I speak of the rage against what dog training is becoming; a machine. I only know of this title as a band that my son used to listen too, but always found the name of the band intriguing.

I often times hear a client tell me their dog flunked basic obedience…Really? I would suggest that your trainer failed you and your dog. After all, why are we really in a training class? Do you plan to attend Westminster? Are you going to the Nationals with your dog? Probably not.

When I teach a class with eight dogs we have one goal uppermost in our minds. Is your dog safe? Does your dog bite humans or attack other dogs? No? Hooray you and your dog graduate basic obedience.

If a trainer fails a dog in class the likelihood that that person will attend another class is about 0%. And now we have an at risk dog because their human has probably not learned how to manage their dog when they are scared, stressed or over threshold. Most people that flunked class have never even heard those terms, they only know their dog could not hold a down stay beside the dog that was eyeballing them. Would you lie down on the floor with a dog that was eyeballing you? The expectations that we place on so many dogs in the name of training is out of proportion with what the dog is capable of in many instances.

I recently had a long term client tell me the best thing that she had done… She went to the local buzz trainer, I am using the term buzz as it is not a shock at all just a little buzz that gets their attention. “It doesn’t hurt at all” so I am told. Anyhow, she was very proud that her dog could heal, go to place and sit every time. She then told me, the dog still goes nuts and acts aggressive every time someone enters the home. Hence the rage.

I am an opinionated bitch (yes I said it) and oftentimes cannot hold my tongue and get myself into trouble. I am oftentimes not well liked. I realize that, but I have no control when it comes to dogs that are put at risk because we cannot take the time to get to the underlying issue of behavior and choose to look for a quick fix.

There are days my heart hurts so much I want to sell the business and move to the beach. Then a Charlie shows up in class. Charlie never sat, rarely looked at his human when asked and pretty much looked like he was doing whatever he wanted. I saw a dog that was terrified of other dogs and none too sure of the human race either. Okay Charlie, you can just hang out for the next four weeks and we will take care of you. Guess what? At the end of the four weeks, Charlie pranced around that class like a boss. He greeted other dogs, wagged at humans and mom said he is not going crazy on walks anymore when he sees other dogs.

And so next week I will start another round of classes with eight new dogs with very different personalities and we will do what we need to do to help that dog feel a little success. He or She will receive their diploma and applause from everyone because that dog did the best they could and this Trainer would never dream of flunking him.

Karen Quillen

We rescued our Belgian Malinois about ten years ago. She had been bred for Homeland Security, flunked out and was sent to Henrico Police Dept. flunked out and landed in Fluvanna SPCA.

At first she seemed fairly normal for a Malinois and we felt pretty fortunate. She listened well, we treated her with yummy things and she responded happily.

Little by little we started to see odd behaviors. When the garbage truck was backing up she would start panting heavily, pacing, shaking severely and throwing herself against us. We saw the same behavior if the smoke alarm went off. One spring evening there was the lovely sound of Peep Frogs coming through the window. Sage started exhibiting these behaviors.

Suddenly I started putting it together. All of these things had one thing in common, a beeping sound. It is common knowledge that Military and Police Dogs are trained with shock collars. Initially they will give a warning beep, if the dog does not respond they are shocked until they do. It makes no difference as to the length of time it takes them to figure it out. They are shocked until they do. The theory behind this is: When the shock stops they are positively reinforced.

We have had Sage for ten years in which time she has never been shocked. Our poor dog has never forgotten the sound which means pain will be delivered. We try our best to comfort her by redirecting her to something truly positive such as a cookie or her ball but until the sound stops she remains a tormented dog.

For those of you out there who might be tempted by the promise of “Off Leash” training, you will not be introducing your dog to a lifetime of freedom; you will have chained them to a lifetime of fear, uncertainty and pain.

We have leash laws for a reason. It keeps them safe and it keeps others safe. If your dog will not come to you when called, you have not trained them enough. There are plenty of safe places for your dog to play off leash.  Keep the leash on and teach your dog that you will keep them safe.