Hello from NY!

[magnetar21]

Hello,

My name is Lyel. I am a American Staffordshire Terrier / Pitbull mix and I am 18 months old. I live in New York with my owners, who love me very much. I am about 18 inches in height and weigh about 55 lbs. I am a very hyper and active dog with an endless supply of energy. I am not too fond of strangers, especially big males, but my owner and I try our best to work on that issue. I like to play with other dogs, unless they show dominance. Then I get taken out of the park for bad behavior. I enjoy jumping, swimming, running, pulling, catching frisbees, and playing tug of war. I hope you guys enjoy my pictures and videos.

[Curly_07]

Welcome! Beautiful pup! Glad to have you here. You may want to look around the forum, especially the training section, for threads on using prong collars. Most of the time they are not needed, can cause more issues with the dog than you already have, and can be deathly when used improperly/not fitted correctly. It looks in all of the pics that it isn't fitted properly, but my main concern is that it's such a physical training tool and usually positive training/reinforcement would be better for the dog.

Can you tell us more about your people? Hobbies? Any other pets?

[magnetar21]

:hi Welcome! Beautiful pup! Glad to have you here. You may want to look around the forum, especially the training section, for threads on using prong collars. Most of the time they are not needed, can cause more issues with the dog than you already have, and can be deathly when used improperly/not fitted correctly. It looks in all of the pics that it isn't fitted properly, but my main concern is that it's such a physical training tool and usually positive training/reinforcement would be better for the dog.

Can you tell us more about your people? Hobbies? Any other pets?

Thanks for the welcome. My name is Eddie, Lyels owner. I live in New York and work as a computer systems engineer. I too love to be active and love to play sports and work out regularly. I love all animals but currently only have one dog. So far that's been more than enough to handle.

Regards to the prong collar. I had a trainer instruct me on how to use it. I don't know what you can see from the pictures but the collar is on not too tight and not lose. I only correct him when needed. I would take the collar off but he's reactive to other dogs on walks, while on a leash. I have tried a bit of positive reinforcement training, to have him not be so reactive, but never really gave it enough time to see any results. I guess it is something I should look into trying again.

[Curly_07]

I don't want to go into training techniques too much here in this section, as the Mods prefer it in the Training sections... But, if the dog is dog reactive, and you are using a prong collar to "manage" him, you are only making things worse. Prongs used in that type of environment only cause the dog to have more aggression, and teach it to mask it's normal cues to let you know he is not comfortable in that situation. Any trainer that would suggest using a prong without trying MANY other forms of positvie reinforcement techniques on a dog reactive dog has no business calling themselves a trainer. That's the sad reality though, anybody can call themselves a dog trainer...many believe in Alpha theory and dominance. Look at Ceasar Milan...no credentials, and not qualified to be a behaviorist or trainer, no clue about dog body language, etc, but he still calls himself one and so many people try his "techniques". Look where that got him (See this Thread viewtopic.php?f=6&t=146839&start=30 on page 3, 3rd post down).

As for your leash reactivity, check out this recent thread with another member going through the same thing as you. Maybe it will be of some help... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=154272

It is nice to have you here Eddie! That's my Unlces name I'm also in the IT field, but I do more of Systems and Network Admin type stuff.

[HersheyBear]

welcome ! also from NY here

[Leslie H]