Owners yelp over dog’s treatment at kennel
By Gina Spadafori
August 10, 2007
One North Texas family says when they went away on vacation, the kennel they paid to take care of their dog used a collar that delivers a shock to a dog when it barks.
While Sutton the Dog’s owners were in Hawaii, she stayed at the Park Cities Obedience School and Dog Daycare in Dallas.
“This dog’s a real rambunctious player and barks a lot, barks almost constantly,” said Phillip Marr, the owner of the dog daycare.
When Sutton returned home, her neck was dotted with puncture wounds.
“I thought she’d been attacked by another dog or something, because she had three open wounds and her neck was burned from ear to ear,” said Sutton’s owner, Mandy Parker. [...] The Parkers’ concern turned to anger when they learned the wounds were from a bark collar.
“We’ve never put a shock collar on Sutton, and we would never allow someone else to,” said Mandy.
Marr admits that the collar was probably left on too long. But he calls the bark collars “a pretty accepted thing in all dog training. I’ve never known very many people that didn’t use them. Almost everyone uses them for an excessive barker.”
He said the injuries were “a terrible accident… It actually worked around to the side of the head, and in all his rough play and rolling around, got too much pressure on the side of his neck and actually put the marks on the side of his neck.”
We sent these pictures to Dr. Bonnie Beaver, a professor of small animal medicine and surgery at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
She says the brown spots on Sutton, “suggest that the collar had been on for a while… perhaps longer than a day.”
Beaver calls bark collars “inhumane” and says, “They should never be used.”
Here’s the rest. This story illustrates why it really pays to research any business — veterinary hospital or clinic, dog-walker, pet-sitter, boarding kennel, doggy daycare center or trainer — who’ll be taking care of your pet when you’re not around to watch. After all, your pets can’t speak for themselves, and they can’t tell you what was done to them.
By the way, I personally do not recommend any electronic training system that works automatically — and that includes not only bark collars but also electronic containment systems. (Do us all a favor: Build a real fence!) And although there’s arguably a place for electronic collars in dog training, I do not recommend their use at all except by those who understand learning theory and having a proper sense of timing in using the collars.
In other words, electronic collars are not a tool for the average pet-lover.
“he calls the bark collars ‘a pretty accepted thing in all dog training. I’ve never known very many people that didn’t use them. Almost everyone uses them for an excessive barker.’”
Um. No. Most progressive trainers who have an excessive barker try to actually *re-train* the behavior.
Of course, this dog did not *belong* to him, so the question of whether or not he had the right to be training the dog was also probably problematic. But nowhere near as problematic as putting an automattic zapper around the neck of a dog that did not belong to him.
What’s interesting is that he’s a long-time Obedience exhibitor and AKC judge.
http://www.parkcitiesobedience.....ctors.html
I vaguely remember his name (but it’s been enough years since I’ve been involved in competition that that’s about all that I remember).
I would have expected someone with his background to have NOT taken the “easy out” of a shock collar. Just unacceptable. Poor Sutton!
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 10, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
Too bad the owner didn’t call the police and the ASPCA to the kennel at the time the dog was retrieved with the wounds and pointed out the animal cruelty so they could consider criminal charges. Bet that would be the last time they used that collar…
The kennel SHOULD have called the owner and asked the owner to deal with the noisy dog at the time.
Comment by Dennis — August 10, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
I’ve never liked the idea of shock collars, and I’m glad to hear that they are not considered the best way to deal with barkers. The article (and Mr. Marr’s response)does explain that the facility owner took the dog to the vet and paid for the charges when he realized that Sutton had been injured.
I would have been very angry if it had happened to my dog, but I do have a question — the kennel (actually an obedience school/ daycare/kennel) was getting complaints from nearby neighbors about the barking. What methods would you all recommend in a situation like this with the owners far away? (I would think that barking would have been considered in site location and sound-proofing of the buildings, so that dealing with an excessive barker would have been a training issue, rather than a public nuisance issue that might have pushed the kennel owners to take an expedient path to silencing Sutton.)
Comment by shadepuppy — August 10, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
As my mother used to say, “You’ve made your bed, and now you have to lie in it”.
