Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at
Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see
Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss There are more good books listed later in the sticky starting at
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802 The sticky was written for young puppies, but much of the material applies to older dog too.
I would show up at the shelter with a head collar, a leash, and maybe a crate or doggy seat belt. My puppies get their first lesson in heeling on the way out of the kennel the day I pick them up. You need to start as ''We are your new leaders, and this is how your new pack does things.'' At the car, he should be put in the crate, secured in the seatbelt, or sit in the passengers foot well.
The leading brands of head collars are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dog's head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks. Do not consider using one without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them. I was once given a 15 month old, intact, male Lab with no training. He quickly adjusted to the new regime once I got him in a head collar. My old joints wouldn't have stood up to the corrections I was having to give him in a slip collar. I use 2 collars, a flat leather collar with the dog's tags that stays on it all the time and when on lead, a training collar. Once trained, you may only need the flat collar.