training discs...has anyone ever used them?

hi all,

has anyone ever used training discs? i've been asked by my trainer/behavourist to buy some and he will tune them in for me and show me how to use them. the class i attend is called 'grumblers and growlers' and is for dog-aggressive dogs. sam unfortunately can be dog aggressive, but not every dog and only seems to be dark-coloured ones :smt102 , hopefully this class will help us both out. cheers

Yes I have used them with much success , but different dogs react differently to them I have found if you have a sefl confident dog, that does not get spooked by noise they will work fine, but if you have a nervous/ insurcure dog, theycan do more harm than good.

Also usung them an a dog aggressive dog is a no no in my book, as your dog may just connect the sound of the discs with the other dog, so nothing leaned,

I also am not a lover of " growl classes" either, as the ones I have seen use negitive enforcment to break the dog of aggression.

Positive re-inforcment alway wins in my book ,

throwing discs or other noise distractions does not cure the problem of aggression, it may mask it , but it will always be there. you need to tune your dog into a different way of thinking, allow him to lean by walking by other dogs, is no big deal, if he ignores it he is praised or treated.

this is the way I work with my dog aggressive dog, if she "fixes a gaze"on one, we turn the other way , get her attention, then turn back, it can take a while to do this, but eventually she has leant now to walk past a dog,(she may give a little look) but she does not try to eat it now, I dont say anything negitive while we are walking past, just kepp chatting away to her, if she does not give the dog to much attention, we give lots os praise when we have passed.............this way she is leaning "its no big deal" if I was to shake things and shout everytime we passed something, she would be antisapating it and get worked up and ready to pounce.

Disc`s are a good tool to teach things like, jumping/pinching things, and general nuaghty behaviour, but not aggression.

we all train our dogs differently so it is up to the indevidual to decide which method to use. good luck with him, I know it is not easy owning a dog aggressive dog.

thanks very much jackbox for your reply. i will definitely take on board what you are saying and if i feel the discs are negatively re-inforcing sam's behaviour i will stop using them. as you, i only believe in positive reinforcement.

with sam he tends not to bark and snarl at other dogs (male dogs), and if he's going to attack he does it silently and grabs the dog near its back end and shakes it. when i'm out with him i always steer clear of other dogs, but not so he doesn't see them, just dont want to get into any situations with him just yet. at the training clubs i go to if he's eye-balling other dogs or barking (which he has just started doing) at other dogs, i get his attention by any means possible!! as soon as i do he gets lots of praise and a treat.

i know alot of people dont believe in 'growler' classes, but i want to do the best for sam, and as i havent come across aggression before in my other 2 springers its a learning curve for both me and sam.