Death by phone call

I have been struggling with whether or not to write this particular blog. By nature I like give people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their decisions, believing that most people are basically decent. Yet my street time as a cop has shown me that poor judgment can show its ugly head in many situations.

I read a column by a trainer recently. The trainer was contacted by phone. Someone had gotten a dog off one of the internet boards. The dog had started to show some alarmingly aggressive behavior. Apparently based on a phone description of the behavior and the trainer’s “knowledge” of the breed’s behavior, the trainer advised the owner to put the dog down.

The point of the article appears to have been to be very careful when getting a dog from this kind of a source. That is a valid and useful point. People are not always honest about why they want to place a dog.

What was so aggravating to me was that, unless this columnist is a poor writer, that trainer never saw the dog.

That just mystifies me. It is not that hard to get a pretty good idea of what you are going to be dealing with when someone calls. And some behaviors are so mild, that you can help them with just a few simple suggestions. You should be able to give the owner some good general advice on what they are dealing with in any conversation. But you should make it clear that until you see the dog, you cannot say for sure what the problems are.

But the trainer should insist of seeing the dog, especially if they think the problems are dangerous. To diagnose a dog as un-trainable over the phone is an extreme act of arrogance. Or it is the mark of someone who should rethink how they train.

Maybe someday I’ll find out it was just poor writing skills. But I kind of doubt it.



I wrote the paragraphs above two weeks ago but decided not to put it on the blog. Then the columnist wrote another column. The columnist got several e mails taking him to task on this. The writer made a point of how he had won over the worst critic.

When I was a field training officer I taught my young cops always try to get the suspect’s story. There were occasions when I had a solid case against a suspect. I had enough to do a warrant and make a good arrest. They seemed like slam dunk cases. But every now and then, when I got the suspect’s side of the story, the case fell apart. Either the crime hadn't occured or the supposed suspect was actually the victim.

It didn’t happen often, but it did happen.

They day will come when I have to advise someone to put down a dog. The dog will be so badly traumatized that it cannot be saved.

But I guarantee I will have seen the dog in person.

Doug

Neighborhood Pack II

One of the frustrations when you are building a business (especially in a recession) is not having a big enough customer base to do some of the things you want to do.

So by the end of summer when we had enough dogs to make getting together in group possible, we started doing Neighborhood Pack sessions. Of course we did not call it that until we met Pat Rock.

The name is a dead on description of what happens. We form a pack. Last week's pack had a Border Collie, two Boston Terriers, a Min Pin, a Jack Russell Terrier, a Norfolk Terrier, and a Standard Poodle. Three of the dogs were under a year in age. One dog had extreme dog aggression and another was a rescue with severe seperation anxiety.

Now each of these dogs had finished their private lessons and was making progress. But to complete the training process the dog needed a couple of sessions in a pack. And that night they were.

We don't turn dogs loose. But there is a pack leader, me. And there are higher ranking members of the pack, who have to be respected. That is the owners.

There were no miracles. But there was progress. Everyone learned that the rules their owners have established apply in every situation.

The excitement of the night was when the dog aggressive dog managed to snap open his lead and get loose. He challenged every dog in the center. But there were no bites, just bluffing. Ane he quickly learned that unacceptable behavior results in a frim, but fair, correction. He still has a way to go but that was a big step for him. And every other dog in the room learned they can trust their owners.

Neighborhood Pack has be so successful that now every dog finishes training by attending three sessions. Since the dog learns from the other dogs, and the owners learn from each other, the dog and owner finish the training and cement their relationship.

This gives us the ability to take advantage of both one on one training, and group training.

Plus now you have a place to come back to from time to time to sharpen you and the dog.

Doug