Yup - operating a doggie daycare in a location where excessive noise is a problem is - well - a problem. I’m frankly a bit surprised that this is the first time it was enough of a problem for such an excessive solution, but who knows?
Anyway, retraining excessive barking requires some thought, some observation, and manipulation of the dog’s environment - not necessarily something that can be done in an environment jam-packed with dogs who are away from home.
Dogs bark for a reason, and that reason varies - so the first thing you do is look for the cause. Is the dog trying to alert you to something? Is the dog alarmed? Is the dog bored? Is the dog simply overexcited? The answer helps dictate an appropriate response.
Very often, alert barking can be dealt with quite simply by acknowledging the dog, and then asking for another behavior. Let’s say your dog is barking out the window at pedestrians passing by. Rather than yelling “Shut up, Rocky!” (ineffective, and liable to actually ADD to Rocky’s agitation level, resulting in even MORE barking) you can walk to the window, look out at what Rocky sees, and say - in a very matter of fact voice - “Oh, thank you for letting me know there are people on the sidewalk, Rocky”. Rocky won’t understand the words, but your relaxed tone WILL be understood, and will help him to calm down. You can then ask him to come away from the window and give you some behaviors such as Sit, Down, etc. This is done NOT as a punishment, but as a way to turn his mind towards something else - something that you CAN reinforce him for. (And sometimes simply acknowledging what he’s barking at and thanking him for it is enough. An observant owner will be able to tell).
The “distract and reinforce for something else” method can also be effective for barking arising out of fear or insecurity. You don’t want to “coddle” the dog and inadvertently reinforce the fear. So you give the dog something else to do that he is good at (yet another reason for a good Obedience foundation with your dog) which serves the dual purpose of getting his mind off the fearful thing AND reinforcing his sense of self-confidence by offering you a behavior successfully that he can be rewarded for. (When the dog is VERY agitated or afraid, you might not be able to obtain his attention effectively enough to put this strategy to work - one more reason to be as observant as you can so as to catch these situations BEFORE they escalate to a level that is beyond what your dog can deal with.)
For boredom barking, the solution is really quite self-evident - give the dog more to do! More walks, more strenuous excercise, more mental challenges (stuffed Kongs, Buster Cubes, activities such as Tracking, and so on.) We like to say that “A tired dog is a good dog”, and nowhere is this more true than in the case of boredom barking.
Finally, there are dogs that just bark from excitement and the sheer pleasure of it. Like the toddler in the restaurant who just keeps mouthing some nonsense syllable over and over, this is a behavior that seems to be somehow inherently reinforcing for some dogs. They just bark because it FEELS good to bark (some people think there’s something in the almost hypnotic repetition that releases endorphins or some such thing, although I’m not sure what work might have been done to confirm this idea). And for these dogs, the challenge is to find something that’s even MORE reinforcing than barking is. And that’s a tough one, because for dogs like this, the barking is what we call a “hardwired behavior”, and those are tough to get on top of.
The “tired dog is a good dog” idea can help, although the dog will probably be barking WHILE he is in the midst of the activity designed to get him tired.
A big thing is to recognize that a dog like this is easily stimulated (and the stimulation then expresses itself through barking). So you need to manipulate the environment to make it LESS stimulating.
Think that’s gonna happen in a strange place with a bunch of strange dogs who are running and playing all day (i.e. “doggie daycare”)? Probably not. And certainly not over the period of just a week or two.
So poor Sutton was “set up for failure” in that environment through no fault of her own. While I hold the kennel at fault for the shock collar AND for the failure to call the owners, I especially hold them at fault for failing to acknowledge that she wasn’t equipped to offer quiet behavior in that environment. They should have called the owners to obtain permission to move her to a different kennel which was less of a stimulation for her (and less of a problem noise-wise) and then Sutton’s owners would know that in the future, doggie daycare (or at least THIS doggie daycare) just wasn’t going to be a workable option for their dog.
Poor Sutton!
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 10, 2007 @ 7:55 pm
Pat, your post gave me a chuckle! How did you know Rocky ( Ch Asa I love Rock N Roll JC) IS my Barker?
