You Would Be Shocked

There has been some local press around the shock collar initiative that's been started. On September 18th, 2017  I talked to Sheldon MacLeod on News 95.7 - here's is what we said: Sheldon: This got a bit of attention on the weekend - online group campaigns against shock collars used on Nova Scotia dogs and Nova Scotia advocates - says Tom Ayers, the reporter - are looking to bring awareness to training positively as opposed to shock collars/e-collars on dogs and they are lining up against the use as some trainers say the devices are as safe as muscle stimulating devices used on physiotherapists. Here to give us her thoughts on this is a person who is speaking up and speaking out on it and welcome back to our program – Joan Sinden, Joan – thank you for doing this  Joan: (dogs barking in background) : Oh dear, somebody must be walking by the front of my house  Sheldon: Why is it that you felt it was necessary, and again you’re not necessarily against them as ...

Dog trainers who use shock/e-collars as their main protocol for training dogs are certainly excited and enthusiastic about it.  Some of them are truthful with what they are doing - that the collars are negative reinforcement/positive punishment, but unfortunately others will tell you that they are part of a positive training protocol, which just isn't true. Looking on facebook - when people talk about shock/e-collars, it's interesting what people say when they are discussing why they use the devices and I'm going to quote why people say they are good and life-saving parts of their dog's life - a lot of people say that they'd have to euthanize their dog if they hadn't have started to use the collars, which is too bad.  Too bad for their dogs, anyway. Here is an interesting one: "Dog agression is a good example on when the collar would be useful. Correcting the dog before they get into a higer energy or agressive state can really help them understa...

 A new coalition between rescue groups has begun in Nova Scotia to build awareness about the humane and ethical treatment of dogs in our province. The mission statement reads: At Nova Scotia Shock Free Rescue Coalition , we are governed by principles that demand the highest level of humane and ethical treatment of dogs. With years of experience, training and research on the subject, we are a coalition of rescues who stand together against force training. We will only employ and will promote trainers who use positive, reward-based training practices. We will only accept the use of humane devices such as flat collars, soft martingales and body harnesses. In our adoption agreements, we will stipulate all training for our rescue dogs will be positive training. As stated in our mandate we do not allow the use of methods that are punitive, inhibit learning, increase fear, promote aggression or could result in physical and psychological injury to the dog. We recognize that th...

Electronic containment systems - the devices that either have wires that you bury in the ground or are wireless and transmit to a collar you put on your dog - work through the use of electric shock. You put the wires around the perimeter of your house and when your dog comes too close to those wires usually the collar will make a beep or have a vibration and if the dog keeps going the collar will then emit an electric shock to tell the dog to back off so that he does not leave your property. That is how things should go when everything is working as you want it to - but there are a lot of things that can go wrong.  And I am going to lay out a few of those things. There was a newspaper article in the Chronicle Herald about a dog In Eastern Passage that was attacked by a coyote - it was very serious - the poor dog almost died - it is very serious, and really it's still very touch and go - hopefully the poor dog Daisy is  going to pull through - I've put the artic...

There is awesome news from the Pet Professional Guild - a consortiom of force free trainers around the world - has announced that on September 25, 2017 they will be rolling out their plans for a "shock free coalition". I'm going to copy here the missive they sent out because it's just so awesome - ************************************ It is with great pleasure that I am now able to inform you that, on September 25, 2017, PPG will be rolling out its Shock-Free Coalition. This is an initiative that has been developed through the PPG Advocacy Committee over the last 12 months. Its aim is to build an international movement committed to eliminating shock devices once and for all. The Shock-Free Coalition will feature a Shock-Free Pledge, a signature drive, and the rollout of tools and resources to help you help us promote the initiative across our communities. We are also developing “Blueprint” documents to support the execution of local and targeted legisl...

The following is excerpted from the website " Pet Collar Awareness " - a Canadian website that's working to build awareness around dog collars and their abuse - there is a lot more information at that website - if you want to read their information in it's entirety - I suggest you go there to read it all - it is all really important - this is just some of the information that's written there. Here is some of the information on that site: Collar choices for pets are endless. They are the perfect place to hang identification and, with a variety of colors and designs available, to make a statement. However, the aesthetics of collars is not what plagues most pets. It is how they work. If your collar works by shocking, choking, pinching, inducing pain, fear and intimidation, then you've picked the wrong collar. Through recent credible research we've learned that many of the assumptions previously made about shock, choke & prong collars are completely ...

The "Hierarchy of Dog Needs" was developed by Linda Michaels, MA - you can read all about it on her website at  http://www.dogpsychologistoncall.com/hierarchy-of-dog-needs-tm/  and an interesting thing about her website that you should check out is her " about me " page - it lists all her qualifications - it's huge - her credentials go on and on and on, unlike other types of trainers who have just gone to seminars and are basically just autodidacts and then from that consider themselves dog trainers. This Hierarchy of a Dog's Needs is a force free alternative to other types of dog training and meets all your dog's needs in terms of modifying behaviour and does it in a certain order so that your dog will feel safe, healthy, secure, and bonded with you - the most important thing in their life - which is how things are supposed to work. You can either go to the website we've provided at the top of this page or click on the picture and save it ...