07/15/2025
Here’s your reminder that just because someone has thousands of followers on tik tok, just because someone has the confidence, just because someone has an awesome social media presence… doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about (she says… using her social media presence. Believe me, I see the irony.)
Just saw a very “tik tok famous” trainer make statements like “limit your affection towards your reactive dog so you don’t feed into his energy”, recommend kneeing a dog in the chest if they jump up on them, and recommend collars that choke or use other forms of pain to train pretty much every dog she works with.
Her only experience as far as I can tell is time spent as a veterinary technician. No training in applied behavior analysis, no training in ethology, no mentoring under other experienced trainers.
When you see trainers making claims on social media or in real life, ask them for the science. Ask them to back their statements up with proof. Ask them what their credentials and training are. The advice this person is giving is damaging to the human/dog relationship and can really make behavior problems worse or cause them.
Take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt (except for what I post, take that as gospel. JK JK!)
Always think critically. And if it feels wrong to do to your dog…. It probably is.
