“I know he’s just trying to protect me, but I don’t know why”

This is a common sentiment among dog owners bringing their dogs into our training center for help.  If you have owned multiple dogs, there’s a decent chance that at least one of them has displayed over-protective behavior.  The problem behaviors most often associated this sentiment are the dog lunging, barking or snapping at passers-by while out on a walk.

For successful resolution of problems like these, it is helpful to first understand what is actually going on. The motivation behind the behavior is often difficult for us humans to grasp. Dogs that lunge, bark and snap at people or dogs on walks are rarely acting in defense of their owners.  Rather, they are protecting themselves. Or at least that’s the way it begins…

In most cases, the first time a dog lunges at others while walking, it is because the dog feels threatened. While this feeling of threat may be generalized as a perceived threat to the whole family or “pack”, it begins with the dog itself feeling insecure or afraid.  This fear can then evolve into protective behavior in two ways:

First, as was already stated above, if a dog perceives someone or something as a threat to the dog itself, it is easy for the perception of threat to be generalized to the rest of the people or dogs they are with.  However, this by itself does not necessarily result in an aggressive display.  We must remind ourselves that dogs are inherently social animals, and as is true with all social animals, part of their experience and behavior is shaped by social constructs or hierarchies. These hierarchies may be static, or fluid, set in stone, or situation dependent, but they exist nonetheless.  Within canine society, high-ranking members play a variety of important roles, one of which is taking the lead in situations of threat or danger and protecting the rest of the group. 

So does this mean that your lunging/barking dog thinks he is “dominant” over you?

Not likely. A more likely interpretation would be that he or she doesn’t have faith in your leadership, which translates into the dog not feeling secure in the faith that you will protect him or her if need be.  In fact, it is probable that if your dog is predisposed to experiencing these kinds of insecurities, they are not the type of individual that is gunning for top position, and they would much rather enjoy their position somewhere in the middle of the pecking order. In other words, your dog probably doesn’t want to be acting like the leader, but they feel that they have to because no one else is taking the reigns. Truth be told, among domestic dogs, there are relatively few “truly dominant” individuals.  When dogs who are not naturally programed to be in a leadership position feel compelled to take that role, it can often fill them with anxiety and stress, thus contributing to the explosive and irrational nature of their responses.

The second iteration of this evolution is related to, but not entirely the same as the first. One of the ironies of dog training is that we humans often forget that we are just animals as well, and we succumb to the same types of conditioning that our dogs do.  Being caught off guard by your dog suddenly lunging at a passing person or animal can be incredibly distressing, and even borderline traumatic for some. After several of these experiences in close succession to one another, we very quickly succumb to classical conditioning, or more specifically a conditioned emotional response.

Although the sight of an oncoming jogger used to not bother you at all, after repeated pairings of that sight immediately followed by the scary and distressing experience of your dog lunging at them, you now find yourself overwhelmed with fear and anxiety at the mere sight of a jogger coming toward you while you are out walking your pup.

While your dog started off lunging at joggers because they themselves felt nervous, they now begin to notice that as the jogger approaches you become afraid and nervous too!

“I knew this jogger was bad news,” the dog exclaims to himself “even my human is afraid!”

One of the traits of a good leader is the ability to stay calm and controlled in conditions of danger or conflict. Thus, your fearful/anxious behavior simply deepens your dog’s lack of confidence in you as their leader.

Furthermore, your anxiety validates for the dog that they were correct in being concerned. “Even my human is afraid!”

The dog has no way of knowing that you aren’t afraid of the jogger, you are afraid of what your dog might do. All they perceive is that when joggers appear, you get nervous, and they put two and two together from there.  You, the human who is short of breath and whose heart is racing under the weight of your anxiety surely must need your dog to protect you.

I in no way intend to undermine the importance of a clear plan for direct training and behavior modification of this issue. However, to embark on that path without an awareness of these underlying factors can leave us frustrated and confused as to why we aren’t seeing the progress we expect.

