So
it happened… the moment every trainer who works with aggression cases dreads:
the phone call, email, or tearful visit from an owner to tell you their
aggressive dog had an “incident.”
Despite your
warnings. Despite the management protocols provided. Despite, in fact, the
training they’ve been doing with you. As you learn the details of the “incident”
– which is nearly always some variation of “I made a mistake, I let my guard
down, I thought he’d be ok with (insert person, animal, situation)” – you put
your head in your hands as you vividly recall that “Come to Jesus” discussion
(or three) you had with your client about the dangerous behaviors of their dog.
As a trainer, I
can’t lie to you: in that moment I’m really frustrated. I told you this would
happen. I gave you my honest, expert opinion that you paid me to give. I
provided you with a safety plan. And yet in a single moment, it all went out
the window. Why?!?
It’s a question
that keeps me up at night. There are plenty of trainers who just write it off
as client laziness or complacency, and to be sure there may be a few cases
where that criticism is justified. But for the vast majority of my clients,
that doesn’t seem to be the case. Most of my clients are conscientious pet
owners who love their dog and don’t want him to hurt anyone, who are willing to
put in a ton of time, energy and money into helping their dog. They fully
acknowledge that the fault of the dog’s “incident” lies with them.
So where’s the
disconnect?
While I don’t know
for sure, I suspect it lurks in our human nature – those parts of us who want
to forgive, who want things to be a certain way, who want to believe the best
of others, including our beloved dog. And I think, that part of us that needs
to learn certain truths the hard way. I can tell you something fifty times, but
until you experience it you don’t really believe it. You might even hear my
voice in your head telling you put his muzzle on, but your heart whispers,
“maybe he’ll be ok” and you make the decision to give it a try.
And then it
happens, and the force of truly knowing hits you like freight train. Your
perspective fundamentally shifts and will never be the same again. In that
moment, you suddenly understand what terms like “always” and “never” mean to
your relationship with your dog. There are no more “what ifs” or “maybes,” just
reality staring back at you from the eyes of the dog you still love but can no
longer trust. That is the moment when you become the responsible owner of a
dangerous dog…but unfortunately that realization often comes with a
heartbreaking price tag.
If you still harbor
hope for a normal dog… or wonder if safety protocols will really always be
necessary… or hear that whisper “maybe he’ll be ok” – you aren’t there yet.
I’ll do my best to
help you, but I’m still trying to figure out how to impart to you that for the
sake of your dog and others, you have to get there faster.
Don’t risk the
safety of others because you love him, or feel sorry for him and/or yourself - certainly
don’t risk it because you’re tired, or sick, or think your trainer doesn’t
understand your dog. These aren’t mistakes you need to make
yourself in order to learn how to safely handle an aggressive dog, but sadly
far too many clients do.
When you decide to
live with an aggressive dog, it comes down to a very simple choice: Be a
responsible owner, or don’t.
Jennifer Pearson is Senior Trainer and Behaviorist at Front Range K9 Academy in Wheat Ridge, CO. She is an Applied Animal Behaviorist (Master of Science, University of Edinburgh's College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine), an animal-assisted clinical social worker (Master of Social Work, University of Denver), and teaches classes in the fireld of the human-animal bond (University of Denver). Jennifer can be reached through the Front Range K9 website at: www.k9counselor.com.
