American Horror Story for Dogs

I grew up thinking most people were good and kind. My family had several pets at any given time, and we always did our best to care for them. We had one dog, Abby, a Maltese/Cairn Terrier mix. We didn’t take her to any professional training - but we rewarded her with treats for a few things such as sitting, shaking paws, and a trick behavior of finding the treat hidden in a person’s left or right hand. She probably would have had an even better life if we had known more about behavior, training, and welfare (for example, increased enrichment for her). So I grew up thinking this was how all dog training worked - basically be kind to dogs and reward them for their good/desirable behaviors. Now I don’t have these illusions.  I’m not lacking in real world knowledge and experience in regards to the animal training field.

What is going on in real time is a literal horror story for dogs. 

Dogs are being electrically shocked. Dogs are being choked with chains designed to choke them. Dogs are being stabbed in the neck with spiked prong collars. Dogs are having harnesses and leashes designed to crush their abdomens (which can lead to severe internal damage and even death). Dogs are being yelled at, hit, kicked, punched in the face, grabbed by the neck, pinned down on the ground, whipped with items, having objects thrown at them, being choked with cords. Dogs who are terrified of things like crates, are being forced into them (even now, crates with barely any openings/airways through them). Puppies are grabbed and their faces shoved into house-training mistakes. People do these types of things to the point dogs scream from fear and pain. They do them until the dogs completely shut down with learned helplessness - with no hope the torture will stop.

Some people walk their dogs, then every step or so jerk on the leash (attached to collars) to stop the dog from moving forward (not even dogs that are pulling necessarily - not that that would make it acceptable). The dogs take a step, get a damaging blow to their necks, and then it is repeated. 

And these things aren’t just being done by a random evil person that eventually will be caught and go to prison. It’s done by many, many people who are considered qualified and competent professional dog trainers/behaviorists/veterinarians/groomers/kennel technicians/and even animal shelter/rescue workers in addition to dog owners (supposed to be guardians of their dogs). Not only do people do these things, they receive praise and accolades for their “training.” They are famous - on TV or have millions of people follow them on social media  and watch the abuse they do to dogs in real time. And whenever people with empathy try to speak out against this cruelty, they are shamed and ridiculed and insulted.  

And then people minimize the harm they are causing dogs by blaming and insulting the dogs - they label the dogs stupid, weak, dominant, cry babies, coddled, malicious, spiteful, etc. - how is anyone going to be kind and empathetic to dogs if they view them in this manner? There’s no self-reflection. There’s no consideration that maybe the person is the problem as they neglect and abuse their dogs.

In addition, there is the inclusion of restricting dogs’ needs - these same people say don’t walk your dog, don’t let them sniff on walks, don’t let them move anywhere on the walk other than right by the person’s side, don’t let them play with tug or other toys, don't allow running or quick movements (which are normal for dogs by the way), don’t let them get excited, and so on. 

This is the complete opposite of how to appropriately and humanely care for and train dogs. The more dogs’ needs are restricted, the more frustration and stress they have, which results in more behavior considered problems (like barking) - which then leads to these people promoting more harsh punishments towards the dogs - and the sad cycle continues.

[Some people do care for their dogs’ well-being. Some people have done some of these harmful things to dogs (often from following bad advice from “professionals”) but they realize it and then don’t do them again. To those people: Thank you for caring for your dogs.]

And to make matters worse - this isn’t some way in the past period of time, where maybe we didn’t have current technology and knowledge to be aware of how to properly care for and train dogs. In 2025 we have an enormous amount of information on animal behavior, psychology, biology, animal welfare, how animals learn, how the training process works, etc. We also have many competent trainers who know how to implement humane, positive reinforcement/reward-based techniques for all types of behavior and training for dogs and other species. This should be a period of dogs living their best lives. It shouldn’t be a worldwide or American horror story for dogs.