First and foremost, check the foundation of your relationship with your dog, and what you represent to them. Without going into a discussion of what constitutes healthy leadership, suffice it to say, avoid any advice which advocates pinning your dog to the ground or the like, and gravitate toward an approach that encourages leadership through clear and consistent parameters on activity and behavior, the regulation of valued resources, and an awareness of your own tone, energy and body language as you interact together.

Next, run a check on your emotions when you are out with your dog. If you find yourself feeling anxious or nervous, it is worth pursuing strategies to mitigate either the emotion itself, or at least the signs of it.  Breathing exercises such as deep “belly breathing” and visualization can be powerful tools.  I also find it important to be accepting and understanding toward yourself for having these emotions, and to recognize that it is natural to continue feeling anxious until you start having some success and positive experiences out with your dog. Until then…”fake it ‘till you make it”.

-Tyler Muto

“Scientific education is based in the main of statistical truths and abstract knowledge and therefore imparts an unrealistic, rational picture of the world, in which the individual, as a nearly marginal phenomenon, plays no role. The individual, however, as an irrational data, is the true and authentic carrier of reality.”
– C.G. Jung

The modern dog trainer is faced with a daily conflict.  Only one hand, the field of animal behavior is being pushed more and more towards scientific knowledge. On the other hand, we are presented regularly with dogs in need of training, and the treatment of unwanted behaviors, who are nothing less than individuals with unique characteristics, traits, and responses.

Far too often, we find ourselves stuck in the mode of scientific thinking. The problem occurs when we consider the fact that scientific theories are by their very nature statistical. They’re based on averages, which ignore all exceptions at either end of the scale and replace them with an abstract mean.

Consider if you will a bed of stones with an average weight of 5 ounces. This tells us very little about the real nature of the individual stones. Anyone who thought on the basis of this average, that he could pick up a stone of 5 ounces on the very first try would be in for a serious disappointment. In fact it very well may be the case that no stone weighing exactly 5 ounces exists.

What science gives us is a universal psychology of Canis familiaris as a species.  This abstraction paints a picture of an average unit from which all individual features have been removed.  However, these individual features are what are most important for understanding and training the individual dog in front of us. When scientific theory tells us that “Dogs” will respond to stimulus A with response Y, that may in fact give us very little insight into the actual nature of the dog we are working with.

This is not an argument to discard science. Not at all. As professionals it is of utmost importance for us to have a firm grasp of the scientific knowledge available to us, in order to have a framework to reference. Rather, this is a reminder to always read the dog as they present themselves in the moment, and maintain a feel for their uniqueness.

To treat the dog in front of us we must temporarily lay aside our scientific knowledge in order to adopt a free and open mind, and a completely new and unprejudiced attitude towards the individual.

Tyler G. Muto

*This post was inspired by and adapted from C.G. Jung, The Undiscovered Self.  P. 5-8

 

This is a re-post from several years ago:

 

When I was roughly 5 years old my mother asked me if I would like to take karate classes.

My answer was flat out “No.”

About 6 months later I saw the movie “The Karate Kid,” and suddenly I had a change of heart.

I took my classes pretty seriously for kid. I climbed the ranks, competed at championships, and by the time I was 12, I earned my black belt, the youngest at my school.

I learned many important things during this time, and none of them had to do with fighting. If you were to ask me today, the most important thing I learned was self-discipline.

Merriam Webster defines self-discipline as “correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement”. It often involves controlling one’s emotions, actions, impulses and desires. An extremely valuable skill for a young man to learn.

When I hit my teenage years I discovered girls, skateboards, and cars among other things; and my karate lessons seemed boring in comparison. I quit.

The discipline I learned carried me through many difficult situations and decisions, and helped form the adult I became. When I was 27, I had an itch, I needed martial arts back in my life, so I began taking Kung Fu classes.

