Training success.

I have recently enrolled in dog obedience classes. He was getting too hard to handle and I needed to learn techniques on how to help my dog.

I was recommended to this guy that specializes in big breed/aggressive dogs. He does the training for all the local law enforcement dogs. I've only been to 2 classes so far, but I tell you, what a difference!

First off, He has taught me how to properly use a prong collar. This is an amazing tool for my situation as my dog DK (pitt bull/boxer) immediately responded to the collar.

He now knows the commands: down, heel, leave it, I see it. ll after 2 weeks and practicing every day. Right now I am working on recall.

One area i noticed immediate improvement on, is our walks. He now walks behind me, he doesnt go crazy scouting for squirrels (ie: looking up in every tree)and he doesnt go sper crazy every time another dog walks by.

I'm still working with him when another dog walks by. I can make him lie down and he just watches the dog. If I decide to walk by, he's picking up on "leave it". I still need to give him a correction, but he responds after a smaller correction (sometimes 2 corrections are necessary).

When other people walk by, he responds to "i see them" and continues walking by without paying attention to them. I can now sit outside and he can by lying next to me and he stays where hes at and doesn't move.

Overall, I am very pleased with OUR progress. I've learned to be a calm assertive leader for him. My actions with him have changed, and I no longer get angry when I give him a command and he doesn't respond. He just senses my stress and reacts naturally to that. Can't wait to finish this training, so I can really demonstrate to my parents, how well behaved he is.

Now on walks, I will occasionally unhook the pronged collar and just use his flat collar. My guess is, is at this rate, i may not need that collar for much longer!