That Doesn’t Hurt!
When you turn on the news and hear that certain members of a political party are claiming that the 2020 insurrection was actually a bunch of citizens touring the Capitol, you just gotta wonder if this was an excerpt from The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party!
This form of gaslighting has been normalized over the last several years, so much in fact, that we are told not to believe what we see!
You’re probably wondering, what politics and abnormal personality traits have to do with dog training so, as always, I will digress…
As a common thread throughout most of my blogs, I’ve mentioned that the dog training industry is unregulated which means that anyone can call themselves a dog trainer. These charlatans tell big lies about dogs because, not surprisingly, they are canine illiterates, who cannot read canine body language.
One such TV dog “expert”, uses the label “calm” to describe dogs screaming out in fear! He also uses words like “dominance” in one of his videos to justify pulverizing a poor dog after he intentionally challenged her to fight over the dog’s food. Personally, I would have stabbed his little hand with my fork if he put it in my plate, but that’s just me. This dog, by the way, showed him every communication possible to de-escalate the confrontation, but again, this “expert” isn’t fluent in dog speak.
But he isn’t alone in his ignorance, and unfortunately for unsuspecting pet-parents taking advice from his TV show or from the slew of other wannabe morons who wouldn’t recognize a fear response if it bit them on the booty, the results can have dire consequences for the poor dog when he finally lashes out at his owner or maims a child!
I don’t know what’s more insidious, the dog abuse or gaslighting the dog owners into believing that electric shocks feel like a tap, that the prongs from a collar are designed to mimic the mother dog’s mouth, or that the dog screaming is really a mechanical response, because dogs don’t have emotions.
To be clear, what’s old is new again and according to a recent article in Psychology Today, “Gaslighting tactics have been deployed throughout history, and continue to be used today, by domestic abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders.” And apparently it’s a tool used by posers to gain favor with clients or for celebrity status!
Years ago I unwittingly attended a local DAWG, (Dog Abuse Workshop Gathering) which, based on their flyer, made the weekend sound like a trip to Disneyland. However, when I took my seat and looked around, I realized that my dog was the only one wearing a harness, while the other dogs were clad in shock collars, sitting stiffly at attention, waiting for their shock-happy owner to give the dog a zap if it looked sideways.
The first thing the leader did was to poke fun at “cookie pusher” trainers which was a predictable tactic to generate a feeling of camaraderie, but the next thing he said knocked the stuffing out of me when he told the members of this little cult, not to believe what they were about to see or hear. He then took a dog, looking like a sacrificial offering, from its owner, pressed the button on the remote of the shock collar, and when this poor little dog screamed out in pain, the guy, right on cue, reminded the audience that what they were seeing and hearing was just a dog having a tantrum because he couldn’t get his way!
The deception is disturbing on so many levels; the worst is how easy it is to sell it, normalize it, and make someone believe that they are the true heroes who are saving dogs from being euthanized!
So folks, please learn to be your dog’s advocate and when someone tells you that a prong collar, when worn correctly doesn’t hurt, that a little bit of electricity doesn’t hurt, or that cutting off the dog’s air supply with a choke collar or hanging, doesn’t hurt, ask them if they know that “TREATS DON’T HURT!”
HAPPY TRAINING & ENRICHMENT
© Fran Berry CPDT-KA, UW-AAB all rights reserved 2023