When I was searching for a school, I had a particular vision of what I wanted. Again, it had nothing to do with fighting skill. I missed the discipline. I found what I was looking for at the Gold Summit Martial Arts Institute. My teacher, Laoshi Markle is strict in the most traditional sense. She is knows exactly what she expects from her students, and she accepts nothing less. She will not hesitate to scold someone for offering less that their best effort, and compliments are hard to earn. Because of this I find myself working just as hard to please her as I would my own father (I recently completed a class on one foot because I had a sprained ankle), and on the occasion that I receive one of her compliments it fills me with a sense of personal satisfaction that lasts for the remainder of the day.

What she knows is something essential, that great teachers have known throughout the ages. Her firm clear teaching, carefully doled out praise, and clear expectations have taught us to keep ourselves in line. The more advanced students never need scolding, they practice self-discipline.

Now, on to dog training. I am a firm believer that dogs can and do learn self-discipline. Not only that, but the vast majority of problem dogs that come into the K9 Connection dog training center have none of it. Most problem dogs that I see have never learned to regulate their own impulses, emotions, and actions.

This often is a function of either no training, or ineffective training. Many dogs, without learning that negative consequences can result from certain behaviors, never learn to temper their actions; they see no reason to.

If, when I first stepped into Kung Fu class, I saw that Laoshi ran her school following the only praise and reward style of teaching, I would have turned around and left, immediately. I knew that I would only reach my fullest potential with a teacher who will be firm when necessary, even if it is unpleasant in the moment. I crave the balance of reward and consequence, it makes her praise more appealing and it assures me that I am getting the feedback I need to grow as a person. Laoshi isn’t abusive; she never hits us or insults us. She doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear, but she will always tell us what we need to hear.

Your dog craves this balance too. Structure and discipline can help a dog reach a state of peace and fulfillment. Instinctually, I think both you and your dog already know this.

Dog training can be a lot of fun, but it may not always be fun. Sometimes a dog needs to learn to do things that he may not really want to do. We work him through it. These are the moments that develop self-discipline.

There are times when it is preferable to create a situation where the dog wants to do what you are asking. You can add incentives like treats or toys to make the dog enjoy the process. To me however, an equally important part of training is seeing what happens when the dog doesn’t necessarily want to do what you are asking. Will they do it anyway? Will they use self-discipline without there having to be something external ‘in it for them’ such as a treat or toy?

One of the main exercises I use towards this goal is the down-stay position. Not the typical “stay for two minutes and you’ll get a treat” that the average training class teaches. I purposely ask the dog to do this when he knows there is no treat involved, and the minimum I require my students to strive for is a half-hour stay. During this time frame, the dog is going to have many impulses to get up and do other things, but I want to see him begin to control those impulses.

Essentially I want him to think twice before he acts, a habit that can carry over into every other aspect of his life. How great of a skill is that, think twice before you act, can you imagine?

-Tyler G. Muto

Dog-man-ship – This is as real as it gets:
Taken from my friend the Terrierman, View the original post

Hounds & The Huntsman from Michael Slowe on Vimeo.

 

 

I recently read a post on a dog trainer group I belong to on Facebook. The post contained a written explanation and a video outlining a ”Protocol” for dealing with dogs with anxiety.

The post was quite lengthy, but I will try to summarize it here:

1. Teach the dog the basics of Place command.
2. Once the dog understands that staying on the place will be rewarded, and attempting to leave before granted permission will be corrected, then make sure you find an object for them to ”place” on that is deliberately uncomfortable, and too small for the dog to lay normally on. (Suggested objects are milk crates and recycle bins.)
3. Make them stay on this object for at least seven hours at a time.

This process is repeated every day throughout the first week of the training program. He recommends this practice not only for the most extreme cases, but for virtually every dog he trains.

His theory is that the dog eventually has to learn to cope with being uncomfortable, and has to self-sooth and learns to relax. The protocol is titled “Teaching the dog the art of doing nothing.”

What was most alarming to me were the comments below the post from other members of the group: “awesome stuff man,” “Great job, I can’t wait to use this,” “brilliant!” Over 40 comments of this nature were posted.

My heart sank.

