I jumped as I heard the SMACK of contact against neoprene, Penny Grace startling just as much as I did, as we passed a Rottweiler, on a prong collar, with their leash being stepped on. As I looked on in horror and attempted to assess what had happened, I realized the "trainer" was stepping on the pup's leash, maintaining tension, and that the leash was clipped to a prong collar. It appeared as though the Rotti pup had broken their Sit cue, and rather than communicate in any other way which didn't require physical force or intimidation, the "trainer" instead chose to swat it on the butt, over the bright pink and purple coat it was wearing.
As my system surged with adrenaline, feeling angry, powerless, and disappointed, I realized the dog's guardian/ person, was standing just a few feet away, watching, seemingly unsure, and shifting from foot to foot. The "trainer" told her to step closer to them and the dog, and as she did, the pup, of course, broke the sit again, this time resulting in the "trainer" grabbing the prong collar by hand and yanking the dog physically back into a Sit cue. All with no verbal communication at all and a small smile on their face as they confidently and forcefully manipulated the dog who was clearly over threshold and struggling.
Penny and I had woken up early to go enjoy the cherry blossoms by the Tidal Basin.
Knowing it would be crowded whenever we attempted to go because it was peak bloom, we went to watch the sunrise and to take some photos around 7AM.
By 8AM the crowds were already swarming all around the basin and we were making our way out, through the throngs of people, dogs, scooters, and squirrels.
As we did, Penny and I both jumped when heard the SMACK.
The "trainer" had this seemingly young and restless pup just off the edge of a main walkway, nearby the basin, and as we had walked by, approximately 10 feet from the young pup, (curving as we did to try and set everyone up for success,) the pup broke their Sit.
From this "trainers" perspective, I suspect they hold some antiquated beliefs about dogs (or maybe even other humans,) being required to do what we want them to, simply because "I said so." or there is a repercussion. Like the pop or yank of a prong collar.
The reality is that dogs are autonomous, sentient beings, with complex emotional experiences and individual preferences and boundaries.
Dogs have been proven, through research, to learn similar to children and to have the emotional intelligence of the average 2-4 year old.
As a former therapist and preschool teacher, the intellectual and more compassionate side of me knows that this "trainer" and the dog's guardian don't know what they don't know. As Maya Angelou famously said, "...when you know better, (we) do better."
Penny and I hung nearby, far enough away to not add challenge, and thereby pain to the dog, but close enough to observe and to demonstrate another way, while we took photos and did a couple simple training exercises, all using a combination of verbal and non-verbal cues, praising and rewarding her often. I never once touched the leash (my preferred Kurgo 6-in-1 waist leash is super helpful to prevent me from accidently using the leash as communication. It is not. It is simply a fail safe to our training. I'll link the specific leash below.) and Penny engaged and complied, while I threw her bits of kibble and treats and cheered her on for making good choices.
As we worked, I took lots of deep breaths and watched Penny start to come down, just
as I did, hoping I would get to a place emotionally where I felt confident and calm enough to go speak with the pup's guardian and "trainer." Unfortunately, I felt so dysregulated that I wasn't confident I could communicate clearly and effectively, and so I chose to walk away, hoping that their witnessing another way of doing things may have at least planted a seed.
If you're not aware yet, aversive methods of training, (any method that uses fear, punishment, or discomfort in training; think prong collars, e-collars, pinch, choke chains, martingales, slip leads, "educator" collars, gentle leaders, etc.) are not necessary to teach any creature. Have you ever noticed that zookeepers are able to train massive gorillas, elephants, and jaguars to voluntarily engage in their care, doing things like standing still for blood draws or turning over on their back to allow for abdominal examinations, all without any of these "tools.?"
Someone who truly understands the learning process and emotional development of a creature will understand that not only are these methods not required, but they are also cruel and can be damaging to the overall wellbeing of the creature being trained.
Imagine that every time you experienced a surge of emotion, it made you shout out loud, and each time you shouted, you received a shock. After a while, you would learn to suppress the shout (the behavior.) This does not mean the underlying emotion would be any different, just the outward expression of the emotion would be stifled. Additionally, with no outlet to express this emotion, suppressing the emotion would only last so long before resulting in other fallout behaviors. Perhaps instead of shouting out loud, you begin to channel the emotion through an anxious or obsessive behavior, like picking, ruminating, or self-injuring in some way. Our dogs are similar in this way and like humans, it is important to remember that our dog's behavior is a result of their emotions.
If we can remember this, it can help inform how we approach each training intervention with them in order to set them up for success and to support their emotional wellbeing while we train. (See the linked video below for a more in depth breakdown of how "positive punishment" (aversive training methods) impact dogs. In short, the use of aversive techniques does not teach our dogs what we DO prefer while increasing fear, anxiety, and fallout behaviors like reactivity.)
I am admittedly feeling guilty that I wasn't able to get to a place to advocate for the pup
and to help provide information about another way of doing things.
There is a piece of me that believes every human needs to learn things, in their own time, in their own way, and that it wasn't my business to intervene.
When I first started training, I use to use slip leads pretty regularly.
When I learned better, I did better, and phased them out and learned other ways to teach.
There is another piece of me that believes it is every person's duty to speak out against injustices and to advocate for the most vulnerable populations who can't do so themselves.
I teeter between 'mind-my-own' versus 'I-wish-someone-had-advocated-for-me-once-upon-a-time,-so-I-feel-compelled-to-advocate-for-the-vulnerable-now.'
I am unclear where the balance is and what the "right" answer is, or if there is one.
I would love other dog lovers and pup guardian's feedback:
Would you have said anything?
Why or why not?
What would you say?
Any advice for me in the future?
Thanks for being part of the Engaged Pack & for reading & evolving with us!
Want to learn more about if/when punishment is appropriate in training from a vet?
Enjoy the video and learn more about the science of why all the major canine behavioral and health organizations advise against aversive training method use!
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