Introduction:
The subject of dog training is a huge issue to try to tackle given the many available options pet parents are faced with in this day and age. While I am not a dog trainer, I consult with many who are in all fields on what seems to be a weekly basis. I receive messages quite frequently from dog owners in particular who are faced with some very serious issues with their adopted or purebred dogs behaviour. After a lengthy discussion as to what is going on with an animal, I usually recommend with confidence a particular trainer to those who face a specific issue or at least two different fields of training to those who have multiple issues so they can choose which to resolve first.
If any dog is having a serious aggression issue I will advise that said dog owners seek out e-collar or balanced trainers and there are reasons for this. The main reason I refer dog owners to balanced trainers is because pure positive trainers will not help aggressive dogs. I have found through the networking I have done that pure positive trainers, clicker trainers and the like work most effectively with puppies and easier breeds such as Bernese mountain dogs, Retrievers, Labs, agility dogs such as Heelers and Border Collies. Now, this is not a criticism but it is a valid observation and something to consider when seeking the most effective training for your dog. Any trainer that thinks they have the perfect solution and method for every dog in every situation with any issue should be avoided because they are not being honest with themselves. This will lead to months and months of frustration for you and your dog without any results, as well as a spectacular financial drain for a method that is not suited to the needs of your dog. Always seek more than one opinion, more than one methodology assessment and you will know based on terms used and the knowledge of said trainers what will be the best solution for your dogs particular needs.
My Personal Pet Peeve:
What bothers me about many a trainer is that they seek to elevate themselves by condemning others for utilizing methodologies they do not approve of. Why do they do this? Is it to gain your business? Is it because they are passionate about their selected method? Is it because they feel any training tool other than a treat or a soft spoken word is abusive? Can a trainer be truly concerned about the welfare of a dog if they refuse to train any given dog with serious behavioural issues? What of the dogs that they do refuse to help? After a pure positive trainer washes their hands of you in your dire situation where are you to turn? This is where a balanced trainer or an e-collar trainer now steps in to do what must be done where others have refused to assist. When it is discovered that you have in fact turned to an alternate training methodology, you are scolded, shamed or labelled as abusive by those who turned you away or could not effectively help your dog. Does this seem a touch hypocrital and self righteous to anyone else? As pet parents we all have every right to seek help for our dogs wherever we see fit.
To ostercize anyone for utilizing a training method you may not personally agree with, that has not been legally found abusive or non effective is blatantly wrong. Rescues who dictate training methods who tell you they will confiscate your dog should you use any other form of training other than positive should be avoided when you are looking to adopt. Rescues who utilize balanced trainers secretly and then turn around and call those same trainers abusive? This is hypocracy in its highest form. This behaviour by rescue organizations also drives adoptive families into hiding the training they have chosen for their dogs. Good people who love their dogs, have spent hundreds and even thousands on training methods for their dogs, who live in fear that they will have their dogs taken back by the very rescues that approved them as loving, suitable homes should not be made to feel as they do. Why are people doing this? If you are one of these persons guilty of passing judgement, you need to reevaluate your position because you are creating more fear and worry than the training methods you denounce.
The Tools Of The Trade:
Onto the tools of the trade as this is where all of the controversy lies within the training realm. Many consider pinch collars and e-collars abusive tools that will puncture and burn a dogs neck. So is this true? I have heard of situations whereby a 'bark collar' has in fact caused burns on a dogs neck. Think about this tool for a moment. You have on your dog a device that is to sting your dog every time it barks which for some dogs is a non stop action. Of course, if triggered continuously this device can cause injury. I don't personally agree with bark collars as a dogs bark is its form of communication. Why would you want to stifle that?