There was not a single comment, which questioned the nature of this protocol. I felt compelled to speak up, but I did not want to start an argument on Facebook, and this particular group has rules about criticism.

I decided to send a private message to the owner of the group. Although his original comments were in support of the protocol, he began to understand my concerns. I was pleased when he posted a comment publicly questioning some elements of the protocol. He encouraged me to join the conversation, but I wanted to sleep on it in order to choose my words carefully. The next morning I posted a response on the thread:

“I would encourage you all to look again at the protocol outlined in this post. And to reflect deeply and authentically about what kind of dog trainer you want to be, and why you got into this business. I am sincerely saddened, not only by the original post, but also by the response to it, and what it says about the future of this craft.”

I am not saying this protocol won’t work; I have not tried it, nor will I. However, while “working” may be necessary, it is not sufficient to qualify something as “good” dog training.

If the standard by which you measure your self as a dog trainer is simply “Did it work?” then the result will be nothing more than a factory turned out product, rather than the work of a master craftsman.

As a matter of fact, I am quite confident that this process will yield a result that may resemble the desired effect (reduction of anxiety), especially to the untrained eye.  However, I am also quite confident that what is being seen is not actually the rehabilitation of anxiety, but something quite different and quite undesirable. That something is called Learned Helplessness.

Learned Helplessness: a mental state in which an organism forced to bear aversive stimuli, or stimuli that are painful or otherwise unpleasant, becomes unable or unwilling to avoid subsequent encounters with those stimuli, even if they are “escapable,” presumably because it has learned that it cannot control the situation.*

 Learned helplessness occurs when an animal is repeatedly subjected to an aversive stimulus that it cannot escape. Eventually, the animal will stop trying to avoid the stimulus and behave as if it is utterly helpless to change the situation.

What is worse is that learned helplessness theory goes on to argue that as a result of these negative expectations, other consequences may accompany the inability or unwillingness to act, including low self-esteem, chronic failure, sadness, and physical illness, and has been known to lead to clinical depression and other forms of mental illness.**

Simply analyze the protocol: Fido is made to stay on an object. The object is deliberately uncomfortable (as per the guidelines of the protocol); the object also must be small enough that in order to lay down the dog has to curl up in a tight ball.  If they leave the object, they are corrected with either a prong collar or an electronic collar. There is not enough room for them to stretch their limbs, if they sleep too deeply they are at risk of falling off.  No matter what they do, they are uncomfortable, and they have to bear it for 7 hours.

Let me stop here and make my opinion very clear. This borders on animal abuse, it is a form a torture, and it is morally reprehensible. There is no “art” in this.

I also want to address a common counter to my argument. Some may state that if you were to put the dog in a crate for seven hours, as often is done out of necessity and concern for the dog safety, it would be equally as bad. I disagree with this statement for a number of reasons. Let us put aside for a moment the fact that the vast majority of dogs in our training programs learn to relax in their crates within the first day simply by virtue of the normal training protocols that they receive. So, assuming that the dog is not relaxing in it’s crate let’s take a look at this argument:

First and foremost the crate can be large enough that a dog can lay naturally and with her joints and limbs not cramped, and made to be comfortable so that although the dog maybe anxious, they have the ability to get comfortable, truly comfortable. The discomfort a dog perceives if they are anxious in a crate is subjective, not objective, it is mental not physical. If the dog is in a crate, it is still an autonomous being. Furthermore, when the dog is in a crate, any movement that may come as an expression of their anxiety is not met with the threat of punishment (if you have ever been anxious, then you may know that sometimes you need to stretch and “shake it off”). The discomfort that a dog perceives if they are perched on a milk crate or recycle bin that is too small for them is objective. No change of their mental state, or decision they make will relieve that discomfort. In the protocol outlined above the dog’s autonomy is being removed completely.  In this protocol regardless of what they do, and what choices they make, they are going to be uncomfortable (if you do not believe me, try curling up in a ball for 7 hours, without the ability to stretch your limbs, on a hard object that you barely fit on, knowing all along in the back of your mind that if you try move you will be punished.)

