Dieting & Dog Training

This New Year, I decided, as many of you may have, that I was going to stop dieting and start a clean eating lifestyle. Truthfully, I like healthy food - I really do. I’m just a lazy cook, so I also really appreciate a front door delivered pizza, Chinese food, or pasta after a 12-hour workday. So here I am, 8 days into clean eating, and I’m realizing it’s hard! I have a lot of habits to break and a lot of new behaviors to learn. This got me thinking about my work in animal behavior and how amazingly similar it is to what I am trying to accomplish with my diet.

The problem with choosing a program, whether it be weight loss or dog training, based solely on the speed of results is that you are ignoring many other very important factors.

Why is it fast?

Is it healthy?

Will it ultimately achieve my long-term goals?

Is it sustainable?

These are all very important questions to ask.

Quick fix or damaging results?

I have heard so very many times that aversive dog training methods (shock collars, prong collars, choke collars, etc) used for training are faster and more effective. I have also heard that shock collars or prong collars “save a dog's life” that would otherwise be euthanized. But do they really? Do they really “save a life” or do they simply get results? What are the side effects? What else is happening to the brains, bodies, and souls of these animals when we use these methods?

We are fortunate that due to science we know exactly what aversive method training is doing to the brains and bodies of our beloved companions.

• We know that harsh-method training increases cortisol levels (the stress hormone) which affects the function of the endocrine system in our dogs. The endocrine system is what controls hormones, certain brain functions, growth, development, sleep, and mood.
• We know, from scientifically sound and peer-reviewed studies, that aversive method training (such as corrections from shock collars and prong collars) actually increases aggression in our beloved companions because it affects the way their brains function and their bodily systems respond.

Since we know these things to be true, I must ask - are we really “saving a life,” or are we just accepting that results equal health?

Trust the experts

My health would actually be worse if I chose the “quick fix” in my weight loss endeavor. I would be thinner, but dangerously unhealthy. Adjusting my lifestyle to adhere to a healthy, clean eating diet and exercise routine will take months of everyday practice to achieve my goal. But when I do, I will have new habits and a sustainable behavior pattern. I would never risk the quick-fix when Ph.D. nutritionists and doctors all over the world warn me time and time again that it is ultimately so dangerous for me.

Why then would we, as a dog-loving community, risk the quick fix of aversive method training when Ph.D. animal behaviorists and veterinarians all over the world warn us time and time again that it is ultimately so dangerous for our beloved dogs. Are our dogs’ mental, physical, and emotional health not important enough to us to take the time to apply healthy and effective methods? Are we so fixated on a quick miracle solution that we are willing to go against the current scientific findings simply to produce results?

A collective resolution

My fellow dog lovers, I plead with you to make this your New Year's resolution: I resolve to denounce the quick fix and promote the long-term health of both my dog and myself this year. I will work hard, practice daily, redirect mistakes, and reward successes until I reach my goal.

Join me this year in believing that we can make a difference. That not just our dogs’ lives, but the quality of their lives, matter.

Happy New Year to each of you. I wish you and your dogs health and happiness.