Recently, a rehabilitation facility was in the news because a dog they had just adopted out viciously attacked and killed a 90 year old woman. This dog had a bite record, was highly aroused by movement and had spent 3 months being shock collar trained, in an attempt to "train out" the aggression. The older woman fell, and despite repeated shocks, the dog continued to attack. It is proven that shocks actually create and increase aggression.
Aggression is a natural part of an animal's behavior. We will never train it out of an animal. By shocking a dog repeatedly for doing small snippets of aggressive-type behaviors, staring, licking lips, leaning forward, barking, etc, what we actually do is suppress the aggressive display. To our feeble human eyes and brains, "hey look! It's gone!". But, it isn't, at all. And it will come back to bite you. Unfortunately, pun intended.
When working with dogs with unknown backgrounds, it becomes even more important and critical that we look at the dog's true temperament, not a suppressed, fabricated one using training collars. In order for a rescue to properly place a dog, they need to know how the dog truly feels, not a suppressed version.
Aggression is a natural part of an animal's behavior. We will never train it out of an animal. By shocking a dog repeatedly for doing small snippets of aggressive-type behaviors, staring, licking lips, leaning forward, barking, etc, what we actually do is suppress the aggressive display. To our feeble human eyes and brains, "hey look! It's gone!". But, it isn't, at all. And it will come back to bite you. Unfortunately, pun intended.
When working with dogs with unknown backgrounds, it becomes even more important and critical that we look at the dog's true temperament, not a suppressed, fabricated one using training collars. In order for a rescue to properly place a dog, they need to know how the dog truly feels, not a suppressed version.
Without fosters and donations, a rescue cannot survive. YOU are the voice of the dogs. Support rescues that use reward-based training and science-based behavior modification techniques.
Rescues should provide or be willing to fund:
an adoption application that explicitly asks about equipment, methodology and disciplineno-pull harnessesinformation and guidelines about how to integrate a new dog and teach house manners without the use of punishment. These guidelines should be clear about what is and is NOT allowed.training with a modern science-based trainer if a foster is strugglingfoster education through digital files, webinars, Skype sessions or in-person seminars with a fear-free trainernew adopter information that follows these same guidelines
When Good Rescue Groups Make Bad Dog Training Decisions: https://positively.com/…/when-good-rescue-groups-make-bad-…/
Be the catalyst for change you wish to see in your rescue, or find a rescue that uses modern methods with dogs, and foster, support and fund their initiative. #bethechange
