Prong collars and treating people with kindness

I approached the subject of using prong collars with curiosity, without judgment. I listened and I understood. I can relate to people using them in their situation. And that’s how I was able to take the collar off. Not by judgment but by understanding.

When I was a child we had a husky named Kato. We used choke chain on him. I honestly believed that that’s the way to do it. It didn’t even cross my mind that I’m causing pain. People said it’s normal, it doesn’t hurt them much and it improves the behaviour. Moreover, I heard that you HAVE TO use it. That there is no other way to tell your dog what not to do...

And in all fairness, if you are focusing on what NOT to do, choking, yanking or using e-collars can potentially tell that. The thing is, you still haven’t told your dog what to do instead. When you focus on what you want, you can reinforce every time your dog does what you want him to do. By giving him a treat when the leash is loose - you are communicating what is it that you want. Moreover, you are paying your dog for behaving in a way that you would like him to behave. I believe he deserves a payment. Otherwise, you are punishing your dog for doing something when you never explained the rules of this game.

Dogs are pulling for various different reasons but one explanation is that the dog is simply walking faster than you. How do you feel when you hold a hand of a two-year-old and you want to go to the park? It will take you much longer to get to your destination. Have you ever wanted to just grab the 2-year-old in your arms and walk to the park at your own pace? That’s the equivalent of your dog pulling on leash. He will walk at your pace for a while but at some point, he’s like: “come on! We can walk faster, human!”

And that’s where this misunderstanding comes in. We haven’t been told how to communicate with our dogs. There are a lot of misconceptions that we unfortunately follow. But it’s not our fault that we follow them. We just never came across anything different. I was this person too; I should never forget that.

I believe that the way to inspire people to change their ways is by showing that alternative works. Talking over the subject, especially in a judgmental tone, barely even works. We learn by doing not just by hearing. And the inspiration must come from benefits that they can get and not from making people feel bad about themselves. Positive reinforcement over negative reinforcement with all human and non-human animals.

When you see that paying your dog with a little bit of treat (or kibble) makes your dog walk next to you and moreover – he looks happy, have relaxed muscles, light walk and is looking into your eyes – that can motivate you to start using it. Inspiration over pressure. Kindness works.

You can be a superhero for your dog – he will love you for it!

Working on loose leash walking with Remi. The beginning stage of explaining to him what is it all about.