Because Sephy was so confident, stubborn, and independent, I started with aversive training techniques. In this article, I talk about three common dog training methods that I used on Sephy, and why I have stopped using them.

• Touching the dog’s flank.
• Leash corrections, collar corrections, or leash jerks.
• Holding a dog to the ground (also known as the alpha roll).

Shiba Inu Sephy – the terror that flaps in the night.

1. Touch the Dog’s Flank

This technique is commonly used to stop a dog from obsessing on an external stimulus (e.g. another dog, a cat, a person). Reactive or aggressive dogs often start by actively searching for something to focus on. Once a target is acquired, the dog gets extremely still, and will stare unblinking at the object.

During this time, the dog will not give attention to anything else, even food.

From here, the dog can explode in a burst of energy and lunge after his target when it gets within range.

Shiba Inu Sephy obsessing on an external stimulus.

I try to stop my dog as early as possible, and redirect him onto something else. If I wait too long, he will lose control and practice reactive/aggressive behavior, that he will then be more prone to repeat.

Initially, I was able to break my Shiba Inu from focusing on objects by touching his flank (startle response). After a few times however, he got habituated to it and would just ignore the touch.

The best technique, I have found, for avoiding reactive/aggressive triggers, is to ignore those objects myself, and just move my dog along. There are a variety of other techniques for dealing with dog-to-dog aggression and other aggression triggers.

The best technique, I have found, for avoiding reactive/aggressive triggers, is to ignore those objects myself, and just move my dog along.

A variation on the touch, is what is known as the finger jab. Instead of a touch or tap, some trainers direct clients to apply a hard jab to the dog. While the two techniques may sound similar, they actually work quite differently.

Unlike a touch, finger jabs are very dependent on the amount of physical force applied. We want to apply the right amount of force, so that our dog has an aversive response. Too weak a jab and our dog will just ignore it, and too strong a jab may cause stress, fear, and more.

Finger jabs are a pain based technique, and as such, all the risks of aversive methods are present as well.

Finger jabs are a pain based aversive technique, and as such all the risks of such techniques apply.

2. Leash Correction, Collar Correction, Leash Jerk

Leash corrections are very difficult to implement with the proper timing, with the proper force, and with the proper technique. I received many private lessons on how to perform leash jerks, and I was still not doing it correctly.

Firstly, and most importantly, the collar correction has to be a quick jerk or snap. There is only tension for an extremely short amount of time (a quarter-second or less), and then the leash should be loose again.

Most people tend to do tugs rather than jerks, which have very little effect on the dog. Instead, it may exacerbate the situation, because there is continuous tension on the leash, causing the dog to get more tense and frustrated.

Secondly, we must be properly positioned for the jerk so that the force is always to the side, rather than directly back. Jerking to the back, may encourage the dog to lunge forward to oppose the force.

Leash corrections are very difficult to implement with the proper timing, with the proper force, and with the proper technique.

It cannot be so soft that our dog does not notice it or gets habituated to it.

My leash jerks were always too soft, and my Shiba Inu quickly got habituated to it. Instead of improving his behavior, my dog just got frustrated and aggressive whenever I did a leash correction. He would jump and bite on the leash. Ultimately, it got so bad that he would jump on me and bite on my jacket sleeve.

Some people use a martingale collar, prong collar, or choke chain to help them perform more accurate leash jerks, with greater force. I used both the martingale and the prong. However, as with the flat collar, results were good at first, but degraded after my dog got accustomed to the increased force from the prong.

The collar correction may be more appropriate for a less strong-willed breed, but it did not work well on my stubborn Shiba Inu. As with other pain based aversive techniques, leash corrections can also cause our dog to lose trust in us, and develop other behavioral problems, including aggression.

The collar correction may be more appropriate for a less strong-willed breed, but it did not work well on my stubborn Shiba Inu.

3. Alpha Roll

The alpha roll involves holding or pinning our dog down until he surrenders, gives up, or shuts down.

It is extremely difficult to implement an alpha roll well and in the proper circumstance. In the hands of most pet owners, alpha rolls frequently gets overused and misused.

