The Shocking Truth

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

another dog magazine article i found and thought i would share (another long but good read)

written by Victoria Stilwell.

An electric collar turns a stubborn pup into an aggressive, withdrawn and depressed dog facing euthanasia.........

The Shocking Truth

Angela and her daughter Sasha, had recently moved into a beautiful new home by the beach, Angela had sold the family business, which, after many years of hard work, meant that she could retire early and concentrate on raising her only child.

Accompanying the family was a one-year-old Basset Hound called Reba, who had been bought from a pet store at eight weeks of age. Angela couldn't resist the cute little face that looked at her through the glass of the store window, so, without much thought to where this puppy had come from she purchased Reba for the equivalent of £2,000.

All went well for the first few months until Reba began to show a stubborn side, Worrying that her dog was out of control, Angela contacted a trainer, who put a shock collar around the pup's neck and gave Reba a shick each time she misbehaved. Because Reba was a naughty puppy, she received many shocks, some so harsh thay a small burn mark appeared on her neck. Reba finally learnt her lesson and became very obediant. She listened to everything the trainer said and complied with Angela's every wish. Angela was not that comfortable using the shock collar, but Reba was finally becoming the obedient puppy that she had always wanted. Life couldn't have been better.

A month after the 'training' started, Angela noticed that although Reba was still listening to her, she had lost the puppy vitality. Reba had become quiet and pensive, and spent long hours asleep during the day. It was obvious to Angela that her dog had become disconnected and depressed, but worse still, she had started to lunge and aggress at other dogs on walks. Even though the shock collar was turned up to maximum to try and stop this reactive behaviour, it didn't seem to be working.

Angela contacted the trainer again, who came back to do more obedience training with the naughty puppy, this time swapping the shock collar for a spray collar, which he activated each time Reba aggressed at another dog. Three thousand pounds worth of training later, Reba was fixed again! Walks became much more enjoyable.

As is common with quick fixes, they quickly come unstuck, and soon neither shock nor spray could stop Reba aggressing. The trainer told Angela that Reba was a lost cause and should be put down. Angela reluctantly agreed and scheduled a date for Reba's euthanasia but couldn't go through with it and instead stopped walking Reba altogether, confining her to the house and a tiny back garden. Angela didn't like the fact that she had to keep her dog in the home, but it was the only way to ensure everyones safety. Without exercise Reba became even more unsettled and anxious, tuning out her family completely and plunging into a nervous depression.

When Angela contacted me she was clearly distressed. She felt as if she had failed her dog and that there was no hope, so i agreed to go and see her. As i walked up to the house, I spied Reba through the railings and understood how Angela had fallen in love with her. The big, droopy face and huge, floppy ears couldn't fail to melt even the hardest heart and her sweet greeting made it difficult to think she was anything but an angel.

Angela had spent thousands of dollars on training, which had done nothing but cause significant damage to her dog. She had taken little time to educate herself about training methods and had gone with what she thought was a reputable training company. Little did she realise she had been subjecting Reba to a lifetime of positive punishment and this was having a detrimental effect both phsysically and mentally . The only thing Reba had learned from being trained in this manner was to fear everything. If she approached the sofa, she received a shock, if she walked on the persian rug, did not 'sit' on command, jumped up, mouthed, had an accident in the home, or lunged at a dog outside, she was shocked. Reba's resulting instability had been shaped by the harsh training she had received, and, as a result, she had no respect, trust or connection with Angela at all.

Shock teaches a dog to avoid a certain stimuls and to cease any behaviour that 'caused' the shock. but ceased behaviour doe not necessarily mean improved behaviour. Even though supporters of electric training might praise the effectiveness of the method, dogs trained using these tools only comply or cooperate with the training out of fear of what will happen if they don't - the dog is not truely being obediant. Shock controls a dog without allowing that dog to make choices and solve problems, which often results in learned helplessness where the dog effectively learns to give up. It forces a dog to 'behave' with little care for what causes negative behaviour and is a technique that essentially cripples an animal's true learning ability.

Calm After The Storm

Rehabilitating a dog that had suffered such abuse was going to be tough , but i was confident that a humane approach would go a long way to re-establishing trust. I wanted Reba to feel really good about learning, but as she had never experienced any praise whilst learning in the past, she was confused.

