@tranikamarie Absolutely! I appreciate you and all the trainers out there that are using techniques to help dogs instead of harm them! I wish there was something I could do or a way for the trainer I spoke to to get some of the resources and education that I’ve been getting here, although I’m not sure if she would be willing to learn. She has 48 google reviews and the only negative one mentions someone’s dog getting a virus there, so it doesn’t look like anyone has anything to say about the negative training methods used there unfortunately.
@wallydelafuente Thank you! My husband said the same thing - if I’m crying over it then she’s not worth it and not the right trainer. It helps getting an outside perspective!
@catherinenosleep PS - You might also enjoy "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia B. McConnell. She debunks a ton of this dominance/alpha stuff, and she really changed how I understand my dog.
@catherinenosleep I’m genuinely confused about how she can even claim to be logical. Can you imagine if your kid was terrified of the dark, so you turn off the lights and beat them? But you’re supposed to “help” your dog by hurting them whenever they get terrified of kids? I’m all for hearing different opinions, but this trainer seems a bit unhinged. Glad you’re going a different route, best of luck!
@david3234 I wish I thought of these analogies when I was on the phone with her. Her website didn’t really have any info on methods she used so I went into the phone call very optimistic and I was so blindsided once she started talking that I think I was too shocked to argue. I’m glad that others are also having trouble seeing the logic in her arguments and it’s not just me!
@catherinenosleep While prongs and ecollars CAN be used for reactivity doesn’t mean they should be for every situation. I would never send my dog to a board and train that wasn’t R+ only because if they were teaching her on an e collar then I should be part of that process.
Alpha language is outdated and disproven.
She sounds like she has a big ego. I would suggest finding a trainer that wants to work WITH you and not just show you what they can do.
@steve77777 I agree - I was hoping for a trainer that would work with us so we could reliably use any techniques they teach us. It seems that a lot of effective training involves showing US (the humans) what we should be doing, so we were hesitant sending her to be “fixed” in 2 weeks because that didn’t seem like it would be a long-term solution
@blessed2fosteradopt Would you be able to elaborate on how it might be creating an issue? I’m not trying to be rude, just genuinely trying to get as much information as possible. I check in with the staff there and they always say she plays well and does great, but if it could be creating a problem we want to be able to address that
@catherinenosleep Because she is used to being off leash around many dogs and when she has to be put on a leash she is confused as to why she can’t freely play with dogs and is restrained. You can google why dog parks and doggy daycare cause reactivity, and this sounds more like excitement reactivity which is easier to fix than fear reactivity which is good news! I’m going through it with my pup as well by allowing on leash greetings with stranger dogs when he was a puppy.
But I also agree with everyone here not to use a prong/e collar on your dog. That won’t help, it will only suppress your dogs emotions. You won’t to be your dogs biggest advocate.
@blessed2fosteradopt I also have an excitement reactive (frustrated greeter) dog from going to dog parks. My dog learned that seeing a dog means running play time. Now I am completely incapable of walking her in sight of other dogs. It’s going to be a long road getting back to neutral.
I appreciate it!