A disturbing experience
Mood:  irritated
Well, I just had one of the most infuriating experiences ever as a dog owner/trainer. I went to an agility class to see a friend's dog run, and the trainer (and owner of the facility) did something so incredulous that I was actually home before I got past "if she ever did that to my dog I would punch her square in the #$%@ing mouth". In the beginning agility class was a young dog handled by a young girl. This dog looked to be a pit shepherd mix, but could very well have been something else. Anyway, the dog was on the floor running through the course with another dog on deck. This dog's attention turned to the other dog, and it approached with some seriously dominant posturing, and an agressive demeanor. Mind you, it had no leash or even a tab (very short piece of leash) on for control. The instructor grabbed the dog by its collar, pulled it up onto its hind legs with her hands into the collar, essentially choking the dog for an EXCESSIVE amount of time, screaming at it, and while the dog was thrashing she delivered a knee to its side. The dog then slipped its collar and was running completely loose and naked. Apparently this dog has shown signs of dog agression before, and is a new trait for her. She has been in classes since she was a puppy. Also, this particular instructor is not at the classes all the time, so is pretty much a stranger to this dog. And this is a technique she uses on a regular basis. So now we have a dominant dog, who is terrified, running around with no way to control it. As a one time observer, my professional opinion is that neither the dog or the owner learned anything of value during this episode. Other students in the class interpreted this as the dog learning that aggression is an inappropriate behavior. What I interpreted it as was the dog learning this person, who she barely ever sees, is very scary. So now should this dog be submissive to the instructor, or adopt a "get her before she gets me" attitude? And if she is submissive to the instructor, what good does that do the owner on a day to day basis? Is this dog now going to be afraid of other strangers? If she is not taught correctly, I dare to say YES!!! Now for the owner. Since this is a new behavior for the dog, I would guess she is not one of the rare ones that just isn't wired right. There is something going on with her handling that has allowed her to develop this dominant posturing issue. So what has the owner learned from this episode? NOTHING!!!! I am sure she realized before this that the aggression is not appropriate. Has she learned how to handle her dog? Has she learned what to watch for in the dog's body language? Lastly, why on earth was this dog in a class with off-leash activities? As an instructor that handles classroom settings, I would have not allowed this dog into such a class until the issues were dealt with. That is my JOB!! The safety of everyone in the class, and the education of the PET PARENTS!! Not scaring the crap out of a dog so it will behave. I truly hope this owner contacts me, so we can work throught these issues before they become a danger to others and to her own family. UGH!!!!! HOW FRUSTRATING!!!!!