The most difficult problem to overcome was Reba's reactivity towards other dogs on walks. It was vital that she have exercise, but her reaction was intense, and witnessing her straining at the end of the leash, I could understand why Angela was so concerned about walking her. I knew, however that Reba would be a good candidate for the clicker. Clicker training, which pairs the sound of a click with a reward, was a completely new concept for Angela. For the first time she was encouraging Reba to learn using positive reinforcement and the change in her was almost immediate, as this broken dog became eager and motivated.

We concentrated on basic focus training in and out of the home, which taught Reba to focus on and take cues from Angela while gaining confidence in different enviroments. Even though Angela became nervous outside, it was vital that she portrayed confidence at all times so that Reba could learn from her and keep motivated.

As we progressed we began to add distractions, such as a having a non-reactive dog at a distance that Reba could see but didn't have the pressure of having to get close to. Gradually, we worked up to the point where the other dog was able to walk past as Reba focused on Angela. If there was a negative reaction, instead of being punished, Reba was limply led quietly away until she calmed down enough to start the process again.

Soon Reba was walking past other dogs with no reaction at all. In fact, it seemed that she was now curious and ready to experience her first greeting. I never like to allow dogs to greet face to face to begin with, as it can be too much pressure, so we practised following the other dog until we got to the point where Reba experienced her first bottom sniff! Angela and I must have looked like a couple of mad women as we celebrated the monumental moment, but it signified a huge breakthrough in the learning process. Reba had made her first friend - a trusty old male Beagle called Walter.

Walking with Walter gave Reba confidence and the dogs met up daily to experience the joys of walking together. When it was appropriate, we began adding other dogs to the mix, and soon a regular walking group developed. Watching Reba play with her new buddies, I couldn't help thinking what a tragedy it would have been if Angela had followed the advice of her former trainer.

Reba had suffered so much throughout her most important period of development because of a person's failure to understand how dogs really learn and how important it is to make a dog's life and learning experience a good one. There are still people training, saying that, used correctly, shock collars do not cause pain at all, just a minor irritation that the dog learns to avoid if it behaves in a desirable manner. Even if that is the case, why resort to shock when you can get much better results with methods that motivate a dog to behave well without force and without any possibilty of damage?

Even if a trainer knows exactly how to operate a collar effectively so it doesn't cause pain, the majority of dog owners do not have that kind of 'skill' and it is impossible to defend a methoud that has the potential to cause real harm.

Shock collars are yet another example of man's desire for a quick fiz, but positive reinforcement offers a wealth of great methods, including the clicker, that can dramtically change even the most intense of behaviours in our dogs. Angela experienced the power of positive reinforcement first hand and saw how it changed her dog's life. She is now dedicated in telling her story to others, cautioning them to do their research thoroughly before hiring anyone to train their best friend.

[Tikaani&Aiyana]

Another interesting and informative post Nix +1

[Sid_Wolf]

I enjoyed that nix, +1

I love victoria stillwell, even if she is a bit scary

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

victoria stilwell is my fave dog trainer would love to meet her

[Rosemary]

Great article Nix - thanks

[Stormy]

Great article!!

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

So sad that people buy a dog from questionable background on a whim and then hier someone to "fix it", sell it on or worse have it PTS sleep because they failed to do any research before aquiring the life in the first place!

[siberian_wolf]

Great story Nix +1

Im sure this story has been on the TV on "Its Me Or The Dog" (Could have been the USA version), such a heartbreaking story to think that some people can call themselves trainers.

Although sometime Victoria can seem like she is sounding rather Harsh to the owners, she is a brilliant and passionate trainer who puts the truth accross to people and puts the dogs first and makes training look more fun and enjoyable rather than like punishment.

Makes the quote "Ignore the bad and praise the good" sound more honest than ever

[KERNOWHUSKIES]

Good read, i think the shock collars r awful !!!!

[proximity]

I cannot fathom how anyone could ever think a shock collar is a good idea, no matter how uneducated on animal training they may be.

[princessmom]

Milla wears a shock collar because we're not allowed to build a fence in our yard due to the neighborhood convenant. The collar is only keep her in the yard. It's set low and on a three-second delay, so if she's in "husky mode" and tears through the boundary at top speed because she's not paying attention to the boundaries, she doesn't get shocked. If she is moving at normal pace, she hears a beep and has plenty of time to move back into a "safe" area of the yard before a shock is triggered.

I much prefer this system to a long lead she can chew through or worse, wrap up among the deck posts and get caught in and possibly hurt or killed due to an accident.

The collar can't be used for anything but the invisible fence. It does not correct barking, aggression, disobeyed commands or anything like that.