A few months ago, I was contacted by a client who sought training help. Their dog developed a nasty resource-guarding habit and recently bit the owner on the face pretty badly—they had to stitch the wound up. There were also young children in this family, and the dog, although not very large or very powerful, became a major source of safety concern.
After talking to the owner a bit, I realized that the problem was fairly easy to fix, and this could be done in the context of a group class. The dog needed to learn boundaries, and the owner needed to learn how to establish and enforce them—pretty much what we teach in our group obedience course.
Elated that the price for this kind of training would be a fraction of what a series of individual classes would have cost, the owner took their dog to the vet prior to the start of our classes for vaccinations.
The staff at this clinic already knew that this dog was a biter, and they had trouble handling him this time, too. When the owner said that they signed up for group obedience classes, the staff became very concerned. They said that the owner should cancel immediately, because these classes would make things worse: the trainer would use terrible correction tools on the dog, and the dog would become upset and angrier. Instead, the vet staff suggested, the owner should put the dog on anti-anxiety meds (which the owner could not administer because the dog wouldn’t let them touch the muzzle) and contact an animal behaviourist who specializes in aggression cases.
The owner, concerned that they were making the wrong choice, reached out and explained that they are now doubting their choice: are group classes right for them? Will I make them use cruel and terrible tools to get this dog under control? Will I use force to make this dog submit?
Of course, for anyone even remotely familiar with what dog training is, this whole sentiment sounds ridiculous. However, for a person who is struggling with their dog and who is stuck trying to find the truth in these contradictions, reaching a decision is hard. After all, how can you not trust what a vet or their staff says?
The thing is, if that dog were a kid who needed a tooth pulled, the owner would have taken them to a dentist, not a heart surgeon, because heart surgery and dentistry are two completely different areas of expertise. Even though both types of professionals are called “doctors,” they do not possess universal knowledge about all human diseases.
Likewise, veterinarians and people working at vet clinics are pet professionals, but their area of expertise is veterinary medicine, not dog training. The fact that they see many dogs does not automatically mean that they understand how dog training works. Many veterinarians and their staff understand and respect that; however, there are some who abuse the authority they have in the eyes of the general population and provide advice which sometimes might be quite harmful for a dog and their person’s wallet.
It is true that many people working in the pet industry have feelings about dog training, and their opinions about how things should be done will vary greatly and will often contradict each other. In this context, it is important to understand this reality and to filter out advice coming from people whose background has very little to do with dog training.
After all, I am not giving veterinary advice to people, even though I know quite a few things from experience, and my clients will probably believe me if I were to suggest something. I do not have any interest in abusing the power and, potentially, breaking the trust I have with the people who train with me. My sincerest belief is that if everyone were to stick to their area of expertise, we would have fewer badly behaved, broken, and confused dogs.
Thankfully, the owner of the dog in this post decided to take classes with us. They made tremendous progress, and the dog who would previously not allow the collar to be put on its neck without a fight ended up being a respectful, engaged, and fun canine partner. Perhaps, one day, I will write a separate spotlight post about their journey.
Be wise. Do not blindly believe people who give you training advice unless these people are dog trainers. And even if they are, spend some time researching who they are, what results they have to show, and how they reach these results.