Quote:
Originally Posted by kjc  The hand/claw on the neck can be very effective when done correctly, but when you touch a dog that is already escalating to zone 10, odds are it will turn and bite your hand. So timing is critical. |
I agree about the clasp to the neck in a dog already escalating to attack mode before one is in complete control. I tend to recommend its use only
as prescribed during one's training of the dog, when the dog begins to alert to or give warning body signals. That's when the leader(and that is what you have to establish with a fighting Yorkie - who is leader) wants to disagree, discipline & stop the aggression - at its beginning. Later, once that dog knows its human leader is in control, the look or a word will usually suffice but if not, disciplining a misbehaving dog with the hand over the neck works very well. As in the natural world, nothing stays the same so a well-placed reminder is necessary at times should a dog start to forget who is in control.
Just some thoughts about various training methods of this problem, for what they are worth. All who train successfully have their own approaches & reasons for them. That is why it is good to read everything & use what best fits you & your dog.
Personally, I have a different approach to kjc from lessons I've learned. I don't care to actually train the attack behavior problems OP describes on the leash as many dogs are quick to acquiesce to behavior modification training when leashed, but smartie's that they are, once off lead, all that learning & model behavior
can quickly vanish. Humans want to gain control of a dog who is acting like an alpha in the family by reminding that dog that the human is the leader using things the dog naturally understands & accepts in all circumstances, even unrestrained, due to nature's laws of canine hierarchy.
It is especially important in fighting since the dog is usually throwing caution to the wind & just reacting to instinctive behavior of self-preservation, usually the strongest instinct an animal has. If the dog, however, instinctively knows to react appropriately to canine natural hierarchy laws from the beginning, before he feels the need to self-preserve, helped along by a canine or human "alpha" leader, then those more instinctive messages, taught while unrestrained & under his own self-control, will likely better keep him from aggressing over the long haul & not lessons learned while temporarily restrained - whose fix can be temporary itself or shorter-lived, in some trainers' experience. Others say restraint training of fighting dogs works very well for them. It can depend on the trainer & the dog. That's why various methods can work.
The control I like to teach most dogs from the beginning is that of the natural canine teaching/discipline method which doesn't involve leashes or pens or shock collars - things like that, when a dog is alerting/obsessing, fighting another dog. If you watch a group of dogs that live together in the wild or feral groups & one begins to behave improperly, one of the alpha dogs will just send a look or walk over and administer discipline, teaching that dog that that behavior is improper. It is in a dog's DNA to usually react to the social order of its pack family structure & accept discipline of this type quite naturally
from a leader. It is the leadership & physical involvement of the leader that dog reacts to & the reason it backs off, because it is instinctive for him to do so. I've personally found that one gains more lasting control of fighting dogs from the natural, unrestrained approach of gentle discipline/anti-aggression training as they tend to have fewer rates of recidivism when later unrestrained by leashes or pens.
Those are just my thoughts on attack behavior modification for small to medium dogs that a person might want to try before seeking out a pro. But each person has to assess what seems best for them & their dog. Some cannot afford a professional trainer or it didn't help & thus the dog and its victims may go without help until it has to be rehomed or sheltered elsewhere if they don't make an effort. Training Yorkies not to fight for a healthy adult who isn't immune-compromised or ill is usually not dangerous to at least try but you could be bitten, as you know. I don't recommend this method for use on big, powerful dogs.
I always say,
almost any humane method of training can work if you & your dog are comfortable with it & you administer it gently, with love, persistence & a load of patience throughout the life of the healthy dog.