Perhaps it is a matter of opinion, but I do believe that anxiety with autonomy is better then learned helplessness.  But again, this entire argument becomes irrelevant when we consider that the anxiety in the crate can be resolved reliably in more compassionate ways. Even if it requires a momentary correction or “interrupter” it would be far more humane than 7 hours of torture day after day.

Furthermore, this protocol is not being advised for only the most extreme of cases. On the contrary it is being promoted as a go to protocol for any and all dogs who show anxiety upon entering his board and train. As somebody who owns a training facility I can tell you that the vast majority of dogs who enter a boarding situation for the first time we’ll display a certain degree of anxiety. This is understandable, as the dog does not know where he is, what is going on, or where his family went. In most cases this anxiety will go away as the dog settles into his new environment, without the need for such drastic measures.

Some people may like this protocol because it is simple, and it does not require a high level of skill or experience to be able to replicate the results. But good dog training is an art and rehabilitating anxiety in a way that is compassionate and cooperative requires skill and intuition, and cannot always be broken down into a step-by-step set of instructions, no more then replicating a work of art by Michelangelo can be done with paint by numbers.

Whether this actually works is questionable, and depends on how we define “working”. Undoubtedly the end result will be something that is easier for the human to live with than an anxious and reactive dog. But, is the dog truly in a better place? Are they relaxed, or depressed? Have we accomplished real rehabilitation? Or simply systematic suppression and a dampening of the dog’s spirit? These are questions that need to be asked.

* Nolen, J.L. “Learned helplessness”. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved January 14, 2014.

** Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-2328-X.

I came across this video several years ago and was so impressed with the level of communication and control that is shown. I didn’t at the time know who the man in the video was:

//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qFP28ANXLLA?rel=0

The footage is of Heini Winter, a world class sled dog racer from Germany, out exercising his 16 dogs. As impressive as this is, it is not  too uncommon among professional mushers. Still, it’s one of my favorite videos to watch.

I do want to note the long thin pole that Heini is holding, and using to direct the dogs. For anyone that has seen my work socializing large groups of dogs, you will know that I use a very similar long flexible sick. Having the ability to extend your reach is invaluable when managing a large group.

-Tyler Muto

When I was in college, I used to play a lot of billiards. It was never for money, always just for fun, and therefore we used to joke around a lot.  Every now and then when one of my friends was trying to sink a particularly difficult shot, I would stand behind the pocket that I knew he was aiming for and do something silly to try and distract him. Sometimes I would be successful, and he would miss, resulting in a dirty look from him, and a maniacal laugh from me.

I recently heard a great quote,

“If the shooter misses the mark, it’s not the target’s fault.”

In the above circumstance, clearly it’s neither shooter’s fault nor the target’s fault but really the fault lies with the bearded guy standing behind the pocket making odd faces, and ridiculous dances.

I do however; want to take a moment to discuss how this quote may relate to dog training. Training dogs is in its essence an act of one species attempting to communicate to another species in a language in which only one of them is fluent. Of course this point in itself can be debated, as good dog trainers try to utilize movement and body language that the dog can inherently understand. However for the moment let’s assume that what we’re referring to are verbal commands of which the dog has no previous or innate knowledge.

In such a situation, the human being can also be referred to as the speaker and as such as the “shooter”. The dog may also be referred to as the listener, or as such the “target” of the communication/speech.

“If the shooter misses the mark, it’s not the target’s fault.”

I’m fortunate to be in a position where my career allows me to travel the country and work with many dog trainers from various walks of life. In doing so I get to utilize my powers of observation quite a bit. All too often I see humans give a command, and a dog attempt compliance however making an incorrect choice. The result of which is the human delivering a correction.

The key element in this scenario is that the dog was trying. He wasn’t being disobedient; he was attempting to do what his handler wanted. He misunderstood the requirements, he didn’t understand. The communication did not land as it was intended, the shooter missed the mark.

