help with aggressive bitches

[Mishka]

backed up by a light-weight club and then my folding knife if need be.
any dog that's even remotely aggressive should be muzzled in public, hell, they shouldn't even be in public.
it's one thing to allow them to play rough with each other at home, but that should not be happening out in the public.

He's asking for help on this. That tells me he's trying to be a responsible dog owner.

My female malamute cross can be a bully with other dogs when she's on familiar turf. ie the local trails. I keep her on a leash whenever I walk there. If I'm out in the bush, she's usually off-leash and I'm not worried about meeting up with other dogs as she hasn't "claimed" that area as her territory.

[moosinaround]

ditto on this.
I wouldn't hesitate to throttle them if they attacked my dog.

backed up by a light-weight club and then my folding knife if need be.
any dog that's even remotely aggressive should be muzzled in public, hell, they shouldn't even be in public.
it's one thing to allow them to play rough with each other at home, but that should not be happening out in the public.

some good solid advice there buddy. Can't see how these comments are helpful?? Any helpful suggestions from your years of dog handling experience, or just more bull $hit threats? Moosin

[Rainsford]

Some people find shock collars unethical but I have seen them work wonders in dog behavior. My uncle has two BIG labs that used to be completely out of hand; they did't listen and were always over playful, jumping up on people, playfully nipping at their hands, etc. He decided to put a shock collar on them to see if he could straighten them out. This particular shock collar would beep just before it would deliver a shock. Now as SOON AS their shock collars go on they listen to every single word he commands, hell he doesn't even shock them anymore he just gives them the warning beep letting them know their about to be shocked and they smarten right up.
From what I can remember his dogs never showed large amounts of aggression towards other dogs but it did straighten their behavioral issues right out when he takes them out in public, might be worth looking into.

Rainsford

[Sofa King]

He's asking for help on this. That tells me he's trying to be a responsible dog owner.

My female malamute cross can be a bully with other dogs when she's on familiar turf. ie the local trails. I keep her on a leash whenever I walk there. If I'm out in the bush, she's usually off-leash and I'm not worried about meeting up with other dogs as she hasn't "claimed" that area as her territory.

i'm aware that he's seeking advice, and that he feels bad about their actions.
but it does get to the point where the dogs don't deserve to be out with others.
he mentions that the poor dogs need their walk, but what about the other dogs?
don't those poor dogs deserve to not be subjected to these ones?

his dogs aren't new to him anymore.
if they aren't listening, i'd say that there's bigger problems.
either they aren't being taught strictly enough, or they are just dogs that won't learn.

[Mishka]

I use the shock collar on my other pup to deter him from chasing deer/cows. I hated using it the first few times, but it definitely helped curb that issue. Used properly, I believe they can work well.

[hare_assassin]

Some people find shock collars unethical but I have seen them work wonders in dog behavior. My uncle has two BIG labs that used to be completely out of hand; they did't listen and were always over playful, jumping up on people, playfully nipping at their hands, etc. He decided to put a shock collar on them to see if he could straighten them out. This particular shock collar would beep just before it would deliver a shock. Now as SOON AS their shock collars go on they listen to every single word he commands, hell he doesn't even shock them anymore he just gives them the warning beep letting them know their about to be shocked and they smarten right up.
From what I can remember his dogs never showed large amounts of aggression towards other dogs but it did straighten their behavioral issues right out when he takes them out in public, might be worth looking into.

Rainsford

The word "BAD!", when delivered in my special way, does exactly the same thing to my dog. The reason is because he associates it with an unpleasant physical sensation that he learned when he was very young. The unpleasant physical sensation was deployed a total of 3 times before he made the association. The word "no" is used for regular everyday things. "BAD!" only comes out when really necessary (which is less and less often).

It is too late for these dogs to make such an association, so E-collars are definitely worth a try.

[Mishka]

i'm aware that he's seeking advice, and that he feels bad about their actions.
but it does get to the point where the dogs don't deserve to be out with others.
he mentions that the poor dogs need their walk, but what about the other dogs?
don't those poor dogs deserve to not be subjected to these ones?

his dogs aren't new to him anymore.
if they aren't listening, i'd say that there's bigger problems.
either they aren't being taught strictly enough, or they are just dogs that won't learn.

And you can determine that his dogs should not be out in public just by the info he provided? They should be leashed and the behaviour corrected. But going off on what you would do to them doesn't help his situation.

[adriaticum]

Some people find shock collars unethical but I have seen them work wonders in dog behavior.
Rainsford

Sure, some people find eating animals unethical too.
Do we care?
No.

[Kayte]

the first few posts gave some excellent advice IMO.
but above all else, LEASH YOUR DOGS.
the more they get to practice bad behaviour, the more they'll do it.
not to mention the fact that if your muzzled aggressive dog came running up to my (leashed) dog, it wouldn't end well. for your dog.

[Rackem]

Ok shock collars work in some situations, but aggression is tricky. In the dog aggressive dogs I have seen, if you were to deliver a shock at the moment of elevated aggression, it only makes them amp up further...depends on the dogs temperament.

American Bulldogs, and other more bold breeds don't do well with e collars in this situation. Labs and other "soft" tempered dogs do well generally.

He is being responsible. His dogs are leashed and muzzled. He is seeking help on training and controlling his dogs. No need for the knives to come out here boys. Of course anyone would defend their dog against others, but no need to make anyone feel bad here.