I usually call him in from the dog yard (he barks at passers by on foot, bicycle and horseback or if they are walking a dog), reward him for the recall and focus his attention on something else until the distraction has moved out of view. He has improved greatly except when the summer people walk their shitzu every morning around 8 am. They’ll be gone in a few weeks, thank dog.
As for poor Sutton, obviously the owner of the facility subscribes to old school obedience training methods, and no doubt still uses an ear pinch to train retrieves. As you point out, there are a number of alternatives that could have been used other than to have subjected the dog to abuse by improper use of a shock collar. To have used such a device without permission from the owners, and to have used it so improperly to have left burns and wounds is totally inexcusable!!!!
Comment by Deb — August 11, 2007 @ 3:45 am
grr-that one burns me! I have heard many stories from folks working at places that do “kennel less boarding” the barking dogs often get a few hefty doses of over the counter allergy meds to make them drowsy.
Nancy
Comment by nancy — August 11, 2007 @ 6:05 am
You’re kidding! Is that with, or without, the owner’s knowledge? (I probably know the answer to that one. Despicable!)
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 11, 2007 @ 6:18 am
Hi OTHER Pat-Oh it is without iowners consent or knowledge. Another big grrrrr
Nancy
Comment by nancy — August 11, 2007 @ 10:41 am
My one year old lab just started barking recently…a lot. Barking to go out then once he’s out for a minute, barking to come in. Barking for my other dogs toy. I get up, give him the toy but now that my other dog doesn’t have it, he doesn’t want it. Barking for attention, which he gets plenty of and gets plenty of daily exercise too.
Someone suggested I try squirting lemon juice in his mouth everytime he barks. Some of you may think this is harsh but I have to tell you it’s working. Just the sight of me holding a lemon in my hand right when he barks, gets him to stop.
Comment by Barb — August 11, 2007 @ 11:57 am
I guess it’s up to you what kind of relationship you want to have with your dog.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 11, 2007 @ 2:58 pm
I’m all on board with building a real fence, however it’s against the city ordinance where I live. So, gasp, I have an Invisible Fence (actual brand name.) But my dogs never wear their collars any place other than the yard. I also don’t think all *invisible* fences are created equal. I did alot of research and went for the pricier company that stood behind their product and even helped me train my dogs. The collars also function on a warning signal (a beep) and don’t actually shock, it’s more of a vibration (I’ve tested it on myself.)
That being said, my dogs haven’t been anything other than warned by a beep in over 4 years AND if they were to go a bit further and push that warning threshold, well it certainly hurts less than getting hit by a car. But someday, I’ll move, and on my list of requirements for a new home, is to move to a city that allows for REAL fencing.
Comment by Great Dane Addict — August 12, 2007 @ 8:22 pm
OH and btw, that boarding kennel? Words can’t explain how livid I’d be if that were my dog.
Just another reason I’d never board them.
Comment by Great Dane Addict — August 12, 2007 @ 8:23 pm
Honestly - I wish Invisible Fences had never been invented. For a LOT of reasons - but among them, this idiotic thing cities do now saying that you CAN’T build a fence, and specifying the invisible fences instead. City beauracrats who don’t know near enough about dogs but think it’s okay to just legislate this as a “solution”. A “solution” that wouldn’t be available to them if the d%$# things had never have been invented.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 12, 2007 @ 8:43 pm
Let me clarify … I don’t recommend electronic containment systems (no matter the brand) or electronic bark collars (although I do recommend the citronella collar).
That’s my general recommendation, without knowing the dog, the owner or the circumstances. Because in general I find that automatic electronic training systems are offered as a “quick fix,” and I hate that.
That said, with every almost every piece of training equipment I can always find an exception to my general recommendations.
But all the same, those general recommendations stand, if for no other reason than electronic containment systems don’t protect an animal from being attacked or stolen.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 12, 2007 @ 8:52 pm
Sadly, I think this might be just lifting the lid on what really goes on at some doggy day cares and kennels.
