Occasionally Facebook forgets that I'm a balanced trainer and throws me a force-free training article in my feed, and sometimes the click-bait title gets the better of me and I bite. The most recent article I read was especially interesting because the writer was criticizing the use of “any type of restraint, whether a collar that goes around the dog's neck or a front-clip harness.” The writer went on to state that “Our goal should be to use these tools to facilitate access to a wide variety of positive physical and social experiences and to allow our dogs as much agency as possible so that they can control and make choices that suit them.” I'm not going to lie...I had to re-read that part a few times because I was sure I must have read it wrong. I just don't understand how trainers and people in the dog community will spew “there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.” but these same people are telling well-intentioned dog owners that they must give their dog more control and more freedom to just do whatever suits them. And if you don't do this with your dog then you are just taking short cuts, and you will wind up hurting your dog mentally and physically.
I'm not sure how much the writer of this article has actually been around dogs, but I can tell you that I've been around dogs my entire life, and I've worked with a wide variety of dogs over the years. I spent 7 years working at a vet clinic and 8 years training other peoples dogs, which has given me the opportunity to have handled hundreds if not thousands of different dogs over the years. These experiences have taught me that when given the opportunity to take control, dogs can sometimes make really bad choices. Aggressive, fearful, destructive, anxious, reactive, jumping, biting, bolting dogs all do these behaviors because they have been given the control to make those poor choices. I've seen it happen over and over again, and when it does, not only does the dog and the owner suffer, but more often than not the friends, family and community are also affected. I guarantee that your local UPS driver doesn't want your dog to have the “control to make choices that suit them”, your neighbor just trying to get in their afternoon jog past your house doesn't want your dog to have the “control to make choices that suit them”. I can also guarantee that no one wants to have to try explaining to their kids or spouse that the vet just couldn't save the beloved family dog after it was struck by the car. The dog caught you off guard and took control, bolting out the door....because chasing the squirrels down the street was a choice that suited them.
Despite my disdain, I managed to trudge to the end of the article where the writers final statement was “A walk should involve ongoing negotiations and mutual tolerance between dog and human.” How exactly does one negotiate with a dog...and what is this ambiguous “mutual tolerance”? Should I tolerate my dog chasing the neighbor kid who is riding their bike down my street? How is that one going to hold up in court? [insert sarcasm here] “Well you see your honor, I was just trying to balance negotiations with my dog while also practicing mutual tolerance, when my dog took control and bit the victim. I guess it was just the choice that suited my dog.” [end of sarcasm] But seriously, what is an owner supposed to do if their dog starts jumping on guests, growling at neighbors, chasing cats, or any number of other self-rewarding behaviors? Are we really supposed to just tolerate our dogs instead of training them? Are we really supposed to live our lives managing problems with our dogs instead of solving them?
Probably the saddest part of that article in my opinion, was a comment left behind by another reader:
“I have a Golden Retriever that just now at almost 11 years old is beginning to get walks. She constantly pulled so hard on her leash. I had a trainer at one point say "My she pulls a lot" and give her back to me. We tried all sorts of harnesses, and we have a martingale collar for her, but for some reason pulling was her thing. Rather than use any negative training (shock, prong, or choke collars) She simply did not get walked. I fondly referred to her as my wild child. Now she is finally at an age where we can enjoy our walks together, and hopefully we will have many more years together.”
This poor golden paid a tough price for her owners choices. A life sentence of not being able enjoy being out and about with her favorite person, all because her person refused to communicate with her in a way she could understand. Anyone who knows goldens knows there aren't typically very many years beyond 11. All of this dogs youthful, healthy years were spent cooped up while her owner managed the problem behavior instead of solving the problem.
Pay attention to the dog training ideas being thrown about these days, because many of them do not have you or your dogs success or best interest in mind. The ideology suggested by the writer of the article I read doesn't work in real life with real dogs that make real and sometimes real-bad decisions. It doesn't encourage responsible dog ownership, and it doesn't lead to a healthy relationship between dogs and humans. Dog owners should be empowered and encouraged to set and enforce boundaries with their dogs, to teach their dogs what they can and can't do...because THIS is the key to having a dog that is happy, safe, and that can enjoy life together with you, your family, and your community as well.
I'm not sure how much the writer of this article has actually been around dogs, but I can tell you that I've been around dogs my entire life, and I've worked with a wide variety of dogs over the years. I spent 7 years working at a vet clinic and 8 years training other peoples dogs, which has given me the opportunity to have handled hundreds if not thousands of different dogs over the years. These experiences have taught me that when given the opportunity to take control, dogs can sometimes make really bad choices. Aggressive, fearful, destructive, anxious, reactive, jumping, biting, bolting dogs all do these behaviors because they have been given the control to make those poor choices. I've seen it happen over and over again, and when it does, not only does the dog and the owner suffer, but more often than not the friends, family and community are also affected. I guarantee that your local UPS driver doesn't want your dog to have the “control to make choices that suit them”, your neighbor just trying to get in their afternoon jog past your house doesn't want your dog to have the “control to make choices that suit them”. I can also guarantee that no one wants to have to try explaining to their kids or spouse that the vet just couldn't save the beloved family dog after it was struck by the car. The dog caught you off guard and took control, bolting out the door....because chasing the squirrels down the street was a choice that suited them.
Despite my disdain, I managed to trudge to the end of the article where the writers final statement was “A walk should involve ongoing negotiations and mutual tolerance between dog and human.” How exactly does one negotiate with a dog...and what is this ambiguous “mutual tolerance”? Should I tolerate my dog chasing the neighbor kid who is riding their bike down my street? How is that one going to hold up in court? [insert sarcasm here] “Well you see your honor, I was just trying to balance negotiations with my dog while also practicing mutual tolerance, when my dog took control and bit the victim. I guess it was just the choice that suited my dog.” [end of sarcasm] But seriously, what is an owner supposed to do if their dog starts jumping on guests, growling at neighbors, chasing cats, or any number of other self-rewarding behaviors? Are we really supposed to just tolerate our dogs instead of training them? Are we really supposed to live our lives managing problems with our dogs instead of solving them?
Probably the saddest part of that article in my opinion, was a comment left behind by another reader:
“I have a Golden Retriever that just now at almost 11 years old is beginning to get walks. She constantly pulled so hard on her leash. I had a trainer at one point say "My she pulls a lot" and give her back to me. We tried all sorts of harnesses, and we have a martingale collar for her, but for some reason pulling was her thing. Rather than use any negative training (shock, prong, or choke collars) She simply did not get walked. I fondly referred to her as my wild child. Now she is finally at an age where we can enjoy our walks together, and hopefully we will have many more years together.”
This poor golden paid a tough price for her owners choices. A life sentence of not being able enjoy being out and about with her favorite person, all because her person refused to communicate with her in a way she could understand. Anyone who knows goldens knows there aren't typically very many years beyond 11. All of this dogs youthful, healthy years were spent cooped up while her owner managed the problem behavior instead of solving the problem.
Pay attention to the dog training ideas being thrown about these days, because many of them do not have you or your dogs success or best interest in mind. The ideology suggested by the writer of the article I read doesn't work in real life with real dogs that make real and sometimes real-bad decisions. It doesn't encourage responsible dog ownership, and it doesn't lead to a healthy relationship between dogs and humans. Dog owners should be empowered and encouraged to set and enforce boundaries with their dogs, to teach their dogs what they can and can't do...because THIS is the key to having a dog that is happy, safe, and that can enjoy life together with you, your family, and your community as well.