Positive vibes are in short supply these days. COVID times have been scary for many of us. Millions of people find themselves out of work and out of luck. A lingering doom hovers daily with the anticipation of the next news brief or press release. The world is in flux, and hope can be hard to find.
One positive of COVID? For months now, pet adoptions have gone through the roof. Shelters and rescues in the PNW have seen their shelter numbers reach unthinkable lows, from the new wave of adoptions and newly available foster families. At Resilient Hearts, the pandemic brought a wave of fosters trying to help, asking for any ways they can contribute.
With this new wave of adoptions has come a wave of first time pet parents. Suddenly, work can be done from your living room, and families find themselves with ample time to raise the puppy they have been waiting years to adopt. New fur parents are stumbling their way through the millions of online resources and spending hours on YouTube seeking advice from trainers and behaviorists worldwide in order to get their brand new puppy to walk at their hips and stop peeing in the house and getting them to run agility courses and get them to cook a nine-course meal and …
I came across a couple in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood last week. They had a 14 week old golden retriever puppy, floppy as a wet noodle, that I had to pet. (Do you ever say no to petting a puppy?) As I approached, I noticed something startling around the puppies neck: A pinch collar. As the pup bounced and rolled in it’s ridiculous puppiness, I watched as the collar twisted and strained on the puppy’s neck. Deep down, I was terrified. Puppy necks are fragile, and one wrong flop could lead to a break.
I had to ask. “Why are you using a pinch collar on your puppy?” I am genuinely curious about people’s reactions, not to dissuade them away from using averse training techniques, but to understand why people use them in the first place. Turned out, they are first time puppy parents, and they had sought advice from a local dog trainer, who told them a pinch collar would correct the puppy’s unwillingness to walk when out in public. Essentially, if the puppy stops, you tug on the collar and the puppy will walk. Wallah! Quick fix! (ie, lazy training.)
I am not here to debate pinch collars. Rather, I am here to ask a question: Why are we demanding so much from our puppies? Or, to expand on that, why are we demanding so much perfection from any of our animals? So many people I have encountered on this rescue journey expect their newly adopted rescue dog to be fully potty trained, totally conditioned to any schedule the adopter wants, walks immediately next to the owner’s hip, and gets them a beer at halftime. It’s miserable. When did we get to a point where we adopt dogs and expect them to come fully trained and prepackaged to immediately fit OUR needs? When did the focus of pet ownership become everything about the owner, and not about the pet?
I am baffled by every toy breed dog that has a pinch collar or choke chain (yes, in the last few weeks, I have seen several chihuahuas and toy poodle breeds wearing these collars). Why? Who needs to feel better here? And who is thinking it’s a good idea to slap a tool designed to be tugged onto the neck of an animal with a weak neck?
Puppies learn by exploring and acting curiously in their surroundings. Socialization is all about working at the puppy’s pace to introduce them slowly into the world. When we walk a puppy, you shouldn’t be focused on the steps you take. Exercise of the mind far exceeds the exercise you will give them physically. Besides that, a dog does not naturally know how to walk on leash, and needs a long term plan to learn to walk calmly. This is a YEARS long endeavor, not a simple fix like slapping on a specific collar. How effective would you be in a new job if someone slapped a shock collar on your neck and shocked you every time you miss-typed into a computer?
In a world of quick fixes and immediate gratification, we have started demanding much too much from our pets. If you, as a pet parent, expect to have a prepackaged puppy that can do everything you ask as soon as they’re home, then I gently suggest not adopting a dog. At least until you can shift your expectations and see that no quick fix is a good fix. Dogs (and any other companion animal) takes years of love, nurturing, and commitment. You have to pour hours of time into training basic skills, and years into forming a bond.
Be patient. Slow down. Enjoy the short time you have to learn with your puppy. I promise, you’ll miss those moments when they’re gone.
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