Is anyone familiar with Leerburg's way of training his German Shepherds?

Question

www.leerburg.com .... Is this guy totally nuts by asserting his dominance with such aggressive training or is he doing what he does well? I mean, there's a lot of stuff on that site I would never do to my dog (like hang it from a tree when it tries to attack me [but it might be necessary... i don't know]), but there's also a lot of great points he makes. What do you think about his ways of training?

Answer 1

Ed Frawley is an AMAZING trainer with an incredible gift. You're talking about his extreme methods of training for extreme circumstances, but if you listen to his philosophy on training a dog/becoming your dog's pack leader, you'll hear him say, sometimes it's a matter of training with markers, and sometimes there needs to be a correction. The right kind of trainer can lean one way or another based on the circumstances. There should never be this way only because the same methods are not going to work on all dogs.

I asked Ed Frawley a question about my newly adopted JRT which was exhibiting EXTREME seperation anxiety behavior. Shaking to nearly convulsions in the crate, crying - no screeching in the crate as soon as I was out of her sight - ripping up her blankets, biting her crate.

Mr. Frawley never met me, never met my dog, but his advice was RIGHT ON THE MONEY! Not only did he email me back within 24 hours (which is quite unheard of as my experience goes), but he sent me wonderful reference links.

Although like you, I thought his advice was a little outside of the box, I did it. He told me to leave her in the crate 24/7 unless having her on a leash and interacting with her outside. So she went in the crate all the time. If I was home, she was crated, if I was at work, she was crated. Short of potty breaks, walks and playtime (all outside), she was in the crate.

This was 1.5 months ago. She now crates on command. She could care less if I'm in the room. No more shaking, no more destroying her bedding. Ed Frawley said she just needed to learn to get past the ghosts in her head, and by leaving her in the crate, she faced her fears, and I earned peace of mind. With my peace came her peace.

I think Ed is wonderful - he's my dog whisperer.

Answer 2

If people would assert their dominance (and I don't neccessarily mean by harsh physical methods) many wouldn't be having the problems with aggression they are having. Having a guarding breed that tends to be a 'hard' breed and then treating it like a 'furbaby' is asking for trouble.

As far as 'hanging'. Sometimes, with very aggressive dogs, drastic measures need to be taken to save the dog from being euthanized. But this is not something to be done by a novice.

Answer 3

It's hard for someone to be all wrong all the time. The guy has been training GSDs for a long time, so he clearly has a lot of valuable experience. However, yeah, I'm with you. His training methods are absolutely not my cup of tea. I have a house full of shepherds (okay, three, but trust me, it feels like a house full when you try to walk from room to room with a bunch of 80 pound shadows), and I have never found it necessary or productive to use physical force or violence to train my dogs or to be their clear leader. And two of my three are rescues that came to me in need of retraining, one of whom had lost two homes due to actual or perceived aggression, was very frightened of people and reactive toward other dogs, and now goes with me all over the place to dog events.

Did I read that correctly that your dog tries to attack you, or was that a hypothetical? I definitely agree that hanging is the wrong approach for that sort of thing, but finding a skilled trainer would certainly be the right first step.

Answer 4

Training methods involving force or compulsion have been used in dog training for a very long time, and in the right hands, they work. It's only in relatively recent times that inductive methods have come to the forefront in training. The old ways still work, and while I do not personally agree with using force to teach, the methods have their place for certain dogs and in certain situations. There is no "one way" to train a dog, and his is only one way.

Answer 5

If your in doubt, seek a prof. trainer. A shepherd is a big dog that not only loves, but needs a lot of personal attention and training. They are bred as work dogs, learning comes easy for their breed. I have a 4 month old GSD (which is my second GS baby), I have never had to use such force in training. To each thier own, I suppose. I feel that my little girl should obey me out of love and the need to please and not out of fear. Like my (human) son. They are willing to listen without installation of fear.