It may be worthwhile to take a moment at this point to define some terminology. Namely the word ”correction”.  I will be the first to admit, that in different contexts, I often mean different things by this word. So for the sake of this discussion, when I say correction, what I mean is something that is significantly aversive to the dog. Something beyond a mild communication that informs the dog of an error. I mean rather, something of the significance that it could have an adverse effect on the dog’s attitude. This can be different for different dogs. For many dogs a sharp snap on a leash and training collar is enough to make them feel that they have transgressed, for other dogs such as my dog Lobo, a stern ”No” has a more significant emotional impact, than any physical correction that I could offer.

In my opinion, when training dogs the responsibility falls on the human’s shoulders to make sure that the dog understands what is being said, and when that fails to be the case, to be sensitive enough to recognize that it is our job to change something about our own behavior in order help the dog along. In other words, is the speaker’s responsibility to communicate clearly and effectively, if the listener does not understand, it’s not their fault.

I do believe that there is a time and a place for such corrections when training dogs to be responsible members of our society. I do not believe that in the context of obedience training, particularly when the dog is attempting to comply even though they’re making an incorrect choice, that such corrections are warranted. This is not to say, that a dog should not be told that they have made a mistake. And it is not to say, that a mild amount of pressure could not be put on the dog to guide them into the correct choice. But there is a significant difference between mild pressure that simply communicates, motivates and guides, and the type of correction that causes an individual to feel that they are in trouble or that they have transgressed in any serious way. In most cases I find it beneficial to praise the dog for their good efforts, before re-attempting the exercise while this time making an adjustment to the way I deliver my communication.

I would be willing to bet, that if many individuals pause for a moment when they were struggling with their dog, they would often see that the dog’s mistakes were the result of a failure in communication. In other words, the shooter missed the mark.

Before you curse the target, re-adjust your aim.

-Tyler Muto

This post was written by my friend and fellow dog training Ted Efthymiadis. The original can be seen by clicking here

“Loving” A Dog To Death

I’m seeing a disturbing trend in the pet dog world. Something I never thought I would see. I truly wish I did not have to write this blog post. Unfortunately I can no longer sit back and watch what it happening without voicing my concerns, and doing what I can to prevent injuries and deaths to dogs and people. This information may seem over-the-top and dramatic, but it’s what I see in my line of work every week.

Tyler Muto is a dog trainer located in Buffalo New York, who is a friend of mine. In my opinion he is one of the best dog trainers in North America at rehabilitating reactive and aggressive dogs. He is someone I have looked up to for many years in the dog training world. His business is absolutely thriving, he has five full-time dog trainers working for him, does plenty of boarding and grooming, and does seminars around the country. Recently while on a radio show, he described something very negative that is happening to dogs in his area. Several local animal shelters in his area have taken measures to try and hurt his business.

I’m not worried about his business as he’s extremely busy and amazing at what he does. I am however worried about the local dogs in his area that need homes. Several shelters in his area have taken it upon themselves, to not allow dogs to be adopted if they think the dogs will be trained by Tyler and his company when they are put into a home.

Now to me this is wrong on so many different levels it blows my mind. The most alarming part of this is that they have actually taken it one step further. They are no longer allowing dogs to be adopted into homes if they think that the dogs will go to see a veterinarian that refers business to Tyler.

Upon hearing this information I was not really shocked because realistically it happens here in Nova Scotia every day. Not to mention in every major city in North America.

The dog training world is so massively divided that any type of pressure or correction in training a dog it is absolutely seen as abusive. Dogs are denied homes across North America because they could potentially see a trainer that may or may not utilize correction in his or her’s dog training program. Considering we have far too many dogs in NY and NS sitting in shelters and rescue organizations including foster homes who need homes, this seems to be a very negative thing for the dogs who need homes.

Millions of dogs in the USA and Canada are killed every year because of lack of space in shelters. When did we as a society become so against correction, that we will allow dogs to live in a small enclosure, or killed, rather than to be trained by qualified professional trainers who are more than able to fix these dogs behavioural problems and aggression issues. I see nothing other than ego in people making decisions like this based on emotion.

