The Good Dog Minute 6/30/15: Ziggy, 200 pounds of out of control St. Bernard

Hey gang, join me on Ziggy, the 200 pound St. Bernard's first-ever training session. Ziggy arrived at The Good Dog the day after being adopted. He had had no training and likely never been walked before. His new owner, although a savvy dog person, was freaked out by his sheer power and strength when she went to walk him. He happily drug her (and later me!) all over like a rag doll. Even though Ziggy is a sweet guy under all that dog, his sheer size and power create the potential for injury and danger. Without being dramatic, this was one of the most challenging walk cases I've had - simply from a power/weight perspective. I'm pretty strong and pretty handy with big dogs, but I couldn't believe how much power this guy had! I'm using a prong collar (he could couldn't care less), a dominant dog collar (for backup/safety), and an e-collar. In this first session I start working him on some simple short e-collar recalls to slow him down and create a little focus. Once we got his mind in a better gear we went to work on e-collar heel. It ain't perfect and it certainly ain't pretty, but I'm super happy with Ziggy's progress in this first session. Also, I think this video is a fantastic example of the value and power of e-collar training. Without it, most people would never be able to safely walk Ziggy, and most dogs like him would remain unwalkable or dangerous.

P.S. The person I'm talking with in the video isn't Ziggy's owner, that's Jeff a fellow dog trainer who's shadowing me - dodging Ziggy's drool explosions and probably enjoying that he's NOT the one holding the leash on this one. :)

Видео The Good Dog Minute 6/30/15: Ziggy, 200 pounds of out of control St. Bernard канала TheGoodDogTraining