Indeed, a dog could very well suffer puncture marks in their neck from a pinch collar but not from responsible use. The pictures you see circulating on social media of the pit bull with the holes in his neck did not occur via a responsible dog owner. Let me tell you how this did happen. A pinch collar placed on any dog, left on every day of its life without adjustment can have the prongs imbedded as the dog grows into the non adjusted collar. If you are affiliated with any rescue in any country you will encounter dogs that have been taken into rescue where a rope or flat collar has embedded itself into a dogs neck. I have known this to happen as rescues I am affiliated with have had neglected, abused and abandoned dogs arrive in rescue suffering this very injury. An injury that requires multiple surgeries, thousands of dollars in vet bills to correct. There is also the issue of incessant pullers who wear flat collars placing with great force on their throat which could easily lead to very serious medical issues. So, is a flat collar not just as harmful as a pinch collar? Any collar not adjusted as your dog ages and grows to fit properly can be of certain detriment.
The following article was written by a chairopracter. It details the cause and effect of various collars and the physical issues your dog could be facing when wearing them:
The Most Utilized Collars & Harnesses:
The E-Collar:
I would like to be very clear with this next training tool as there is a lot of misinformation circulating through social media which looks to falsify the benefits of this particular device. The e-collar is not a shock collar. Anyone who references an e-collar as such has absolutely no idea that the two are entirely different nor have they likely ever experienced the physical feeling of an e-collar. If you have ever sought physiotherapy and have experienced the use of a Tens machine then you will be able to comprehend what the sensation is that an e-collar transmits. It is exactly the same. It is not a jolt of electricity that penetrates into the core of your cerebellum like that of shock therapy utilized on some humans suffering serious mental debilitation. The image of Frankenstein electrocuted into life from the table he lay dormant on need not apply. It is a buzzing feeling, that is it. I would ask this: If this device is deemed so incredibly abusive by those who do not utilize them then is one suffering abuse at the hands of their physiotherapist?
Please note that e-collar training should be pursued from a trusted, established source. The collars you buy in a pet store are not the same as that which an e-collar trainer will provide you should you choose this method of training for your dog. A trusted, ethical trainer will not permit those not enrolled in a training program to purchase an e-collar from them. In order to understand and utilize this particular tool properly you should participate in a training program for you and your dog. Should you choose to purchase an e-collar online or the less formidable collars from pet stores you could very well cause more confusion and harm for your dog because you are not versed properly as to the tool you have bought. Proffesional e-collar trainers will not provide sub standard pet store collars to you for training purposes for your dog.
Also, dogs involved in military and police k-9 services are often trained with e-collars and continue to utilize them throughout their careers. We recognize these dogs as working dogs, heros in instances when they have saved lives, selfless officers when they are injured in the line of duty. Never have I heard them referenced as abused. Why is it deemed acceptable for working dogs to wear these collars but not domestic dogs? Why are pet parents labelled as abusive when a working dogs human partner is referred to as their handler? Is it easier to villify those without credentials by those who consider themselves on a more elevated plain?
What Does An E-Collar Feel Like?
My Dogs And My Methods:
I have four adopted northern Canadian rescue dogs, all arrived as puppies under sixteen weeks of age, one a year over four years. Every single one of my dogs is different with their unique personalities as well as training specifics tailored for them. I'll begin with the youngest.
Cree (nearly 2yrs old), what I believe to be a St. Bernard-Shepherd mix given her weight, physical appearance and temperament who was rescued in Norway House, Manitoba. Cree is what we refer to as a 'lazy walker' in my home. The only person she will walk with beyond our street is me, when she walks with the boys she will sit on the sidewalk, slip her collar and head back home up the sidewalk with the boys in hot pursuit. We have zero issues with Cree so she wears a flat collar without issue as she walks by your side and is a friendly dog when encountered by man or beast.
The next dog up in the roll call is Qanuk, my beautiful, petit, white coyote-husky cross from Nain, Labrador. My only 'off-leash' dog (nearly 3 yrs old) who has incredible recall and all I have to say 'Ici La' (yes that is French) and she returns and stands right by my side. I needn't worry if she runs out the door ahead of me because she won't leave the yard. She is the easiest of my four dogs. This didn't require any great labour of training, it's just who she is.