I have people calling me wanting to sign up to training whether it be obedience training, aggression rehab, or puppy training, and when I ask where they are adopting a dog from, I have to tell them that unfortunately you cannot work with me because some shelters will deny your application will be denied.

Again I have no issue with this affecting Tyler’s business or even my own business. Do what they wish to effect our business, but both Tyler and I are very passionate about helping dogs, and especially dogs with behavioural issues or aggressive issues. Considering rehabilitate more reactive and aggressive dogs than anyone else in Nova Scotia, you would think that these policy makers would be making it easier, not harder if they honestly had the dogs best interest at heart.

It’s really very sickening that dogs are sitting in shelters at this very moment, denied adoption because of ones choice in Veterinarians, or dog trainers. Ego is a terrible thing when it overtakes a person who holds power to make change for dogs. Tyler and I have hundreds of amazing life changing testimonials and videos to prove how we positively change dogs lives everyday. Not to mentions thousands of happy clients and dogs. My stomach is seriously sick.

Recently a friend of mine called me from a local shelter and wanted to set up some puppy training because they were adopting a puppy and the shelter makes it mandatory for some dogs to have training by an approved (pure positive only) trainer. Unfortunately I had to tell them not to use my name as I am not in the good books with that shelter without reason. They were incredibly furious over the situation reluctantly signed up to another trainers program because of intimidation. They almost did not adopt the puppy because they were outraged. What makes that situation so disturbing is that my puppy programs are food/marker training based programs. The situation gets more interesting, as several of the employees and staff of that shelter are my clients who have not told management for fear of being let go.

Several months ago I had a lady and her husband come into my facility for an evaluation. As the lady was walking down my driveway her dog was so bad on the leash she actually pulled the lady over upon entering my facility and she fell on her hands and knees and dropped the leash. After her husband lovingly helped to pick her up it was brought to my attention that she was five months pregnant. I asked the couple when they had last walked the dog, they replied “months ago, the last time I walked her she pulled the leash out of my hand, attacked another dog and in the process pulled me down to the ground.” Realizing the severity of the situation I asked her how she would feel about using a prong collar on her dog. If you’re not familiar with the prong collar is a collar that mimics the bite of a mother dog and can be an amazing tool for dogs with pulling issues. She told me that she works at a local shelter and she would not be willing to use a prong collar on her dog for any reason because she was concerned about what the other staff would say. I asked her if she had tried other techniques or tools. She told me that she had tried many other tools with very limited results. She told me she was not willing to use a gentle leader on her dog because she felt that her dog did not like walking with it on. I asked her if she would be willing to give me five minutes of her time with the dog. She and her husband were reluctant to allow me to use a pinch collar on their dog. They agreed. Within five minutes I was able to walk their dog with two fingers on the leash and no pulling issues. (With no corrections by the way.) I handed the leash over to the husband first and he remarked how amazingly effective the tool was, how the dog was still happy and how the dog was not being hurt in the process. The wife was next she was also able to walk the dog without an issue. She was less enthusiastic. Upon returning to the facility I suggested using this tool for leash walking because I was concerned about the safety of the unborn baby that she was carrying. I asked her a very pointed question. ” Was your dog harmed in the last five minutes that we did the leash walking with the pinch collar? ” She said “no”. I asked her why she was reluctant if that was the case. Her honesty astounded me. She was reluctant because for two reasons: 1: She didn’t want the other shelter staff to find out. 2: She thought a normal buckle collar would be the most loving tool to use for walking her dog. I looked both of them in the eyes and told them that they were putting the life of their unborn child in jeopardy because of their egos. They walked out of my facility never to be heard from again.

