August 3, 2008 - When good dogs go bad...

Class was totally hands on today and probably the most interesting day yet! We talked a lot about aggressive dogs and what to expect when you work with a dog that's showing aggression.

This discussion was of particular importance to me because just last night Mika had an incident that by itself is no big deal but if it goes unchecked could spell big problems in the future.

I had given Mika a raw beef bone to chew when a few other students showed up in the small training building to work on scent indication with their dogs. Mika seemed unfazed and happily chewed her bone while the other dogs worked. I was rather impressed because she usually gets worked up and wants to do what the other dogs are doing, but in this case she paid no mind. About an hour later a Labrador puppy walked past and Mika snarled like a lion, guarding her bone. I was sitting about three feet away at the time and promptly rose out of my chair and gave her a very strong correction on the pinch collar. The problem is, my correction was about a second too late. I have serious doubts that she completely understood my reaction.

I asked the instructor about how to ensure she doesn't react this way again. Should I set up a similar scenario and be ready to react quickly in response with an avoidance level correction that says to her, "This behavior is never allowed. Don't even think about it next time!"?

Per the instructor, the answer is yes, but not until I have done some ground work first. I need to train her with the electric collar to understand the command "down" before I can set up a trap.

In the beginning you teach "down" with the e-collar by giving the dog a low-level electric correction while at the same time popping the leash downward or pushing down on the withers and saying the command "down". This give the dog a direction so she understands what the electric correction is for. Without the direction, the dog thinks she is getting corrected for sitting or standing or being near you, but has no idea you mean for her to lay down.

Once she understands "down" in conjunction with the electric correction, I can recreate the scenario with a bone and another dog. This time I will be ready to give her a strong avoidance level correction while at the same time saying, "Down!" The effect is to say, "'Down!' does NOT mean growling at other dogs."

Even for those weary of electric collars, this type of correction can be life-saving when you have multiple dogs living in the same home. I can just see Mika and my doxie, Barry getting into it over a bone. Because she will ultimately outweigh him by about 50 lbs and a couple of feet, she has the potential to kick his butt pretty good. I would rather give her one effective correction than risk the safety of my dogs.