They used to be friends but now...

[Maddie's Mom]

This subject interests me a lot, as my 16 month old spayed female boxer Maddie has recently begun attacking our very old, neutered, dachsund/beagle mix Skippy. It has been a few months now since our third dog, a labrador, passed away and when she was living the house was very peaceful and playful. Now without the lab around, Maddie has become dominant and very aggressive, but only with Skippy. We have visited a behavior specialist also, just last week for an introductory visit, and according th her, there is A LOT of work ahead of us. Has anyone ever worked with a head collar? Should we choose to continue with the program and the specialist, she plans to train Maddie using a head collar. We are not sure if we want to continue with the specialist, or to try to go to an obedience school. We are afraid she may be aggressive toward other dogs as well, but we have no way of knowing. She knows basic commands we have taught her ourselves, but has had to real obedience training. So sometimes she can be unruly. Does anyone think one method is better than the other, and how about that head collar.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

If by head collar you mean a "Halti" or a "Gentle Leader" type head collar, these are safe and effective tools for you to use with your dog in training. Be sure to read the instructions and use them properly, as directed, to avoid any possible injury to your dog. But they work for many people and are not, if used properly, harmful to your dog.

Pack dynamics can be tricky. The best way to ensure that the pack dynamic remains peaceful is to communicate to your dogs that YOU are in fact the leader of the pack, and their role is to follow your lead, as it were.

To that end, in addition to the behaviorist's work with you, I suggest getting a copy of "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell and learing how to communicate your leadership to your dogs. That way they won't be constantly vying for "top dog" position among themselves because that position is already filled by you.

Good luck.