Spur a Buxton puppy mill pup in his new home
photo A Carlson

Click here to read the follow up story concerning the court case against Chicago's Ami Moore who was brought to trial for abusing dogs by strapping eclectic collars to not only the necks of dogs training with her, but to their genitals as well.
While she was acquitted, it was due to lack of evidence of the specific location of the collars on the dogs, and to the actual degree of the shocks.

This again serves as a warning that dog training is not a regulated industry.
I stress again that if someone is doing something to your dog that makes you uncomfortable, take your dog and go! Do not let it continue.

I never have and never will use shock collars and I even cringe when asked to help out dogs that are contained with electric fences. There was a time when I passed on all jobs having to do with electric containment, but now I will take jobs working with dogs who are having extreme behavior issues due to an electric fence. These can range from biting the mail man, to cowering in fear and being afraid to walk in their own yard. I will not help owners acclimate their dogs to a new fence. I have seen and know too much.

Personally I think the shift to a regulated industry is just around the corner. Many of us have seen the writing on the wall and have gone through national certification process. Admittedly the CPDT at the end of my name, is not the answer to the age old of question of abuse and other trainers using abusive methods certainly could acquire national certification as I did.

I clearly remember way back in the olden days when I applied to apprentice with a local trainer at a doggie day in Massachusetts. I had been doing group classes for several years and wanted to learn more about behavior cases. The job paid well and included being able to observe all private sessions and teaching on my own in short time.
During the second half of my interview, I was allowed to observe a training session. A young puppy entered with a typical stressed out puppy family complaining of the usual---nipping and jumping. The "trainer" (term used loosely) did just about everything I would never do. Even as a newbie, I knew much better. Her solution for nipping was spray a horrid lemon based CLEANING chemical in the pups mouth that got in his EYES! That pup could have gone BLIND and been POISONED! For jumping she kicked the pups hind legs out from under him making him crash to the floor. This "method" could have crippled this puppy for life as his growth plates were still developing. Not to mention this act could have lead to other behavior issues. It turned out, even way back then I had much more experience training than what turned out to be the day care owner's daughter.

I gave her a piece of my mind when the family left, and then called the MSPCA. Know what they told me? Dog training is an unregulated industry and these were accepted practices because there was no set standard of one way to do things. They begged me to file a report to have on file in case they got lots of other reports and told me they really couldn't do anything about it.

All I can say once again and much louder this time -
buyer beware.

About the photo-
Warning extreme sarcasm alert-

Spur says-"hey! strap those electric collars on. Don't forget my nether region! Oh please, please, please spray me with toxic chemicals. Make sure you get my eyes. Oh, please please kick me and make me fall over.
Do it again! Do it again"!