Is dog training cruel?
Recently I was asked if anything that we did training dogs is cruel? Sometimes I have to grab myself by the shirt collar, or give myself a good mental slap in the face when I get asked that, because generally it comes from someone else talking to that person giving their two cents about something they know absolutely nothing about. It is a frequently asked question to many trainers in the U.S., and with all the pit bull horror stories, and animal cops on tv, I understand why it is so easy to be mislead to think dog training could be cruel. My answer to the young lady was this: “Is it cruel to educate a child?” She responded “of coarse not!” So I ask, why would it be cruel to educate a dog? Now the methods used are often questioned, but true dog training is education to a dog. It should never consist of beating, choking, scolding beyond belief, or any one of a hundred different tactics I have been asked about. See, if you do any of these things to a dog, then you are not training, you are practicing tyranny. The British did that to us about 235 years ago, and we didn’t stand for it and had a revolution. We did learn a lesson, but it was a lesson to avoid and become free, and this is not what we want to teach our dogs. So there is no room for physical or mental abuse towards a dog. Corrections are needed, but gentle and kind, not harsh. So I would encourage anyone interested in learning about dog training to further explore it’s roots and methodologies, and I would strongly encourage those with a set in stone opinion that dog training is cruel, to visit myself or any other reputable trainer to in fact learn the truth, versus spreading unfounded rumors. And just a note thanking Lisa Doss with Eden’s Own Journal for the hard work they do there. I enourage everyone to get out there and tell your friends about the paper, and continue to support them and their advertisers. They are a true breath of fresh air here in Rockingham County.
