No I don’t let my dogs fight other dogs as part of training

Lately I’ve been getting this question a lot. Especially about Bruno, my old Rottweiler that was a vital part of my training program. Never have I or would I have my dogs fight a client dog to teach a lesson
www.Pakmasters...

[@Hogpynn]

I can not believed how the knowledge I gained from you has changed me as a trainer. Been training dogs for 40 years and listening to you has taken me to a new level that I never thought I could reach

[@TheWackler]

Larry you should cover the difference between dog on dog corrections vs dog fights lol maybe itll help this person out

[@fallbrkgrl]

🛑 Question🛑 clarification, not that I will allow us to be in this situation again (my confidence sure took a hit), but the information sure would be great. What is the safest way to get a dog to release another dog (out of their mouth)? Unfortunately I went through a situation recently. My dog (female GSD. Adopted from shelter), is not dog friendly. Our area has short walls and gates in the front yards. I was walking Lucy down a street where there were 5-6 extremely reactive, and aggressive dogs on my right (small to medium sized). I moved to the middle of the street, and just kept moving. Then a woman walking a small dog came up on my left. Her dog was also aggressively barking and lunging towards us. Without warning, Lucy crossed in front of me, throwing me off balance, which made it impossible for me to keep her from getting to the small dog. She picked it up and just held it in her mouth. I had no idea what to do, all I could think of was to start punching Lucy in the ribs. At some point she dropped the dog, and the owner pulled it away from Lucy, by the leash, and picked it up.

[@kjaecques]

You are well respected🙂

[@guyhmajor]

Thanks for the honesty brother. I would like to know where you think most of the dog on dog aggression comes from?

[@Golden_Girl7123]

Good morning Larry

[@gerdberg4188]

I cannot imagine any trainer with a helper dog allowing any fighting . That is just not the idea , the approach is to help , right !

[@matthewwynne3533]

Can you explain why you do not let your role model dogs put another dog in its place? I am not talking about letting them out and out fight. But for example if there is an overly confident male who is getting into trouble, why would you not let him receive a few corrections from a more intense / more powerful dog that is well balanced and you know will not bite? I ask as this is something I allow with my 2 helpers dogs (Munsterlander and a Dobie). I have been watching you for yezrs now and you were the reason i used the ecollar and helped me become a trainer. So i would appreciate a more in-depth reasoning as to why you think it counter productive.

[@joyfulk9services]

Maybe he will do a whiskey live soon and go more in depth 👀 I think his answer will be something like he wants to put such a solid foundation on the dogs that it's proactive, and it never needs to get to that point of arousal. He likely also wants most corrections to come from the owner/handler to build relevancy in their relationship. I work with packs of dogs as well that are fantastic helper dogs, and I use my Rottie demo dog to temperament test new dogs allllll the time either on a walk, through a fence, in some cases off leash. However, most of the time lots of work is done with all the dogs prior, and the dog I bring in there's also a foundation on them as well so I still am able to intervene but allow the dogs to communicate with each other in fair/balanced ways. He's just saying he wouldn't just bring in an unknown/new dog without any foundation or a relationship with him and let the dogs do the work themself and just "be dogs" especially if they're super dog aggressive-you'd already know the outcome. I think the use of both is fantastic, but you have to have a communication line in place. I may muzzle a dog, do a walk and assess, and sometimes allow in with my pack from time to time for the right cases, but I think there's just more steps Larry takes by preference. If you have two balanced dogs that you trust, if it's working, it's working! But the owner needs to be able to implement the same exercises confidently and safely. Most owners don't have access to safe and trustworthy dogs to do that by themself. I love when dogs teach other dogs, and a couple big corrections totally changes their whole demeanor. But I've learned now that isn't always the case! Some are much more complex than that.

[@Barks_Bridge_bu]

In my opinion Because that is unnecessary.. How can anyone know 100 percent their role model will not bite?? They cant. Putting someone else dog at risk, because you are certain your dog will not bite is kind of irresponsible.. Some dogs will instantly become more dog reactive. Being muzzled while fearful of dogs and their owner then allowing a dog to correct them, instead of the owner taking control and advocating for the dog so he/she doesn't need to react.. Beckman uses his dog instead of a Prong or E collar. But almost seems afraid of the aggressive dogs.. The viewers love it, so that is how he always does it now.. We only see the videos posted, imagine what happens off camera sometimes 🤔🤔

[@madtabby66]

You think dog fighting is a form of training?

[@spots8060]

​@@joyfulk9servicesi agree with what you said except the arousal part. Trainers afraid of arousal cant control a motivated dog and larry clearly doesnt hide from arousal.

[@joyfulk9services]

@spots8060 ya of course, there's no need to be afraid of arousal- it's inevitable. An aroused dog does aroused things lol You just need to be able to manage it, harness it, and ensure it's the appropriate time. Especially if a dog is dog/human reactive, you want them rehearsing good calmer state of mind. Then, knowing how to be proactive in preventing it when needed and encourage it at the appropriate times is a very very important component to socializing multiple dogs, or rehabbing reactive ones. You don't want the arousal level out of control for a new a dog (or existing ones) right off the bat or just charging into the pack lol but definitely always a good goal to up their threshold for the arousal as you proof the behaviours and allow that arousal once you establish clearly what the better choices are. That's why dog parks are a

[@cypherknot]

You often talk about what other trainers do, you go on rants about what other trainers do. Did Bruno ever trust you again? He was telling you and you ignored him.

[@lklencho]

Oh yeah, it didn’t phase him but I never did not listen to him again also. When he was trying to tell me something and paid attention.

[@bubbag8895]

I bet you would if you were involved in dog fighting though