10/30/2024
Due to the current political climate, I would like to request that my clients not wear political attire during training sessions that take place in public. Before anyone gets upset - allow me a moment to explain the logic & reason behind this request.
A few times now, I have been with clients who were wearing a certain hat that tends to evoke emotion - whether positive or negative. Recently, I had a situation where a stranger came up and wanted to discuss/argue about politics with my client due to their hat. This situation immediately made the client's dog react negatively.
Remember : going into public with your dog and dog trainer is to show your dog that they have nothing to fear, to help them feel comfortable, and to work on anxiety. Bringing a trainee in public allows me to closely watch their body language and assess their anxiety levels. I cannot do that if we are standing in the same place for 20 minutes having a random political discussion with a random person.
All of our training goals are at a serious risk of being compromised when we are approached by strangers who want to have political discussions, especially when those discussions become heated. Further, I will not include myself in your debate. Whether I agree or disagree with your views - When I'm "on the clock", I am completely neutral and I do not want any involvement in a political discussion.
I have to be honest - when a client does wear political attire with their dog in public every time we meet up, it also does show me very quickly WHY the dog is anxious and having problems socializing with other people. When they go out, are there confrontations often? How often do you choose to make political statements in public while you are with your dog? I am not saying don't wear political swag in public ever with your dog, but I am saying that if you do it every time, if you are a person who is vocal about your opinions everywhere you go, then perhaps that's why the dog has anxiety about being around other people. From an animal behaviorist standpoint - the root cause is very obvious to me as to why the dog is so nervous.
Political attire tends to make people nervous or at least cause some type of emotion. Dogs notice these emotions immediately and it does stress them out. It's great to be passionate about things, even politics. But, your dog doesn't understand that. All they understand is that your heart rate was at 70 BPM a few seconds ago and now it's at 140. We were enjoying a walk and exploring a new place a second ago and now this stranger is here and your heart rate is up and their heart rate is up and this trainer guy is over here just chilling, not nervous at all. That is why I am so good at what I do - I don't get nervous, even when I get bit. I am calm the entire time. But even still, the situation makes your dog really confused. Their anxiety is actually appropriate and natural. I cannot train that out of them. It is a physical response to your heart rate and the heart rate of those around you. Whether your hat is red, blue, green, or yellow - if it has a political candidates name on it, it could hurt our ability to have a successful training session while in the general public.
I know that generally people don't like to hear "your dog is anxious because of your behavior." But, my job is to help your dog. If I think that you are the reason for your dogs anxiety - I will tell you in as kind of a way as I possibly can. The reason I am doing this is because I want to see change in the dog. I want to improve their life. Sometimes, that means I have to make suggestions to the client that they change their own behaviors and routines when they are with their dog's in a public setting or around other people. It's not an insult, it's not because of politics, it's because you hired me to give you experienced advice on how to help your dog and that is exactly what I am doing.
I offer in home, in store, and in public training sessions. For in home appointments, you can dress yourself from head to toe in political swag. Go all out. Enjoy it! 😆 The same goes for in-store - if you choose to wear political gear to my shop - It doesn't bother me a bit. We schedule appointments in a way where I know who is coming in and whether they will try and have a political discussion, so I can schedule people accordingly to eliminate the possibility of an argument happening. I can control who and what is happening in my shop, but I can't control the general public when we are out together. I can't stop someone from approaching you to ask about your hat or your shirt and I'm not going to involve myself in it for obvious reasons.
But, In public, it is a very serious distraction and more often than not, it has a negative impact on our training session. As such, I am politely requesting that all political merch be left at home or in the car while we are in public actively training your dog. I can't force anyone to do anything and I won't refuse your business for not adhering to my request, but if you do refuse, I do want to be clear that we are *probably* not going to be able to get the results that you are wanting. I am going to try my absolute best, but it's going to be tough.
More often times than not, humans do have to be willing to change their body language, routines, or behavior in order to help "fix" their dog's unwanted behaviors. If there is complete refusal by a client to change certain behaviors that I know will help their dog, then there really is only so much I can do. Though I wish I could, I can't waive a wand and take away a dog's anxiety or behavioral concerns. It takes consistency by the handler for these changes to be seen.
Thank you for all future cooperation and understanding.
