When I am out walking my dogs I try very hard to act like a “normal” dog owner and not a trainer.
But tonight I experienced something that was deeply disturbing to me.
I was walking Zeldi and we ran into a sweet young Labradoodle. They clearly were interested in one another but the Labradoodle seemed subdued . I could not help but notice that the Labradoodle was wearing a huge pinch collar. Clearly that prevented that dog from actually playing and I could see how much she wanted to, how intimidated she was and I felt so bad for the dog that I just blurted out: “Why do you have her on a pinch collar? She is such a sweet dog.”
The woman’s voice turned steel hard as she said:” She pulls..well, she used to pull.” Then she pulled on the collar which made my blood curdle as I saw the prongs digging into the dog’s neck. And then the final words as she was walking away: “She just needs the menace of the collar! It’s really not a big deal. It does not hurt “that” much!
Can this woman even understand what she said? She actually used the word “menace” and while she was smiling. Why would anyone want to menace their dog? What kind of relationship is that? Does she not understand that the dog is literally motivated by pain and fear? How can anyone belittle that?
It is simply medieval, shameful and completely inhumane and unacceptable.
I find this shocking. I went home and hugged Zeldi and Petzi.
