Fair or not? Your opinion

[lblax]

Originally posted by MARYDVM
...Very few dogs can maintain their drive in obedience if given heavy compulsion in a confusing/unsettling situation....

actually my dogs drives peak if he is in a situation that may call for some heavy corrections,you just have to follow up with a high drive ob training session while they are up and work the situation to youre advantage

[Mojave's Mom]

Another thought...

The dogs were offleash...crossing the street wouldn't have stopped them from approaching if they wanted to. Then what? I'd say OB and compliance, however compulsive it must be, would be the proper thing to do even more so. You don't know what the other dogs are going to do in that sort of situation....so isn't it better to control your own dog if you know you can? Personally I could care less about hurting my dog's feelings and making them fight their natural urges in a situation that I can not guarantee a anything when it comes to the other dogs. Besides, if I've asked them to do something such as "heel" or "leave it" and they don't, then I'm not actually correcting them for their natural reaction to the other dogs, I'm correcting their disobedience to my command.

JMO.

[MARYDVM]

True, but you just said yourself that you realized that asking your dog to keep moving in heel position while another dog sniffed his rear was more than he could handle, so you had him sit stay instead. The difference in training philosophy I was talking about is the difference between helping your dog obey in a difficult situation, versus demanding a behavior beyond his capabilities, and punishing him when he falls short. Maybe this wasn't the caes with the pit bull owner, but it is an approach I see fairly often with owners who've done a little training, but don't understand that it takes two to make a team.

[Mojave's Mom]

I'd rather my boy "deal" with something that is not pleasant to him then allow him to engage in what I KNOW would turn into a dog fight if he wasn't under my command. Is it better to just let him take the other dog out all because he's a show dog and I don't want to kill our "teamwork"? My opinion on this whole thing is that I would never willingly allow a dog fight to happen just because the other dog was in the wrong and my dog has dignity to protect....I don't need any dogs being mauled, maimed, or killed in my presence, thank you. ;)

I guess I don't understand the training philosophy you're talking about....because I certainly don't think you condone ALLOWING one's dog to "go for it" should a situation turn ugly just to keep the "teamwork" between yourself and your dog intact. My male has no problems working, he just, like a lot of dogs out there, does not appreciate another dog's nose three inches up his butt....since we don't show in the breed ring, we really don't have much "working issues" to worry about when it comes to that. He lives to work, works well under distraction/dogs running up alongside him etc....unless that distraction is LITERALLY right up his rear....that has been the only thing thus far that he has ever had a problem with when it comes to other dogs. Then he wants to fight. And I won't allow him to fight. In simple terms, he was fine with the other dog running up UNTIL the other dog went and stuck his nose up his tail. Then he protested through my command, but held. Once I "knee-d" the other dog off of mine, he was once again quiet and compliant, ignoring the other dog. If I'd have kept walking, I guarantee the other dog would've kept sniffing...and once again Diablo would not appreciate that. Rather than risk him swinging around and taking his head off for it, I'd rather sit still knowing he does that well. Hope that clears up my position :)

[MARYDVM]

Sure, I understand your position. This thread started with the OP asking if it was fair for a woman walking her pit bull to repeatedly correct the dog harshly for showing discomfort and unwillingness to remain walking in heel position when it had three loose dogs LITERALLY right up its tail. The dog was not corrected for trying to fight, but for tucking it's tail and trying to face the three approaching dogs. I feel that allowing your dog to be in this situation, and giving it harsh corrections for not walking calmly at heel, while making no attempt to chase off the 3 other dogs is basically unfair. If she had halted, and allowed her dog to protect it's rear by sitting, she would have been helping it obey the heel command. Instead she chose to demand a behavior that her dog(and I think most dogs) was incapable of performing. Did it learn anything by being jerked down the street? I doubt it.

[Mojave's Mom]

We're basically on the same page, so....agreed :)