My Shiba Inu got really stressed (wild eyes, mouthing, screaming, flailing) whenever I did this on him. Even after he relaxed, he got very detached afterwards, and it did not seem to have any effect on his bad dog behaviors. In fact, alpha rolls made things worse because my dog became extremely sensitive towards human touch.

After a lot of counter-conditioning work, he is a bit better today, but is still skittish of heavy handling and restraint. I am slowly working to gain back the enormous amount of trust I lost by using the alpha roll technique.

This may “look” like an alpha roll, but it was just a fun scratch session. I have not performed alpha rolls since things worked out so badly for Sephy.

Even the Monks of New Skete, who were the first to popularize the alpha roll, have recently said that they regretted putting this technique in their book because it has been misused.

Alpha rolls should only be used by expert trainers, who are really good at reading dogs, and only as a last resort for dealing with dogs that do not respond to anything else.

Unfortunately, this technique has gotten more popular again, because of television training shows.

I see many people using it in dog parks, dog trails, and vet offices for minor offenses, or not even real offenses at all. The most frequent case of alpha rolls occur when a rude dog runs up to invade another dog’s space. The invaded dog naturally starts vocalizing to warn the rude dog off, and tell him that his rude behavior is unacceptable. This is all perfectly natural canine behavior.

Nevertheless, the growling dog gets alpha rolled by his owners, in front of the rude dog. This can erode our dog’s trust in us, because not only did we not protect him from the rude dog, but we are also punishing him for trying to protect himself. It also teaches our dog not to growl in the future, and to go directly into an attack or a bite.

Alpha rolls are dangerous, erodes trust, and may cause additional dog behavioral problems.

I have never seen it make things better, and have seen many instances of it making things worse. Even when expert trainers did this on my Shiba Inu, he did not respond well. It did not stop his bad behaviors, and only encouraged more aggression. Violence begets more violence.

Alpha rolls make for a good television show, but given the extreme risks, both physical and mental, to the dog and the trainer, I would stay away from this technique. I would also stay away from trainers who recommend its use.

My dogs respond best to resource management techniques.

What Worked Best with My Shiba Inu

Resource management techniques combined with a consistent set of rules and a fixed routine has worked well for Sephy. He is not perfect, but his behavior has improved significantly, and he is happy and relaxed.

I no longer use finger jabs, leash corrections, or alpha rolls on any of my dogs.

What Worked Best with My Dogs

I had a difficult time finding a good dog trainer for my Shiba Inu.

He is not an easy dog to handle, and most trainers that I visited initially were not very familiar with the Shiba Inu breed.

Finding a Dog Trainer for My Shiba Inu.

Finding a dog trainer

Finding a dog trainer.

Decide which dog training style most suits us and our dog.

1. Get a list of all the dog trainers in our area. If we live in the United States, we can use quickly generate this list using the Association of Pet Dog Trainers search tool.
2. Decide which dog training style most suits us and our dog.

   There are generally three groups of dog trainers –

   • Those that mostly use reward techniques,
   • Those that mostly use aversive techniques, and
   • Those that use a combination of the two.

   Here are the pros and cons of the different dog training styles.

3. Visit the websites of all the dog trainers on our list, and filter out the ones that do not use the dog training techniques that we think are appropriate.
4. Call up all the trainers that are still on our list and quiz them about the dog training techniques that they use. Tell them some of the problems we are facing with our dog and evaluate the answers that they give us.
5. Pick the top three trainers based on our phone conversation, and set up a dog evaluation session with them.

Most trainers will want to evaluate a dog first before coming up with a training program. These are usually private evaluation sessions that last from 1-2 hours and cost from $50 US to $100 US. These sessions are also useful for evaluating the trainer in action with our dog.

Do our own research and don't just blindly follow whatever a dog trainer tells us.

Do not just follow whatever a trainer tells you

The dog training profession is not very well regulated so we may run across some mediocre or bad trainers before finding one that suits us.

If you feel uncomfortable about particular training techniques, ask your trainer a lot of questions, and do some online research of your own. If the trainer is rude to you or does not want to answer your questions, then leave and find another trainer who will actually work for his pay.

