Help a Brother Out: The Choke Chain Edition
- Jun 18, 2015
- 2 min read
By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO and Pet Industry Entrepreneur
One of the things a good dog trainer should be, every day, is an active advocate for positive training methods. Whenever I get the chance to make a difference in the life of a dog and his person, I like to take that chance. This can happen in the form of a conversation about the types of training methods, quick instructions about basic commands, or a demonstration of new equipment.
I had a great teaching opportunity when I was at the BlogPaws 2015 conference in Nashville a few weeks ago. My colleague and I were taking a break when we noticed this obviously distressed standard poodle being walked by her owner. The dog was wearing a choke chain, because, as the owner put it, “She’s completely crazy when we go on walks otherwise.” The dog was (to put it mildly) not great on leash, so the choke chain was living up to its name.
We watched the dog for a few minutes and when they came over to say hello, I started talking to the owner about other ways to work on the dog’s leash manners. He was using a choke chain on the advice of his trainer, and had never heard of a Gentle Leader. Luckily, we were near the PetSafe booth; I ran over to get a Gentle Leader, and had the dog fitted and leashed back up inside of ten minutes.
The difference in the dog’s demeanor was immediate. She stopped pulling, she stopped whining, and she visibly relaxed (because, well - nobody likes being choked). The owner was a little bemused by the lightning-fast makeover, but he was appreciative of the effort and the concern, and certainly had no objection to walking a calmer and happier dog.
There is a trick to getting a good reception from the owners in situations like this – you have to actually care about the animal's well-being, and not be invested in Being Right at the expense of the owner’s sensibilities. If you come across as preachy or judgmental, no one will listen to you (and can easily take offense), and the dog will go on its way without any positive change having been made. It takes practice. Not everyone you meet will know that there are different schools of dog training or that alpha rolls are not the way to modify your dog’s behavior. It’s up to you, the educated pet professional, to spread your positive knowledge and experience a little bit farther into the community in a way that will be well-received and, hopefully, acted upon in a way that benefits everyone.
What teaching opportunities have you had lately?
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Thanks to Andrea Fischetti of ReelPaws Productions for hooking us up with PetSafe, and to PetSafe for accommodating my mad raid on their booth to get a Gentle Leader for this poodle.
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