ADVOCACY
The Power of
Erica Beckwith reports on her first experience swapping aversive training gear for service
discounts, and the enormous difference it has already made to one dog and her owners
M
y first Project Trade swap was exhilarating, and it almost did not happen. I joined Project Trade several months ago, and to be honest, I had not done very much to advertise or pursue trades. Then, at the beginning of a behavior consultation in August last year, my client pulled out all the equipment she and her husband were using or had used for their reactive dog, Cassie, a 20-lb terrier mix. She had said on the phone, “We have tried everything,” and she was right. She pulled out harnesses, prong collars, a slip lead and a shock collar. They were desperate—as so many reactive dog owners are—to stop the behavior. If you have ever owned or walked a reactive dog, you know how frustrating and embarrassing it can be to have your dog turn into a whirling dervish at the end of the leash every time another dog appears. Unfortunately, without meaning to or being aware of it, using equipment that caused pain to try to address the behavior had likely made Cassie’s reactivity worse. Every time she saw other dogs, she had been shocked, or choked, or had prongs dug into her neck. Because dogs learn through association, she was learning that seeing dogs was always bad news for her—it hurt to see other dogs! The owners stated that they had to use the shock collar at the highest level when they were in the car, and that was the only thing they felt helped. It is not really fair to blame dog guardians for using painful or scary equipment. There is so much misinformation on dog training available—wrong and outdated advice online, in books, on television—that it can be confusing. Professionals are telling dog guardians that prong collars do not hurt, shock collars just “tingle” a little, or that for some dogs (or some behaviors), positive techniques do not work. One might even say our industry is a bit of a mess, so to speak, and it is the owners and dogs who suffer. My clients are lovely people who wanted to enjoy walks again, and just did not know how else to do it. Via non judgmental discussion, I talked with my clients about how these devices actually work, and what else their dog was experiencing at the same time. They were immediately ready to switch methods and have me train Cassie to enjoy the sight of other dogs, but were considering selling their devices. Again, who could blame them? It was money down the drain, plus they were now going to be paying me. On the way home, I remembered I was a member of Project Trade, and I could help these wonderful clients even more than I had originally thought! I called and explained what Project Trade was, and how much they could save if they swapped their gear for a service discount, which turned out to be quite a chunk of money. We signed the Project Trade statement, and as the wife turned over the equipment, she joked, “Here are the torture devices!” No one made them feel like they were terrible people for 20
BARKS from the Guild/January 2017
Some of the aversive training gear author Erica Beckwith swapped for service discounts that has led to a huge difference in a specific case of canine reactivity
using a shock collar, and Project Trade enabled them to learn a kinder approach without losing money. Cassie is now flying through our training plan, and is more attentive and calm outdoors. She is learning that seeing dogs when on leash now predicts wonderful things happening. She is on a front clip harness, which has cut down on pulling and makes her easier to steer, and her people have learned and put into practice the all-important “turn and go” if she sees dogs on leash that are too close. They carry chicken for walks, and have seen a huge improvement in all three of their dogs. They are committed to the force-free approach following the outstanding results they have witnessed. We are still working through our training plan, but Cassie is currently able to walk past dogs on the other side of the street during training sessions, all the while looking back at mom and dad instead of lunging and barking. On a personal level, watching the change in this little dog as we removed the aversives and introduced force-free methods, was a powerful reinforcement of the effectiveness of sciencebased training, and the potential of Project Trade. n For more details on Project Trade, see: www.projecttrade.org Opt in to Project Trade by filling out this online form: www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/1n41beFf3j Erica Beckwith CTC CPDT-KA is a professional dog trainer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the owner of A Matter of Manners Dog Training, www.amatterofmannersdogtraining.com. She graduated from The Academy for Dog Trainers and loves training dogs to do tricks, especially her three mutts at home. She also enjoys dog reactivity cases, and watching dogs and their people gain confidence as they put their new coping tools into action.