Tonight I made a very important decision in my professional career. For those of you who know me well this will surprise you. For years I have kept quiet about the ineffective, cruel and outdated dog training methods employed by some. The gloves are now off. I will not stoop to criticizing or judging individuals but I will stand strong and be vocal about their methods. Our pet dogs deserve better. I am finally off the silent fence. Beware!
So here goes,
I was shopping at one of our high street pet stores tonight when i came across a dog training class in action. I watched as a trainer guided a client with their poor humble and scared dog down the isle. The dog was being pulled all the way down. I counted in three minutes the dog received 25 corrections ranging from leash jerks, to NO's, to "leave its' and then to a kicking in the rump. As I walked away feeling so ashamed that I shared the same professional title as this individuale I came acorss another group of dogs in another isle.
This time i was horrified. The trainer was dragging a scared and frightened dog past four other dogs who were being held in 'sit' positions. Each time the dog growled, lunged or barked the trainer grabbed it and administered a heavy handed correction. After three attempts the trainer finally grabbed the dog and pulled it up so it could barely reach the ground with its back legs. She then stared it down while shaking it by the scruff of the neck. And all of this in the name of dog training.
To be continued ......