I’m totally against using shock collars, they seem to be used as a quick fix for behavioural problems that can be corrected by the owner putting in a bit of time an effort with their dog. I guess that’s the problem with a great many owners, putting in the time and effort…
Comment by Clare — August 13, 2007 @ 1:55 am
I, too, do not believe in the Invisible Fences or boarding my pets. In fact, right now I’m trying to locate a grooming salon that will let me stay while my dog is being groomed. They all tell me it takes 3 to 5 hours for the process. I’ve only had him groomed twice (for the summer). The first lady who unfortunately moved to another state, only took an hour to cut, trim, bathe, blow dry and trim up a little. Recently there have been too many stories in the news media about pets being left at grooming salons and the terrible things that have happened to them. If I can’t find someone who let’s me stay, guess he just won’t get a haircut.
Comment by VJ — August 13, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Gina, I totally agree that invisible fences don’t protect the pet from being attacked or stolen or a myriad of other things.
That’s why you don’t leave your pets outside unattended no matter what type of fencing you have.
I also think too many people think they can just install an invisible fence and put the collar on their dog, and then voila, magic happens. You can’t expect your dog to understand what’s going on unless you show them. I guess that’s why I made such an effort to train them on the fence in the first place, because I didn’t want to have to worry about them being ‘shocked’ on a consistent basis, or them running through the fence (which I hear about alot.) In fact, in my case, my dogs don’t even really wear their collars in the yard most of the time. (I didn’t put that in my original response because too many people read that and then try the same thing and since their dogs weren’t properly trained in the first place, they end up running away or whatever.)
I also think invisible fences can cause other problems as well. For example, I believe my dogs are more protective of the yard than they should be and I blame this on the invisible fence. But I still am glad I have it because I live in the city and can’t have real fencing and my dogs so would have been hit by a car or run away by now. And again, someday when I move, the first thing I’m checking is city ordinances on fencing. Because I want a real fence!
Comment by Great Dane Addict — August 13, 2007 @ 10:53 am
User error is my blanket statement on reports such as these—at least that is the PC version of statement. :-)
Unfortunately, there are archaic and culturally driven techniques that still head the pack despite more sophisticated techniques and handling methods.
Looking at the caging at the facility tells me there was a problem and probably more that were unseen.
The only time I’ve seen similar damage to an animal’s neck was when I was riding with a traditional trainer and viewing his clients. One owner failed to move the collar regularly and left it to burn holes in his dog’s neck.
The trainer wanted me to join his team but between clients we bantered the differences of approach between our techniques and there was no way I would have been comfortable enough to join his team but we both left respecting each other.
I have tested shock collars on my hand. At the low setting, my little finger was numb for about a half and hour. Hence, I’ve never used them.
Roger Mugford had me test citronella collar on barkers in the early 90s and I found them to be reliable on about 95% of the dogs. However, it is only one tool in any strategy to deal with barking.
Unfortunately, these types of reports reflect badly on the profession not to mention the harm that it causes our canine companions.
The underlying problem is getting the right message to the consumer about what constitutes humane and reasonable methods of training and animal care…that way they can make better choices—anyone have an answer?
Comment by Diana Guerrero — August 13, 2007 @ 1:26 pm
Well, you may or may not be aware of the ill-fated “American Humane Association Human Dog Training Project” that was undertaken in the late 90s. I’m not sure I completely understand all the dynamics that were at play, but the “take-home message” I sort of got from it was that reaching consensus on a definition of “humane” v.s. “abusive” was a real sticking point. Especially (my take here) among those who feared that their preferred training philosophies and approaches might fall outside of what the committee decided the term “humane” should encompass.
Here are a couple of articles about the whole thing:
http://www.dogpro.org/index.php?pageID=47
http://www.dogpro.org/index.php?pageID=55
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 13, 2007 @ 2:06 pm
Interesting. It appears to me that the AHA’s Humane Dog Training Project may have gotten hijacked by those with an agenda to force their preferred dog training philosophy onto others by slapping an “inhumane” label on balanced alternatives.
A pity it couldn’t have stayed focused on, as one dog trainer said “training [that] enhances the lifelong relationship between people and dogs.” Or as another said “Humane dog training is that which gets the point of the training across to the dog in the fastest manner without undue pain or confusion to the dog. It does not necessarily have anything to do with the equipment used.”
Comment by Laura — August 13, 2007 @ 3:42 pm