It is strange how easy humans can determine what is child abuse, or human abuse. I can go further and say humans have no problem in calling it abuse when dealing with wild animals even those in captivity like in zoos. Cats are also aim of severe criticism when submitted to certain "techniques".
However when we talk about dogs, its all a very blurr line. Actually if you search about animal abuse, you will find endless information about abuse regarding all sorts of animals, including dogs, but nothing about abuse during training. I wonder why that is.
The Humane Society, classifies chaining a dog outside as abusive. Dog fighting is also regarded as abuse and fortunately in most parts of the world is prohibited by law. Breeding through puppy mills is also considered abusive and neglect as well as hoarding. I agree with all these needless to say. However my question remais unanswered. When is a dog being abused when in the care of a dog owner?
In 2012 in England owners of a obese chocolate labrador who could hardly walk were indiced by the RSPCA and convicted of abusive behaviour towards the dog. Needless to say an obese dog is clearly a problem, dogs who are obese are in risk of developing several chronical diseases which might kill or significantly shorten their lives. However I would argue if the intention of these owners was to actually kill the dog by overfeeding or were they just bluntly ignorant and maybe a bit neglectful? And my next question is if turning your dog obese taken so seriously enough to actually convict owners, what to say of self proclaimed professionals, who use prong collars to force the dog not to pull, or who use electric collars to force their dogs to act the way they want?
Using a shock collar (e-collar) or a prong collar especially these two tools is a clear choice by anyone who charges money to do so in the name of training.
Obviously these tools should never be sold to dog owners who do not have the necessary knowledge to use them, leading to an even more abusive use of these tools. However this is an unregulated profession around the world and it would be hard to sell them only to professional dog trainers, because you have no way to prove who is or isnt truly a professional dog trainer.
So in light of this, these tools are being overused and/or wrongly used by dog owners which leads to a more abusive use of such tools.
Lets focus, though, on the ones who work as trainers and use these tools. These tools are mostly used by trainers who lack up to date knowledge on how to apply training techniques based in positive reinforcement. This statement is true due to the amount of trainers who never or very very rarely consider the use of these tools.
According to Dr. James O'heare: "The LIEBI principle has been prominent in the science of behavior analysis for approximately 40 years in various forms and with various phraseologies (Bailey & Burch, 2005). In the field of companion animal training and behavior consulting, this principle is a more recent development thanks to such trainers as Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar and Karen Pryor. The LIEBI model (algorithm and levels of intrusiveness hierarchy) is proposed as a way to offer direction in meeting our professional and ethical obligations to our clients, the subject, the technologist and the profession as a whole. It focuses on a behaviorological approach and emphasizes due professional diligence in finding the Least Intrusive Effective Behavior Intervention possible, while helping guardians train their companion animals, either proactively or reactively, to resolve problem behaviors."
