Has anyone ever heard of Bill Glatzel?

[123-muttley]

Hi,

I have a dog who has become increasingly dog aggressive to the point where professional help has become necessary. At this point no blood has been shed, but she will pounce on any strange dog who comes within range. At times she even turns on dogs whom she has known for years. I met a lady at the park with two very well behaved dogs who recommended TLC K-9 training academy in Phoenix AZ. They utilize muscle stem and vibrating collars. I met the trainer's dog (not Bill Glatzel, but someone who works under him) and she was very well behaved and seemed happy. Head up and tail wagging. I have not had much luck finding dog trainers who work with aggression, but I am not fully convince about this training method. Not to mention the price tag is high-about 1,600 dollars for one dog. This trainer is mentioned in Rip off report, but he did take the time to respond to criticisms and reviews are generally positive, but for the price I would prefer something a little more substantial. Any advice or opinion is welcome. I have until five today to make up my mind. Which I also don't like because it seemed like a sales job

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

Never heard of him or his training place, but I would avoid this route. From what it sounds like, your dog does NOT need a trainer, but instead a behavioralist. Would you be sending your dog away to this place? As I think that is the last thing you want to do! First of all, YOU have to live with this dog, not them. You should be involved in teaching/learning management techniques with your dog. I am not sure what exactly you are hoping to achieve with a trainer/behavioralist, however you should know that if your dog is dog-aggressive, the last place you should be visiting is a dog park. Also, as an owner, wouldn't you want to supervise everything they are doing with your dog? Perhaps I am paranoid, but I am always suspicious of those 'closed door' training facilities people send their dogs away too. Too often people say one thing and do another.

Anyway, that's just my 2 cents

Whereabouts are you? Someone may be able to recommend someone

 

[123-muttley]

Thanks for the reply. My dog would be staying in home with me, not going away and I would be learning how to train her. T

 

[Dekka]

Vibrating collars you say.... I would run away. Punishment is NOT how you help a dog with aggression issues!!!

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

Yeah, wasn't too keen on that either, Dekka.

 

[Zoom]

What kind of dog do you have?

If he's giving you a deadline to decide, that alone would make me go the other way. Sounds like he's very keen on electric-collars, which is NOT the way to go about dealing with any form of aggression.

Look for a qualified behaviorist instead, one who will figure out WHY your dog is acting aggressively and work from there.

 

[Maxy24]

By vibrating collars I assume they mean shock collars. There would be no use in a vibrating collar unless your dog is deaf.

In that case I would avoid this trainer like the plague! No one should be inflicting pain on your dog in the name of training, that's abusive. I looked at the website and they claim to cure problems in one or two lessons. If that is the case I doubt they are doing anything more than downright abusing the dog until he's too scared to function. Otherwise they are lying. Plus they claim positive reinforcement that uses food causes dominance problems which is false in so many ways.

Chances are when your dog aggresses they will give him a very severe punishment until he is too afraid to repeat the behavior. The problem with this, other than being abusive, is that the dog still WANTS to attack the other dogs, his mind has not changed at all, the only thing holding him back is that he might get attacked by you again. The dog really still wants to attack and because he is not showing you the signs that he wants to (he will not growl or snap or anything because he was punished for that) you will think he is fine with other dogs and will allow him to interact. All it will take is for him to forget the pain that he got at this training place ONCE and he could kill another dog because you thought he was cured. Or one dog may just push him a little too far, he was already wound SO tight because he wanted so badly to attack but was also anxious because he knew you were watching and would attack him if he went for the other dog and then say a dog started humping him. I would expect that that dog might finally snap, he's so anxious and then the other dog WAY crosses the line, and he attacks, But you had no idea it was coming, they "cured" him after all.

A good trainer would work to make the dog like other dogs. Punishing him will not do that. In the case of genetic aggression the dog cannot be trained to like other dogs, his genes tell him dogs are for attacking and you can't stop that. In that case a good trainer would teach you how to manage the dog, teach the dog how to ignore other dogs and get his attention off of other dogs when he sees them so that you can safely walk your dog in public without him flipping out at the sight of a dog.

Your dog is in your avatar correct? Is he a pit bull? If so then there is a high chance that his dog aggression is genetic. It's possible it's not but if he was well socialized and does not appear fearful then I would bet that it is. There is no way to know for sure without seeing the dog in person and watching how he reacts but I would take the precaution of not allowing him to interact with dogs any more. Pit bulls are by far my favorite breed but when you own one you must be aware that there is a high likely hood of some level of dog aggression that cannot be cured. It most certainly can be managed, the dog should be able to see another dog during his walk and not go crazy, but you cannot expect him to safely interact with other dogs again anymore than you can expect a greyhound not to chase a rabbit or a Border collie not to try and herd sheep.


