I have a 'classicly-trained' agility/rally sporting breed dog who is very tall and aggresive on-lead towards anything that moves, but only when we walk near our home. Away from home, it's not a problem. He is 100 lbs. and I use a pinch collar. Due to his height, positioning his collar at the top of his neck puts my arm in an awkward position if I want the collar to stay there and to leave any slack at all - the top of his neck is at my waist. When I attempt to correct him at the first sign of aggression (which is usually a sudden alertness that I see in him), he rears up on his hind legs and is as tall as I am. He trys to get away from me and has twisted so hard that once the pinch collar came off and he confronted a car head on (fortunately, the car was moving slow and stopped). He was so focused on the car that he ignored my command to come. Needless to say that really scared me. I now have a second chain on him as a safety in case the pinch collar comes off again. There is also a house with a Dalmation that and he is on alert when we pass by that house. I excercise him twice a day, he plays with our puppy, he runs a lot practicing Agility which he loves and when we can we take him swimming in the lake. I don't see other signs that would indicate he is not getting enough excercise. For some reason when we step outside the house for a walk (I go first), he is assuming the role of pack leader. I have ordered Cesar's book and have watched many episodes for advise, but cannot pinpoint what is out of balance. Maybe some here can suggest a reason for this isolated aggression or some tips for gaining leadership over tall, large dogs. These walks are an important part of our day.

CE,
I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help to you without seeing it in action. BUT, what might be happening is that YOU are nervous on the walks for whatever reason, maybe because you know that he can get away from you if he wants or because of his size. Could be anything, but for some reason, when on leash, he is getting the impression that it is his job to protect you from anything near your home.
I would suggest pepping yourself up before stepping out the door and take things very slowly when leaving the house. For example, he must sit and wait and act completely calm/submissive before you open the door. Once the door is open, he must sit and wait again. Take one step over the threshhold, repeat calm-submission. From your door to wherever it is that he is no longer aggressive, if at any time he becomes alert/tense, I would correct, stop and attain calm-submission, then continue walking. Since he is so big and hard to control, I would take things very slow and be VERY confident. You are going to have to think of everything as yours and claim it as so. I would also not allow him to sniff or break from the walk at any point in the "danger zone".

I hope this might help you some, but I would suggest consulting with a professional.

I watched this episode and really learned a lot. I have a female border collie who thinks she is alpha dog. I have tried many of your tips to try and show her she isn't, and she has improved, but we still have major problems. She is very agressive. We have to leave the park at times to get her to listen. When she sees another dog, it's like she is a whole other dog. She stiffens and pircks her ears straight forward like she's stalking them. We also have a female begale. They do fight sometimes and it's scarry, my border collie has done some damage. One time she dragged me half way across a park to get to aonther dog. Luckly I got her to stop. I am stuck with her.

CE, Might I suggest you try to direct your dog's attention away from the tempting distraction via a rear touch with the foot as Cesar uses? Also you might try having your dog sit or move forward facing away from the object of his attention. I have had success with other owners' dogs in various classes and my own rescues using stiffened fingers (like Cesar uses for a 'bite') held right on the top loin area to enforce the idea of the dog staying seated and focusing on that rather than the object of his desire. You must remain calm and assertive for this to work. And you must not let the dog have its way by spinning, doing an 'alligator' roll or other such shenanigans. Have you ever tried a weighted backpack on your dog when you walk it? You might also try using a British-style slip lead instead of the pinch collar - this worked very well for me in a recent obedience class situation where one owner's hound was rearing up and putting his paws OVER the lead and walking on his hind legs in a twisting true panic attack when the owner tugged on the lead. The dog's transformation when put on the British-style slip lead (you see them in agility all the time, I'm sure) put up around behind the ears "like a showdog" was instant. The owner was grateful and the rest of the class didn't stop talking about the change for the remaining weeks of the class! I am now 'older and plumper' and have owned large and powerful sporting, working and herding breeds, but I have also owned horses in my 'younger and much slimmer' days - horses which are much larger and more powerful than any breed of dog. Don't accept anything less than a calm, submissive response from your dog. Work calmly and assertively to get that response. Energy levels vary and exercise needs vary for every dog. The walk is more important than just exercise, though, and it must be mastered. You can do this! I have faith in you! Keep us posted and don't ever be afraid to ask for input!

