This sad post came across my news feed yesterday on Facebook:
“As an Animal Control Officer, and I know I speak for all of us, that it is very disheartening, frustrating, and aggravating that people can just take a living, breathing creature and open their car door and discard it. Because of this heartless action, all of my efforts yesterday, along with those of the Mattapoisett ACO, were in vain. The dog was hit by a car and was killed.” – Acushnet Animal Control Officer
As a former animal control officer myself I know how the Acushnet ACO feels.
I’ve spent hours chasing dogs trying to capture them so I could keep them safe.
I once chased a chow during a snowstorm for about three hours before catching him.
When I finally tracked down the owner he told me that the dog had become too much to handle and asked if I could help find another home.
Which is exactly why dogs are dumped, brought to shelters and euthanized every day. The main reason is because the dog does not behave the way the owner would like.
Often the owner has made attempts to train the dog. They have gone to class and worked with a trainer but the dog still has behaviors that are unacceptable.
One reason is that dog training in this country (and elsewhere) has been hijacked by the “PO” crowd. They think that every dog and every behavior problem can be dealt with using just Positive Reinforcement.
I started working with a new client yesterday that had been through a training class and hired a private trainer.
She said that she went through bags of cookies and was told that she was not rewarding enough. You can’t use rewards to STOP a dog from jumping or stealing food off the counter.
All the cookies in the world won’t give you the results you’re looking for because it is NOT a behavior to reinforce. It is a behavior to STOP which requires (GASP) punishment.
Positive Punishment to be exact. Punishment can be done without hurting or harming the dog.
I tell dog owners all the time that in order to successfully train your dog you need to teach “YES” and “NO.”
When you want your dog to DO a behavior you use “YES” and a positive consequence.
When you want your dog to STOP a behavior you use “NO” and a negative consequence.
And here is a shocking fact. There are dog trainers that disagree with me.
Can you believe that?
In all seriousness, telling a frustrated dog owner that they can fix all their problems using just positive reinforcement is unethical and it is definitely contributing to dogs getting killed.
But I always give it to you straight because all that matters to me is you successfully train your dog. And if you’d like to see how I teach “YES” and “NO,” make your way over to The Dog Training Inner Circle.
Become a member for just $1.00!
All the best,
Eric