Start beefing up your basic obedience. Teach him a "watch me" command to get his attention. Don't bribe the dog by holding the treat up to your face to get him to look at your face. Have the treat in your pocket and simply wait for him to glance at you then say "YES!" and give a bunch of treats. Repeat this over and over. Then hold a treat in your open palm and when he goes to get it close your hand up. Repeat until he looks at you instead of at the treat, then give a bunch of treats from your other hand. Slowly require him to look longer and longer at your face before he can get a treat. This command can be used to get his attention off of a dog he sees.

I would still get the help of a trainer but find one who will not shock, hit or collar correct the dog but will train using mainly positive reinforcement.

I also suggest the book "Click to Calm" which deals with all sorts of dog aggression and has multiple ways to deal with it.

I hope you can find the help you need, we can probably help you out a great deal too, many of us have dealt with dog aggression.

 

[Maxy24]

I'm really hating this dude's website. They do have dog bootcamp where they take your dog and have them live with them. And don't you know that positive reinforcement only training can lead to housebreaking regression and an increase in destructive behavior in the house and using treats makes dogs aggressive of course.

The only thing on his site I liked was the "success" story about the people who had their dogs on the dog whisperer and the training only lasted for a day.

 

[Dekka]

lol that website is hilarous (in a sad sort of way) I guess we need to be telling all the professionals they have it wrong. That person has NO CLUE about training.

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

I couldn't find a website! Can anyone post a link?

 

[Dekka]

Dog Training - Professional Phoenix Dog Training Phoenix Arizona Puppy Big Small Dogs Scottsdale Dog Trainer Dog Obedience Trainer Scottsdale Arizona

 

[123-muttley]

I took everyone's advice and decided against using this trainer. Thank you for all of your input! This still leaves me back at square one with a dog aggressive dog and no trainer. I have called several today, but with my limited experience it is almost impossible to know who is qualified and who isn't. There are so many different theories on dog training that my head is spinning! Do I really have to be dominant or the alpha dog? Seems like this is a common thread, but then I read about how this theory has been disproved. My head is killing me! Muttley, the dog with the problem, is most likely a pit bull mix. She gets along well with dogs she knows, people and cats. I think quite a bit of what led up to this was my inadequate leash training. I guess it could be a number of things, though, and I am sure I need professional help. I am just not sure where to get it from!

 

[Dekka]

No you don't need (or even should) to be alpha. Not all dogs will get along with all dogs. I have JRTs, they get along fine with dogs they know (for the most part... see my thread on being thrilled with Snip). Why does she need to love every dog? Her breeding is going to give her DA tendencies.

What exactly does she do? When does she do it?

 

[Zoom]

If you give us a more detailed idea of what she does, what she look like when she does and what you do at the time, we might be able to help you.

 

[123-muttley]

She is pretty much out of control around other dogs and it is destroying my life. My friends all have dogs. We like to hike and camp, but are unable to do so. I can not leave her at the dog sitters because of this problem. She ran out the front door and attacked a dog walking by. We don't have a yard and walks have become a living hell as she puts her hackles up and lunges and snarles at every dog she sees. She is no longer able to be off leash. This all started very recently and I think if it doesn't stop it is only going to escalate. I have tried giving her treats when she sees other dogs before she goes beserk, and although sometimes this gets her attention it does not seem to really be making a dent in the problem. I know it culd be because of her breed, but it started when we got a new dog. She is not aggressive towards him, but her demeanor towards every other dog has changed.

 

[Dekka]

First off your dog may NEVER be good around all dogs. Its in the nature of the breed (mix). It could be age. Most dogs are fine as pups and youngsters, but as they go into full maturity 2-5 they change how they view other dogs. If she is in that age range it likely has more to do with maturity than with the other dog.

If she doesn't take treats then you are too close to the other dog. I would find a good behaviourist or trainer who is familiar with dealing with dog aggression and reactivity. NOT one who just suppresses the out ward signs.

Dekka is quite dog reactive and no I likely will never be able to let her off leash around dogs she does no know well... but that is in part the nature of her breed. However you can train your dog and expect good manners whilst on leash. You need to train a watch me, a solid stay and good leash manners. All the while managing her so she doesn't get to 'practise' this behaviour.

 

[Criosphynx]

wwwwoooowww.. that site is hilarious (and not funny, all at the same time)

did you know that training with treats means its will take years to get a behavior??? Because the dog has to offer the behavior???

My dogs must be geniuses then. What a quack.


To the Op....can you make a video of him aggressing? If we could see it we could help you better...but I agree it could be age or genetics.... how do you react when it happens?

 

[lizzybeth727]

Check out Association of Pet Dog Trainers - Dog Training Resources. There is a trainer search (though I agree that you probably need a behaviorist rather than a trainer) and more importantly, there is an article that will help you figure out what to look for in a trainer, how to figure out if that trainer is right for you.

 

[Beanie]

How about this guy?
Home

Sounds like he might be pretty expensive though...

 

[erica12]

i heard about him before. I heard that he started as a street performer just for some food to eat. He is always on the street to find some food. but now he's famous. I don't know if that story was true.

lots of stuffs!