Remember that you are the boss. You pay them, not the other way around.

Do not be afraid to terminate training if you discover in the middle of the program that the trainer is not knowledgeable, does not suit you or your dog’s temperament, or is making your dog anxious and unhappy.

It is also a good idea to ask a trainer what his policy is if we decide to terminate training early.

Shiba Inu Sephy and his best buddy Siberian Husky Shania.

A great resource in my dog trainer search was my local SPCA.

I had very good experiences with the two SPCAs that I visited. Both of them had very knowledgeable dog trainers, and very reasonable prices. They were also very willing to accommodate my training requests, and had a variety of balanced dogs at the shelter that they were willing to use to help train and socialize my dog.

Often, the best teacher for a dog is another dog, especially with dog-to-dog aggression issues. While we may try to learn ‘dog’ to better communicate with our furry friend; a well socialized and balanced canine is not only extremely fluent in his native tongue, but knows when, and how to use it to achieve the most effective results.

Using other dogs is often an invaluable tool in dog training. Therefore, find a dog trainer with good access to other dogs, if you can.

In addition to the SPCA, dog trainers who are attached to a dog daycare or dog walking service will frequently have access to appropriate dogs that they can use in the dog training process.

Another possibility is to get help from our breeder. Good breeders know their breed well, and can usually point us in the right direction. They may even provide our dog with some good playmates.

Often, the best teacher for a dog is another dog, especially with dog-to-dog aggression issues.

Dog trainer vs. boot camp

Instead of hiring a trainer, some people send their dog to boot camp.

I have never sent any of my dogs to boot camp.

My poor Shiba got stressed from going to daycare once, for about 8 hours. He came back sick, depressed, stressed, and car reactive. I don’t think he would handle boot camp too well.

My opinion is that boot camps are risky.

We do not know what is happening to our dog during his time there, and there is usually very little transparency. A trainer once told me that she subdued a Shiba by giving him an extremely strong correction with a choke chain. Then, she held him down in a forceful alpha roll, loomed over him in a menacing fashion, and growled at him. The Shiba defecated and after that incident, he was very "well-behaved".

Even if my Shiba miraculously became well-behaved, I would lose a lot of hard-earned trust, lower his quality of life, and damage our relationship.

Finally, the training done at boot camp may not transfer to us.

• If we are still fearful of our dog,
• If we are projecting weak and unbalanced energy,
• If we are inconsistent in enforcing our rules, …

Our dog will return to his old ways.

We do not know exactly what is happening to our dog while he is at boot camp.

My Shiba Inu trainer experiences

Shiba Inus are still not very common in the United States and it can be difficult to find a trainer that is familiar with Shibas.

Shibas are primitive, stubborn, and extremely strong willed. Therefore, it is best to get a trainer with a lot of Shiba experience, is knowledgeable of the breed, and has successfully trained them.

Shibas are primitive, stubborn, and extremely strong willed. Therefore, it is best to get a trainer with a lot of Shiba experience, is knowledgeable of the breed, and has successfully trained them.

After over a year and a half of meeting with trainer types, I have finally met one who knows Shiba. She handled my Shiba very well and very correctly identified him as a "reaction junkie" (playing, chasing, or fighting are all rewards to him as long as he gets a reaction. The bigger the reaction, the better it is.).

Previous trainers who "said" they knew Shiba, but really didn’t, have alpha rolled him to detrimental results. Others were uncomfortable dealing with a dog that mouthed so much, would not surrender, and would be constantly trying to push their buttons.

Remember that if at first we don’t find the right trainer, find another one.

To get a quick feel for the trainers around me, I enrolled for classes in a variety of places, and visited with my local SPCA, daycare centers, and training facilities.

Here are more tips on how to find a good dog trainer from –

• The Dog Welfare Campaign,
• The Association of Professional Dog Trainers, and
• Vet Learn.

If you have more tips or stories about finding a good dog trainer, please share them with us in the comments section. Thanks!

If you have more tips or stories about finding a good dog trainer, please share them with us.