this is an insane training video

really, the prong should have been placed on the "dead ring"...connect larger 0 ring to smaller correction or D ring....any time i teach something new, until i put in hundreds of reps...i use the dead ring or a flat/slip collar/lead. just what I do.

No. Food aggression has nothing to do with food drive. I had female who was incredibly food aggressive toward other dogs but no food drive. She was difficult to train because her prey drive was even lower. Food agression is combination of genetics and experience.

@MakoCheese Hi, you don't get what I was trying to say sorry. I can teach any dog to heal with out a correction collar. Correction base training is totally out dated. That's all I meant to say.

@MakoCheese True some dogs need to learn pressure. I run dog sled teams. They handle physical and mental pressure all the time. They know to go with the natural instincts of opposition reflex for the sled work. They pull against the pressure as any dog naturally does. Teaching to release leash pressure by returning is good. Heal position is needed tho for the focus, positioning and control of the dog. The dog looks happy. I get the dealing with mild stress I have worked with many dogs that have coping issue. Other than abuse the majority just needed to build self confidence and confidence in the handlers. A correction collar seems to negate that. Wouldn't a buckle down work just as fine? Again l love your techniques was just wondering if I was missing something here.

You missed the concept of leash pressure here. Leash pressure is teaching the dog to shut off pressure and teaching the dog to follow the leash. This is a skill you teach a dog to help them learn and help build a clear communication with the dog. You say correction that would imply what’s being used is negative punishment. This is not negative punishment because if we were punishing something we would be trying to stop a behavior. What’s being used here is negative reinforcement plus positive reinforcement. Pressure comes on I am removing my dogs ability to do anything else but follow the leash. My dog gives in boom pressure comes off my dog just got positive reinforcement by the pressure coming off. This could be done on a prong, martingale , even a slip lead it all depends on the dog. Remember adversity is what the dog sees as adverse not what we humans see as advise. This isn’t how he teaches heeling but more loose leash walking which are completely different. Now you can put this into heeling with your dog to help them understand the position but it’s not how it’s starts.

Collar

Blackfish is a great recommendation.

what you write is not true. first of all the trainers work with whistles and not with clickers - the principle remains the same but if you argue then please do it correctly. secondly, the trainers were often not attacked because of clickers but because of posture conditions and unintentional training errors. look at the case of Dawn. she did not properly prepare her training and was out of fish, as well as Tilly did not hear the whistle (and she did not notice and reacted) and the animal then took revenge on her out of sheer frustration. I'm sorry for the trainer - very much so. she was a great trainer. but here, too, industry makes animals violent. an orca has never attacked a man in freedom. only in the zoo's illegal animal husbandry conditions. So please don't blame the methods alone - the attitude itself has a lot to do with it!

one cannot compare domesticated pets with wild animals whose needs can never be satisfied

You completely misunderstand the training. They are not training this dog to walk with a loose leash. They are training the dog to give to leash pressure. The end result is a dog who learns to pay attention to the leash, move and accept guidance from the smallest of movements from the leash. The natural reaction for dogs and humans is to pull away from pressure/to counter pressure. If someone grabs your arm you yank it back. Dogs institutionally do the same. By teaching the dog to key into small bits of pressure on the leash you can guide the dog and change the dogs position using the smallest of moments just how a dancer would accept a lead from their partner in an choreographed dance.

I’m sure Ellis is aware of the wimpy guy. Th dude is better suited for a pug lol

When you say he should go to a pro for lessons, isn't he doing that in the video.

I dont think the unskilled part is neccessarily true, i think it requires a certain temperament of human to have a shepherd. Either that or the shepherd needs to be picked out of the litter to suit the person. So this guy could do with having a less boistrous dog maybe? But i agree with the other comment, the guy has gone to a world class trainer to ask for help in improving how he handles the dog so regardless of that he is already ahead of most people as far as im concerned. And michaels school is expensive too so he definitely wants to improve

A young active gsd can be a handful. Unlike most of the dofusses who dump their their large unmanageable dogs at my shelter, the GUY IS TRYING to learn.

Anyone willing to take the class is admirable. And I’m glad he did because I’m learning a lot by this example. Affords us a good opportunity to learn.

+Mona B Prong collars aren't bad - they mimic "mom's don't do that!" bite if used correctly. My GSD is insane and while he had Giardia after we got him, that left him with a sensitive tummy beyond a normal GSD. NOTHING could get him to STOP EATING EVERYTHING OFF THE GROUND. Dog Poop. Rabbit Poop. Prairie Dog Poop. Dirt. Grass. He became REALLY quick at snatching it off the ground to avoid being pulled away before he could get it - he knew he wasn't supposed to - and he was 4 months old. I became amazing at opening his mouth and making him spit whatever, out again. After nearly two months of frustration, I gave in. Two days with a prong collar and he stopped pulling and eating things off the ground. That was it. I think you have to know what you're doing, and you have to realize that you cannot have a dog trained without SOME negative reinforcement. Not all dogs can be trained without one. They're not cruel either. Next time you're at a pet store, put one around your neck - or wrist if that makes you more comfortable... and pull. You'll see it doesn't hurt you, either. It's just a "oh, hey - i should listen to what's going on" My GSD has a slip chain, prong, harness, and E-collar - and all have their uses. If we go to the dog park, he wears the prong, e-collar and harness. The harness is because he's still only 8 months old and gets jumpy - the harness allows myself and other people to hold him if he needs to settle, or pull him off of kids [why the hell people bring 18 months old to a dog park is beyond me]. The prong is to remind him going in and out of the park he is with ME and not to tear off into the road. The E-Collar is to get him to head my way when he decides he doesn't want to after he's been called. We've only had to use it twice. Next pup you get, try the prong collar and you'll see you get better, more consistent results faster because you are EFFECTIVELY communicating to the dog. Hell, I think it's torture to not use all the tools at your disposal to communicate with a dog. Dogs whine to show displeasure - and they're known to over-react. Especially if they learn that overreaction yields a greater reward to them. My sisters dog FREAKS if he sees a nail clipper. And YOWLS in pain terror each time we cut our own nails, let alone his. The "click" sound makes him think we're killing him. :) You have GSDs, you know they have that whistle whine down pat! Check out more of Michael Ellis' work - you'll see he really does care about dogs, and he really knows what he's doing.

We'd love to see videos of you working your dogs, training your dogs and your scores. Let us decide how well your methods work.

hahaha...what other aversive tools do you use?.....how many titles do you have?

It's part of the show

YUP sometimes though you want parade pony tricks - this is the position i want - for dancing :) SO i want to train this one too.

You are confusing competition heeling with loose leash walking. Competition heeling involves the dog holding head up high.

Well, only R+ does not exist, because learning is made out of 4 sectors... R+ only is a nice marketing gag.

@@frechwieoskar8052 Agree - however the general public doesn't always get the memo and they are often shamed into a "never say no", only stay in one quadrant style.