take4roll10
Moderator
What bothers me about this article is the author claims people who abide by AF, resort to euthanasia if AF doesn't work. So, the author is suggesting they should be offering the dog corrections with a prong collar, so the dog understands what it is doing wrong.
My problem with this is the author never mentions that instead of correcting your dog, you can redirect your dog and reward him for what you want him to do instead of being aggressive. Clicker training is a great way to do this. So for example your dog lunges at other dogs while walking, instead of using a prong collar to self correct your dog, play the "look at that" game.
Or if your dog barks when the bell rings, train your dog to go to a mat when he hears the bell.
There are other positive training approaches you can do if just praising good behavior and ignoring unwanted behaviors doesn't work. I personally prefer training your dog to do something else when it sees or hears a trigger instead of being aggressive. This is important for shelties, who are working dogs. They need a job. They need something do.
I know some people who carry a target stick with them and train their dog to nose touch it when they see another dog.
When I tried correcting my dog, it only made her more aggressive because she associated the correction with the evil thing that was already making her aroused.
Also, there is medication if your dog is severally aggressive. If you find the right medication, training will be easier. There are also plenty of natural alternatives out there like lactium, rescue remedy, L'theanine, thundershirts, etc.
This author doesn't suggest an alternative besides correcting your dog and we all know there are many more positive options.
My problem with this is the author never mentions that instead of correcting your dog, you can redirect your dog and reward him for what you want him to do instead of being aggressive. Clicker training is a great way to do this. So for example your dog lunges at other dogs while walking, instead of using a prong collar to self correct your dog, play the "look at that" game.
Or if your dog barks when the bell rings, train your dog to go to a mat when he hears the bell.
There are other positive training approaches you can do if just praising good behavior and ignoring unwanted behaviors doesn't work. I personally prefer training your dog to do something else when it sees or hears a trigger instead of being aggressive. This is important for shelties, who are working dogs. They need a job. They need something do.
I know some people who carry a target stick with them and train their dog to nose touch it when they see another dog.
When I tried correcting my dog, it only made her more aggressive because she associated the correction with the evil thing that was already making her aroused.
Also, there is medication if your dog is severally aggressive. If you find the right medication, training will be easier. There are also plenty of natural alternatives out there like lactium, rescue remedy, L'theanine, thundershirts, etc.
This author doesn't suggest an alternative besides correcting your dog and we all know there are many more positive options.
I dont usually carry treats with me. I dont want to have a pocket fll of crumbs all the time, and after this long he should be able to respond immediatly. But like I said its not a hard jerk at all and most of the time he doesnt need it, and i dont expect him to be a robot he is after all a family member! And of course I am quilty of loosing my temper and yelling shut up when all 5 of them are barking at someone that dares to walk by our yard with a dog. 
I am after all only human and make mistakes.
