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Writer's pictureInstinct to Heel

Domination of an industry for money and power over the welfare of dogs.

Updated: Nov 19, 2022

Doesn't get more real or scary. The Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians posted a video of a dog moving around a field with a fake dog (stuffy). This dog is reactive, and they are using the fake dog as a tool. The video on FB is a side by side view of a before and after 6 months of training. The Behaviourist and the owners work together to help the dog build confidence to stop reactivity. The dog after 6 months does not look comfortable with the fake dog after this time.


In 6 months, they are unable to show the dog in training with no reactivity around dogs.


This is something they share publicly as a show of what's possible as they lobby their government to be the only training body to be permitted to train dogs.


It's organizations such as this one that are producing trainers that are using solutions such as blacking out widows to stop barking. Medicating puppies and so many others unnecessarily behaviours such as mild anxiety, separation anxiety, fear and more. Euthanasia for resource guarding (this is not an uncommon genetic predisposition in dogs) and can be managed with the right training and tools. Or dogs re-homed after treats freely thrown reinforcing negative behaviours creating dog fights as one example.


My favourite unhinged lesson lately is you are not supposed to be able to have your dog follow you on lead. This dominance and unacceptable. And dominance according to one is making your dog do things. You will be shunned for dominating your dog as you make them listen and follow you.


All these are real and these have been defended be the educated and or taught to clients tried pre Instinct to Heel training.


My all time 🤷‍♀️, is an amazing duo where the owner was to turn to rehoming if I was not successful at providing solutions. A separation anxiety specialist reinforcing a very smart 1.5 year old to continue behaviours similar to those of separation anxiety. In three months missed the mark of 15mins separation. By the 4th month I believe they had accomplished 2 min. This dog was also highly medicated through this process.


Confused, I spoke to another specialist about this, and the biggest problem she could see is that the specialist gave any expectations of a result. Please read that again....the issue was not that they only got 2 mins separation, or the dog was drugged to the gills, it was that the original specialist offered an expectation of 15 mins in 3 months.


3 weeks, 2 of which were in a 2week board and train, and the amazingly dedicated owner who has barely lived for over a year was able to go to work with out sitters at home. They are best friends again and enjoying the joys of life, adventuring, enjoying rd trips and enjoying life together. There was a massive strain on their relationship and the despair was real. The dog did NOT have "severe" separation anxiety. The dog was very smart and very bossy. She out smarted those who claim to be educated in the psychology of dog. Who claim that you cannot argue with science.


FF trainers are encouraged not to give their clients expectations of results. And meeting Ghost, and working with her and her owners after 2 years of +R only training not only was she still reactive, but she was still very nervous of new people and very nervous around dogs. After 2 years, countless hours of training and a lot of money spent in classes, lessons and social walks it's easy to conclude that results are not why these trainers are there.


This is about an unregulated industry giving the opportunity for very clever marketing, creating a money making, dog breaking cyclical mess created by messaging and schooling based on science that does not exist. Behaviourists have created an army of followers who are there to distract using inflammatory and highly emotionally charged claims while personally attacking any who have questions. And the message of "love it out of your dog" (bad behaviours) are not only dangerous, for some it is deadly.


Because of the tools I use and the rhetoric of abuse and highly emotionally charged accusations from the FF world, my abilities and my way of rehabilitating those who have been let down by the training and myths of the FF community are shunned. I'm told I don't live in this century and am behind the times. I am told I not only abuse the dogs I have helped, but even my own. They don't have answers as to how to keep everyone safe and and the dogs unmedicated and alive past a certain point, yet still, this is not a factor to the "educated". To which I have found so many have actually never even touched a dog professionally.


The force and problems created by the FFF and the amount of deaths this is causing unnecessarily. Tens of thousands yearly, euthanized unnecessarily. All created by mass schooling online, and as they go through it, they spew hate, throw out science like there is any, and then tell you you can't argue with behaviourists while personally attacking and bullying anyone with honest questions or show disagreement.


The videos from the training organization showing the the fake black dog aren’t training, they are confusing dogs, they are making them suffer for long periods with their fear, breaking trust of their humans and even sometimes worsening the behaviours created by fear. The humans give up feeling like failures after months or years, and the dogs are largely walked early mornings or evenings when no one else is around or worse, just not taken any where at all.


I provided a two hour lesson for Ghost who is reactive. Check her out in this video showing reactivity and in this lesson we get to a point she is not lunging and barking at 2 dogs. And even at the end she's introduced to Chess, who gives her fear some space to feel like she can have a little joy after the hard work moving through her reactivity.


With pride this is a group who is a member of the ABTC who are trying to lobby the government to dominate the training industry in England, as I write this. This group are using a 6month example of a dog who may be mildly reactive as an achievement who is still nervous around a fake dog. It's a safe assumption, thousands were spent on this training. This is to show their "ethical" and "science based" training is effective. This in my opinion is not fear free training, nor is it ethical on any level.


“You can’t argue with science and the behaviourists” I'm told over and over. No, it is hard to argue with science that doesn't exist. And you can't argue with those who make themselves uncontactable because the high ground they stand on is made of glass, and they have thrown too many stones.


In a two hour lesson with me, $300, no fear or pain being used, nor was Ghost shut down through this process. This method of training is not only ethical, it is necessary as it builds confidence and reduces fear drastically in a more than reasonable amount of time.


I can't quite wrap my head around how is has become so normalized that a large community of people believe this not only should be celebrated but is enough to lobby a Government to become the source of education and training in a whole country.


My video shows correction and clear communication. And Ghost was fearful of me in the beginning of their lesson being a new person. In the video her confidence in me grew. I may be “uneducated” according to the masses of those "educated" by "science" but I have something to back my claims. Not to mention total transparency, that is missing from the Fellowship.


I would guess, 90 percent of my clients have horror stories, either close to euthanasia, were medicating their dogs and so on. These owners aren’t to blame.


When you are on the right side of the truth, you don’t need attack or abuse others because the facts speak for themselves.


THERE IS A VERY SCARY REALITY FACING DOGS. HERE, AND LIKELY WHERE YOU ARE TOO.

Behavioural euthanasia is easy to do and easy to recommend. Brainwashing, incredible marketing and large amounts of people “educated” completely dominating, and so many have not even touched a dog professionally. Then those who have have not worked with dogs with behavioural issues that can show results.


This isn’t about methods. Abusive trainers. Or rehabilitation. Not even the tools. This is about people taking advantage. This is about money. Power. But worse, they are doing it off the backs of our dogs. Dogs who are to trust us ….heh.


Stand for those who can't stand for themselves.


Peace


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