12/10/2024
Nobody wants to hear this or accept this, but this kind of conduct is VERY common in board and train programs. I’ve always called board and train “the dark corner of the industry” for a reason.
Various degrees of abuse are rampant within facilities that “train” your dog without you present and make ambitious promises to you about quick outcomes in short periods of time.
Even here in the GTA there are many well known “highly respected” B&T businesses that employ completely abusive tactics to give the appearance of instant results and it always makes me shake my head when people willingly hand their dog off to a stranger with no care about what happens to them as long as they get their desired outcome.
Naturally, a dog that is choked, shocked, prodded, and screamed at will learn to avoid doing certain behaviours out of fear, just as any of us would. But is that what you want? To take this creature who loves and trusts you, and to pay someone thousands of dollars to abuse them until they stop doing whatever it is that you find to be so bothersome?
Who cares if your dog is hurt, terrified and traumatized as long as they don’t bark at the neighbours dog or steal your kids’ toys, right? It’s lunacy.
If there was even an ounce of truth to the idea that dogs cannot be trained and problem behaviours cannot be resolved without the use of force and intimidation, then we as a society would have an obligation to stop breeding dogs 100% and allow them to go extinct, because there is nothing humane about breeding a creature into existence that needs to be abused in order to peacefully co-exist with us.
Thankfully though, that is not the case.
B&T trainers exploit people who are overwhelmed and impatient, or in some cases honestly just incompetent and lazy, by convincing you that they can achieve your desired results without you having to do anything but sign a big cheque. Don’t fall for it. Your dog deserves better.
An Oconomowoc dog trainer is accused of mistreating animals, and police said she was seen on video abusing a dog in February 2023. WARNING: images from the v...
