Post by RealPitBull on Feb 26, 2008 10:01:16 GMT -5
Well....here are some important points to consider:
1) You have Pit Bull mixes that are just about ready to hit maturity and you could very well start seeing some interdog aggression from those guys as well. At the very least, as you've sadly discovered, you will have dogs on your hands that even if they do not start a fight, will hit back hard if they are atagonized by your Jack.
2) You have a Jack, which is also a breed that tends toward squabbling behavior with other dogs, so now you have 3 dogs, all of a dog-aggressive breed.
3) This is a management and not necessarily a training scenario. What that means is, all the training in the world isn't going to eliminate what may be a genetic drive in the dogs to squabble with each other. You must be able to read your dogs, keep them seperated when necessary, manage the environment (i.e. don't leave food/toys/bowls lying around) and THEN work on teaching your dogs to respond to verbal cues so that you can easily stop and redirect them. The most well-trained Pit Bull or Jack Russell is still going to get into trouble if they are not properly managed.
As far as a trainer, someoen who is trying to charge you $175 JUST for an evaluation is probably ripping you off. Lots of point blank shitty trainers out there that will charge you an arm and a leg and make you empty promises. See the sticky thread on this board regarding locating trainers, because I do think having someone come into the home and work with you in developing a good management and training plan is a MUST. But avoid any trainer that says they can "train" your dogs to not be aggressive. A trainer you choose should emphasize MANAGEMENT. Also note that the going rate for in-home, private training should be somewhere between $50 to $100 per hour/session, depending on location. A behaviorist (i.e. someone with an applicable COLLEGE DEGREE) will be on the high end of that estimate.
1) You have Pit Bull mixes that are just about ready to hit maturity and you could very well start seeing some interdog aggression from those guys as well. At the very least, as you've sadly discovered, you will have dogs on your hands that even if they do not start a fight, will hit back hard if they are atagonized by your Jack.
2) You have a Jack, which is also a breed that tends toward squabbling behavior with other dogs, so now you have 3 dogs, all of a dog-aggressive breed.
3) This is a management and not necessarily a training scenario. What that means is, all the training in the world isn't going to eliminate what may be a genetic drive in the dogs to squabble with each other. You must be able to read your dogs, keep them seperated when necessary, manage the environment (i.e. don't leave food/toys/bowls lying around) and THEN work on teaching your dogs to respond to verbal cues so that you can easily stop and redirect them. The most well-trained Pit Bull or Jack Russell is still going to get into trouble if they are not properly managed.
As far as a trainer, someoen who is trying to charge you $175 JUST for an evaluation is probably ripping you off. Lots of point blank shitty trainers out there that will charge you an arm and a leg and make you empty promises. See the sticky thread on this board regarding locating trainers, because I do think having someone come into the home and work with you in developing a good management and training plan is a MUST. But avoid any trainer that says they can "train" your dogs to not be aggressive. A trainer you choose should emphasize MANAGEMENT. Also note that the going rate for in-home, private training should be somewhere between $50 to $100 per hour/session, depending on location. A behaviorist (i.e. someone with an applicable COLLEGE DEGREE) will be on the high end of that estimate.