help.

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a problem with a dog I am training. He has a condition where he bleeds if he has too much pressure on his nose. How can I train him? Can you recommend a coller for him?


Thank you!

ANSWER: Nathan, could you elaborate on this dog's condition? Has he been to a vet? Bleeding from the nose is not normal, and it could be pretty serious (tumors in the nose, for instance). That would be the first thing I would do - get him to a vet to determine why he is having nosebleeds.


Secondly, you shouldn't be applying pressure to his nose for training purposes, anyway. There shouldn't be a problem with using a regular collar on him. What are you trying to teach him to do? What breed is he? How old is he? Do you have experience in dog training?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes, I am actually training this dog for someone. He is not my own. He has a disease that if he pulls to much,he will be barfing all week. About the bleeding, I know that dogs can get Aortic Stenosis Bacterial Endocarditis Dilated Cardiomyopathy (CDM)

Heart Failure

Heart Muscle Diseases

Heart Valve Diseases

Pulmonic Stenosis

Patent Ductus Arteriosus.


And my clients already have gone to the vet.  

Answer
What did the vet say was wrong with the dog? Is he being treated for it?


There's no reason for him to be pulling, Nathan. That would be the first thing I would be working on - walking on a slack leash. If he's taught to do that, then everything else should be a breeze. Using a prong collar is probably the safest way to train him, because when fitted correctly, it discourages pulling, and it distributes a correction evenly all the way around the neck because of its limited slip design.

I would probably try to use food to teach this dog to walk in heel position, and once he understood the exercise with the food, I would start phasing the food out and start correcting him for forging, using the prong collar. This way, he never gets an opportunity to pull.