Esta

could this explain the raging cockers and the shadow- herding border collies I know?

The kind of RT training suggested involves teaching a dog that he can control the uncomfortable stimulation by (in the early stages) returning to the owner. It does seem to work well, in this case the kelpie's belief system could be changed from 'evade the human when your called and avoid the punishment' to 'avoid the punishment by coming when called.' This might sound a bit harsh but in reality the dog gains confidence because the required behaviour has been made clear, and avoiding a 'bad' thing effectively and consistantly is a strong motivater in and of itself! Not that I'm bagging a 100% rewards based system for training recall, but if what the dog has already learned from bitter experience and what you want it to learn are completely opposite, it's just not going to stand up to the 'distraction factor'.

Hi folks, first- time post- how could I resist this red- hot issue?? apologes in advance for all my bad spelling. The quote below quite surprising: Since when is correcting a form of aggression? If you are 'correcting' aggressively then I would suggest that you have crossed a line into ineffectual punishment, venting your own frustration, anger or fear and agree that has no place in dog training and esp. socialisation. If the corrections used are not working then the method, intensity and timing thereof should be reconsidered, as well as the emotional state of the handler. Another thing not to forget is keeping the balance of correction and reward. Eg, dog glares at approaching/ passing dog. Trainer corrects with the most effective way for that dog in that situation. Focus, or perhaps heel etc command follows. Apon compliance- praise is given. So not always DONT DONT DONT without guidance of what to DO. A lot of repititions is key- if the DA has been long standing then you need to help create a new neural net in the dogs brain through repititions of the desired behaviour, and by interrupting/ preventing the old, unwanted behaviour as often as possible these pathways will dissapear over time. How much time depends on the dog and the relationship with the owner. I think some have mentioned that the focus on owner command, repeated as many times as necessary, not only helped the dog to unlearn the aggressive or timid behaviour and learn owner- focus, but also freed them from the burden of having to attempt to flee or stack up and try to control situations with aggression and made for happier allround dogs. Of course being attacked by another dog will set the process back, however, you would be unlucky to have this happen when your dog is not holding eye contact w the potential aggresser.