[PaperBagger'14]

Another issue with dogs and behaviour is that anyone can call themselves a professional dog trainer. That profession has 0 regulations or oversight from a committee so you could bring your precious pit bull, let’s call her Mittens, to Peter’s dog walking, grooming and professional pet training company. Because Mittens has shown aggressive behaviour in the past (quelle surprise) you decide to google dog aggression trainers to get a handle on it. You call the first (paid for) link on google and it leads you to Peter.

And who shows up to teach you about dog behaviour? An ex pet store employee who snoozed through their mandatory hour and a half on-boarding and is now a professional dog trainer utilizing prong collars, shock collars and choke chains. Now all the warning signs that your aggressive dog is irritated have been eliminated due to punitive training, your pit bull is now ready to chew on someone’s face.

If a dog trainer doesn’t have a diploma in dog behaviour (yes they exist) they’re probably some backyard hack.