Let’s Talk About the Pet Corrector Spray
A large, well known, Pet Superstore advertises this product as:
The Pet Corrector training aid can really help, by simply, quickly and effectively retraining unwanted behaviours including excessive barking, jumping up and stealing .....
Lets look at that for a moment ......
Excessive barking ..... What might your dog be barking at? Other dogs in the street? Visitors to the home? Noises outside? *insert any other reason here* but the underlying reason behind your dogs barking is likely driven by an emotional response to something. There will be a reason behind it. And that reason is based on how the dog is feeling inside - an emotion ....
I'm grateful that I don't ever suffer with Panic Attacks. I rarely have an Anxiety Attack. If things start to bother me then, for the most part, I cope quite well. I don't have that dreaded feeling of not being able to cope in a situation ... The lights ... The crowds .... The noise .... Too many people .... Too much going on .... Heart is racing .... Struggling to breath ..... Need to get back home ..... Don't like it.... The panic .... The fear .... The loud spray of compressed air squirted at me along with a voice yelling "Thats enough, just stop feeling anxious will you ....!!"
WAIT .... WHAT??? Did you just squirt me with a can of compressed air??
Oh, OK .... I'll just stop feeling anxious then shall I? Like its that easy. You shouted at me and you squirted a can of compressed air next to me and KERCHING! I'm no longer anxious .....
Or rather I'm still feeling just as anxious only now I'm too scared to tell you that I'm feeling anxious so I just bottle it all up until I really snap next time.
And what about the next time I'm in that exact same situation again? How do you think I might be feeling when I feel like I'm starting to struggle again? When I feel like I can't cope again .... I certainly won't trust you, thats for sure!! I wont be listening to a word you say - you can't be trusted to help me and I'll just have to deal with this situation myself .....
Now change the human above into your dog and think about how awful it is to put your dog through the "Pet Corrector Training" when he is barking / anxious / fearful / needs help & guidance from his people ......
A line I often hear when people defend their use of Pet Corrector is that "Whats the problem, it works. I only have to pick up the can now and my dog stops barking. I don't even need to spray it"
D'ya know what - It doesn't work then, does it? If you still need to pick up the can then your dog is still feeling the exact same way and you haven't helped him through any of that anxiety at all - its still there and your dog really needs you to help him to change the way he FEELS instead of punishing the BEHAVIOUR ..... You wouldn't be getting the behaviour if he felt differently about things.
Ditch the Pet Corrector. Its just an awful way for "learning" to take place and if there is another way that gets your dog to the same place without causing all of that emotional distress then why wouldn't you choose the kinder way?