About a year ago I was walking in a local park with my dogs off leash. I met a lady with a young golden retriever puppy who was nine months old at the time. As we were walking down the path together with our dogs she ran towards her dog and started yelling “no no no no no!” She got a hold of her dog and pulled something out of her dog’s mouth. She then let her dog go off leash once again as she began to tell me about some of the troubles she was having with this dog. At nine months of age this dog had already had two very dangerous surgeries to extract large objects from the dogs stomach. Each surgery cost her $3000. I suggested to her that she prevent this from happening again or utilize some training to stop her dog from eating objects while on walks. Unfortunately she shrugged off the advice like she knew better than me. Her next comment absolutely astounded me. ” It only happens once every few months” She said. I told her that I was not in anyway concerned over the fact that she already paid $6000 to get objects taken out of her dog stomach. I was however concerned that her dog could have died in the process because such surgeries are extremely dangerous and anytime a dog is put under the knife it has a chance of not waking up. Again she shrugged off the information like she knew better than me. She said she was not interested in putting the time into training, so I suggested that she keep her dog on a leash so that that would not happen again. Again she brushed off my advice.

The above stories may seem a little extreme. Unfortunately as I reflect, I have countless stories just like these. People are deciding that the freedom of a dog to do whatever it wants is more beneficial than the safety of a dog’s life or a persons life. This is not a reflection on the Pure Positive trainers.

Please don’t see it as an attack on them because it absolutely is not. It is however a wake up call for those people unwilling to restrict the freedom of a dog to save it’s life. The safety of an unborn child Is being put in jeopardy because of a parents ego. And dogs are sitting in shelters without homes this Christmas because potential adopters could potentially use a trainer or veterinarian that a person in a position of power does not agree with. May someone reading this blog advocate for family safety, a dogs safety and the dogs waiting for homes across North America.

“My husband always wanted them to feel comfortable in their home,” the woman on the phone told me, “so they have no rules, they basically run the house.”

This came right after she told me that of her two dogs, one is fearful of virtually everything, and has bitten visitors to the property, and both are peeing and pooping in the house.

“Letting them do whatever they want,” I proceeded, “Is just about the worst plan for helping them feel comfortable and secure.”

There was a silence on the other end of the line, so I decided to regale her as I so often do, with a story from my own life:

I am currently house shopping for my first home. It was cool and exciting for about the first week, and now it is just frustrating and annoying.

My wife and I met with a buyer’s agent early in the process since we have no idea what we are looking at when viewing homes.  The agent’s name is Jim Hoffman, and he said to us right away “I am going to be very critical of the houses we look at, you are going to hear my opinion whether you like it or not.”

The truth is, at first I didn’t like it. It bothered me. Every house I liked, Jim would shoot down, pointing out all the flaws and potential resale problems. But as time went on, I grew more and more comfortable with Jim.

See, I hired Jim to be my leader, my guide through the jungle of real estate; and I want the kind of leader that will slap the poison berry out of my hand before I eat it, even if it stings a little. That is exactly what Jim is doing.

Recently he went out of town, and I had to view a few homes with a different agent. This woman was new, and not quite as critical as Jim. She was very nice, agreed with everything I said, and genuinely wanted to make me happy. We viewed a few homes that had some flaws, yet she happily pointed out the positive features of the houses. She clearly wanted me to feel good about the process and the houses we were viewing, and she spent very little time addressing the problems with the houses that might make me uncomfortable. I saw a home with her that I really liked, but I felt unsure. I had a sense of anxiety and insecurity about making an offer. It was decision time, a critical moment, and I needed a leader that I could count on.

The fact is that Jim didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear, he told me what I needed to hear, and because of that I felt safe under his watch. When he got back in town, he took me back to the house to look at it with me. He gave his approving nod. We are making an offer today.

If you want to help your dog feel stable, safe, and secure, it’s important to share both appeasing affection, and consistent discipline. This is what animals, including humans, look for in a leader. Good leadership makes us feel secure and relieves anxiety.

If you live in the Buffalo New York area, and want a real estate agent who won’t lead you astray. Check out Jim Hoffman at JamesHouseHoffman.com

-Tyler Muto