Cesar! Help! My family has a very good well behaved one-year-old Pomeranian named Mickey. He knows a few tricks and listens when you tell him to do something. So what is the problem? My mother! She treats the dog better than her own two children! The first thing you see when you walk into our living room is toys and dog treats scattered all over the couch and the floor. My mom bought Mickey a STROLLER just so that she could bring him shopping with her! She won't even let me and my younger sister go with her! Sometimes Mickey refuses to eat out of his dish so my mom HAND FEEDS him! He also eats BEFORE the family eats dinner and he gets ALL the leftovers when we're finished. When my mom takes Mickey for walks, well you shouldn't really consider them walks. She let's him sniff everything that he passes and picks him up and carries him home if she thinks he is tired. My mom watches your show all the time but I guess she's going deaf or something because she doesn't follow the rules at all. Help! We need to put an end to the puppy madness!

I posted this on another episode but I think it would fit better here:
I have written in to a few people looking for advice and have gotten no where - PLEASE HELP!
I have a beautiful and very well behaved border collie/aussie mix. She has been through obedience school and is great EXCEPT when someone comes to the door (or she even thinks someone might be coming to the door). First she literally charges the door and then she doesn’t stop barking. Yes, she gets excercise and I know she is a high energy dog - this is an obsession. I have tried putting her on a leash and practicing someone coming to the door but after almost 2 hours my arms were tired from correcting and she was still going strong (and we walked her before the lesson.) I am the alpha dog in every other situation but this is getting worse.
Please advise before my husband’s patience runs out.

Rachel, you have listed two symptoms of the bigger problems with your grandparents' GSD. You are very observant to have noticed them and to realize they need to be addressed and now. If you think about WHY the dog is digging holes and becoming aggressive/assertive over family members, you will probably surmise from information given in Cesar's shows what the dog will need to achieve proper balance and give up both the obsession(s) and aggressions.

Ask your grandparents if they are ready and willing to commit to rehabilitating their dog vs. re-homing him. If so,increased exercise, proper lengthy migration-type walks (perhaps with the addition of weighted backpacks??), and ensuring that the younger members of the family maintain leadership over this dog - as he is now of 'juvenile delinquency' age and seeking to 'move up' in pack ranking - should help.

Good luck!

Mari

Jill,

Sorry, I'm not Mary B, but I still have some great advice. First of all, you can't just wait for the next guest to ring the bell. Get a helper out there to ring the bell when you give him/her the "OK". First get your dog on a leash and stand right in front of the door. Sit her down and give no tension on the leash, nor fearful or angry energy. When the bell rings, pay close attention to your dog and give a sharp touch and a universal sound at the slightest move or sound of your dog. I guarantee you that this WILL WORK if you do it correctly and use the right energy, so don't get mad at me if it doesn't work, because it is your fault. Just remember calm, assertive energy, and not frustrated, angry energy like you probably have been using all the other times that you have tried. Do this process a couple times until your dog catches on, and soon you don't have to train her anymore. But remember that even though your dog may act fine when leashed, doesn't mean that things will be the same off leash. After your session of on-leash training, try it off the leash and see how it goes. If it doesn't go too well, try the on-leash thing a few more times and then try it off the leash again. Repeat this until your dog is a master at this. Always reward your dog by rubbing her if she has a done a good job. Soon you can live in peace!!

I just wanted to say thanks to those of you who gave me advice. I just happen to stumble upon Cesar's show one night, got online to check it out further and decided to write in. I am VERY impressed and interested in Cesar's methods so I will be doing more research.
As for my "spastic door attacker" I have been working on it and things are getting better. I think my biggest problem has been i was just standing next to her or even behind her when correcting and never thought to stand between her and the door. I will tell you the first time I did it she even growled at me. So I kept backing her up until she was in the next room and stopped growling. She hasn't done that since! Today she started to bark and stopped and looked at me instead of charging the door!!! YEAH! It's coming along. I knew it had to be something simple I was doing wrong. :)