Debating the Dog Aggression

I have been rising early this week, due to the lingering effects of jet lag, so I figured I would take the dogs off leash in the park this morning... before anyone else. They generally do well, just chase each other around and burn off some Jack Russell energy. Wyatt has been a little changed since the addition of Lila to the pack. He tends to be more aggressive when on leash towards other dogs. I am not sure if it is a protective reflex because of Lila, but it never used to happen before. There has been a couple of incidents off leash as well in the park... usually over toys. I try to avoid people if they are playing catch with their dogs in the park because it will become Wyatt's mission in life to steal the toy, run away and destroy it as fast as he can.
So, this morning in which I thought we were alone, I saw another dog owner coming in to the park with her usually submissive girl Golden Retriever. All three of them played nicely for the most part, but then I heard that aggressive bark come from Wyatt and all of a sudden him and the Golden are battling. The Goldnens' owner was taken aback and obviously had little control over her dog either. Somehow it always seems to turn out to be Wyatt's fault, in others eyes. The dumb thing was they were fighting over a little blue piece of paper, about the size of a half dollar. No toy, just the shred of the reminents of some sort of food wrapper. How dumb is that?

Soooo, I think, after much contemplation post fight, I am going to try the shock collar. I just need a way to communicate with him when he is out of my reach. He is so fast anyway that even when he is within reach he bolts away. I have had mixed feelings about this device as some think it is inhumane. So, I took out my Cesar Millan book and searched his indexed pages on aggression. Then I saw he has a section for the E-Collar. This is the more polite word for a shock collar. He explains that it is not electric shock therapy, but merely a mild electric current, for a split second, that is used. He describes it much like the TENS that many chiropractors use to relax muscles before an adjustment. Everytime I see my chiropractor he uses this treatment on me. It is not a split second however. He usually has me lay there for at least tens minutes while the machine twicthes my muscle. It does not hurt and can be described as mildly uncomfortable because it tickles so much.... for ten minutes keep in mind. Makes me want to ich.
So this brings me back to the E-Collar for Wyatt. I know he is a good dog and is only following an instinct to protect and fight for his position in the world, but there are a lot of dog owners who do not understand that. Especially here in Aspen where most dogs are taken care of by the maid or house manager. I am just afraid that Wyatt is going to build a reputation in the town as a trouble maker and only make the energy worse. Take for instance the woman and her Golden this morning. She was trying to get her back on her leash and the dog wouldn't even come when called repeatedly. This is obviously someone who has not taken time to train their dog. And in the end, post fight, she is asking me if Wyatt does that regularly, like it was all his fault. It takes two to fight, right?
I suppose if I want her to take responsibility for her dog I must do the same. Perhaps I am not stern enough with him and he sees himself as above me in the pack order and therefore overly protective. I do tend to lose my temper and that is never a way to get a dog to respond to you. They are so primal and do not have a full grasp of the English language... as much as we would like them too.
I was surprised to read Cesar Millan's story about using an E-Collar for a dog that couldn't stop chasing vehicles, one vehicle being a tractor! This therapy was much more about saving the dogs life for he had already had accidents because of this desire to chase, one of them in which he lost an eye. The story seemed to point to the effectiveness of the device and the positive results one can acheive with it if used properly. So, I might have to put this on our wish list for when I am employed again. This is the other aspect of the E-Collar... they are not cheap. The least expensive one I have found is still $80! Oh well. Better to invest in another dog accessory and make everyone's life easier.
That's enough dog contemplating for me today....