N.Y. Hero Named K-9 of the Year | The Bark

N.Y. Hero Named K-9 of the Year | The Bark

just say no

i call it the disturbo dog look. ears pulled back, whites of the eyes showing, head and neck slightly bowed. a dog that's been disturbed out of one behaviour and into a suitable submission. i've gotten angry at my dogs and always regret when they've run away to hide or rolled over in penance. i initially tried traditional dog training with zu- yanking on the leash, harsh commands were clearly inapproriate -  we were both miserable and zune became defiant where he had just been nervous before.

recently on a rainy weekend  zune was looking at the tv waiting for me to find something of interest to him so i surfed away from cooking show of which he tires easily (no smell, no tasting). i came upon what turned out to be an infommercial for a dog 'trainer' who has a method called 'the perfect dog'. zu was interested in the wild and unweildy pups so we watched.  the pitch was that after just a 5 minute intervention with the unique plastic choke collar the obviously chastened dogs appear with their giddy owners, exhibiting 'perfect' obedience where they had seemed frenetic and out of control before. clearly the dogs had been disturbed and of course they did not show the training method  because they want to sell the dvd.

if you know someone frustrated with their pup, help them find a better way to change their point of view. just say no to aversive training methods.