Third, we have Alaska (nearly 4 yrs of age), another rescue from Labrador and may crazy Shepherd-Husky who likes to rule the roost. Her dominant attitude is clearly on display throughout my neighbourhood as she jumps, weaves & yip yaps the entire walk. The collar I use on Alaska depends on her mood of the day, she is the wild child. There are days where I will use a pinch collar on her for walks and days that I don't when she is calm and less reactive.
Lastly, there is Polar (nearly 5yrs of age) also from Labrador and a purebred Labrador Husky (without papers as they are not recognized by the CKC due to the fact there are only 60 left in existence). Polar descends from a wolf-Canadian Inuit dog bloodline and as his ancestry is through and through sled dog he is a puller. When I say 'puller' please note that this 90lb husky has dragged me across my road and up over a sidewalk onto a neighbours yard because he could without any effort whatsoever. This wasn't the only issue, Polar was choking himself to near death pulling with a flat collar. When you see pictures or movies where the dog owner is being dragged down the street by their dog; that was me for about two years. I tried a gentle leader, a halti, a flat collar and not only could Polar wiggle himself out of all of them but he would rub his face or body on concrete to do so and end up bleeding from the friction. Then there came 'the day,' the day that every dog owner fears, the event where all you can do is just stand helpless as your dog snaps a metal D-ring off his flat collar and barely misses being struck by a vehicle while your heart jumps up into your throat in horror. Many people have had 'that day,' and I am no different than anyone else. So what was I to do with this husky who was only 20lbs heavier than me? For the first time in my life, I purchased a pinch collar. I conferred with a balanced trainer on how to ensure it was utilized and fitted properly and since that day everything changed. Walks are now pure enjoyment rather than stress filled.
As Polar is by genetics a bonafied sled dog via ancestry he does utilize more than one collar. At home, in the car and in the yard he wears a martingale like his three adopted sisters. Recently, I have become involved in recreational mushing so Polar can enjoy this aspect of his heritage. When we go canicrossing he wears a body harness specifically designed for mushing. Polar has always been my challenge dog. He is moody, does not want you to pet him when he does not want to be petted, he is obstinate and can not focus on anything longer than three seconds. He has never been nor will he ever be an off leash dog. I accepted long ago that he could never be what I wanted him to be, I would have to accept him as the temperamental boy he is and I am absolutely fine with that.
In Conclusion:
If I were to listen to those who would ignorantly call me an abusive pet parent for utilizing a pinch collar on one of my dogs and pursue their preferred methods to cease their judgement, I would be setting my dog up for failure. Many people will comment that you mustn't love your dog enough if you utilize any other method of training other than pure positive which infuriates me to no end. So, all I need to do is love my dog hard enough and they will magically transform into a compliant creature? That has to be the most ridiculous statement I have heard thus far. 'All you have to do is love your dog enough.'
Part of having a dog, building a cohesive relationship with them, is to acknowledge not what is best for us but what in fact is best for them despite judgement. Every dog is an individual, no two dogs are alike. They have their own needs, successes and challenges. To think that every dog can benefit from only one particular methodology of training is not only delusional but a fools errand.
I know so many who are made to feel ashamed for their decisions. Good people, loving, kind, caring people who would die for their dogs and they are treated like pariahs. Who has the right to do that to someone? Regardless of ones personal feelings on any training method, on any training tool, if a dog is visibly happy, healthy, loved, can you really state they are abused? Remember, all of the training tools mentioned within this article are in fact legal. The only articles that have vilified e-collars and pinch collars have been written by positive training resources, so is that not bias?
I for one have admitted vehemently without fear, without shame, that I utilize a pinch collar for two of my dogs when necessary. I would challenge anyone who knows me to dare utter the word abuse. I would caution you to reconsider your judgement because we can not be guaranteed in this life that we will not encounter more than we can handle.
L.A. Bowden
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