By Lynn –
Remembering that halters tend to restrain a dog rather than train it, the following analogy occurred to me one day and I’ve been using it ever since.
With violent criminals, the use of a straitjacket is sometimes necessary. It restrains him (more often a “him” than not!) and prevents him from harming those around him from his actions. Problem being that he’s not being taught that violence is wrong…he’s simply not able to do it because he’s otherwise restrained. Take off the straitjacket and you’ll find him going back to violence.
Prison restrains people of all criminal types from doing what they would otherwise do to hurt themselves or others. It keeps the pedophile away from children, keeps the addict away from drugs, keeps the murderer away from victims (and all these are debatable because of course, no system is perfect). Some do end up learning, and they are released to better their lives and become a different person…but then read in the news how many people have prior convictions and criminal records. They didn’t LEARN. They were merely restrained from criminal activity.
In the same way, the halter gives the dog no choice but to obey. Sure, just like the straitjacketed criminal, he can fight the halter and claw at his face, but it will get him nowhere. He may submit after a length of time, he may not. Either way, when you think your dog has learned to walk on a loose leash with a halter…take it off.
Has he learned, or is he simply smart to what’s on his face?