we had that money it would need to go to getting her leg amputated. Do you happen to know of any others near us? We are willing to travel as far as the Springs if we need to!! We just can't pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars up front.

[szariksdad]

I don't know there prices but they are up your way near Erie and they are Two Bears dog training. They might be an option.

[carmspack]

Dog Sense - John Bradshaw

[sashadog]

Originally Posted by szariksdad

I don't know there prices but they are up your way near Erie and they are Two Bears dog training. They might be an option.

Originally Posted by carmspack

Dog Sense - John Bradshaw

Thank you! Two Bears has a message from me, waiting for a call back and Dog Sense is ordered from Amazon! Both look helpful

[GregK]

What issues are you having between the 2 girls - serious fights as in trips to the vet or occasional not-that-serious fights?

And with people, is there anyone other than in the household that she doesn't react like that with? I definitely wouldn't leash correct here for that! You can use the prong to keep control over her though...as in getting her into to position and moving on or whatever.

[sashadog]

Originally Posted by GregK

What issues are you having between the 2 girls - serious fights as in trips to the vet or occasional not-that-serious fights?

And with people, is there anyone other than in the household that she doesn't react like that with? I definitely wouldn't leash correct here for that! You can use the prong to keep control over her though...as in getting her into to position and moving on or whatever.

Sasha sends my other female, Scarlett, to the vet. We've spent over $1000 on fight bills and while I blame myself for allowing it to happen in the first place, I'm not interested in "working through it" with them. (Plus Scarlett is so nervous around Sasha now, I don't want to put her through that.) We essentially just need Sasha to be more responsive to us in relation to other dogs, Scarlett included. I don't think they are out to kill each other or the fights would've been much bloodier but I don't doubt that it could escalate to that point if we didn't keep them separated.

And I don't know that I completely understand your human question? She loves my boyfriend and myself as well as our family members but everyone else is under immediate suspicion. Other dogs are a definite no-go as well, with the exception of my bf's parents Golden. He's her buddy but they've known each other for a while now, he might as well be ours.