Love cannot fix it. We has humans know how to give our pets love. I love my dogs, snuggle on the floor with them, play fetch, tug, invite them in bed, I love my dogs unconditionally. My dogs also have structure, rules and know I’m in charge. My wife Julie is in charge. If we tell them to go lay down, that is what they do. They come when called and have off leash reliability. I have worked with a variety of large breed dogs (Rottweiler, Mastiff, German shepherd, and Pit Bull Terrier) that all have very loving owners. The issue arises when the dog has reactive issues. Reactivity is when the dog pulls, lunges, chases other dogs, people or movement. Dogs that chase cars is very dangerous and the dog needs to learn to stop. It’s up to us, the human to teach, because we are the brains of the pack. Dogs don’t think they just react. They don’t realize chasing cars can kill me that’s stupid why would any dog chase cars? Dogs don’t think like that. They do what pleases them and avoid things that does not please them.
A lot of times people come to see us with leash pulling, dog chasing, door busting dogs on flat collars. They also don’t want to hurt their poor little dog (80lb of muscle) because it’s mean. You not controlling your dog and allowing them to hurt dogs, people or themselves, that that’s mean! When we have difficult to control dogs we use pinch or prong collars. The collar needs to be fitted snuggle on the dog, high on his/her neck just behind the ears. Typically I see dogs that do have a prong collar on way too loose. To remove the links simply pinch the ends and slide them out. See my tutorial on youtube.
Most people once don’t know how to use the prong training collar as well. You tug and release. Be gentle and figure out the right pressure for your dog. You do not allow the dog to pull on the leash nor do you pull maintaining pressure on the leash/collar. It snap and release. I have posted a video on you tube to demonstrate this. I don’t use prong collars except for the difficult high energy dogs.
Prong collars are for training and not to be left on the dog 24/7. The prongs are not sharp but the constant rubbing on the neck can cause nasty looking sores. Train with it and take it off. It is only a training tool. It is a walking tool. If you dog needs it to walk nice and not lunge use it. Your dog will learn to stay calm and ignore distractions. The ultimate walk is the dog walking next to the owner, head up with a loose leash. It’s a beautiful thing.
So if you struggling on walks try one. If you are still struggling on walks find a trainer who can help you. If you own a dog that lunges and reactive around dogs stay out of dog parks and busy public events until your get your dog trained and under control.
