We have been an active promoter of appreciating Law Enforcement for years.
This is also an apology post for our stubbornness today towards a select law enforcement person.
We keep things transparent. We have never hid the fact that we correct our trainees and some trainees need more correction than others.
We walked into a Petco location today and there were three animal control officers from the county plus some Petco employees.
I do want to apologize to the only female officer that was there. I was a little short and direct towards her and I could’ve done a better job. I’m also concerned about retaliation based on our interaction so I really want to publicly apologize.
I walked into the store saying hi, they way I normally would when I see law enforcement officers. And the one female officer immediately asked if my dog was wearing an ecollar. I confirmed he was and her follow up question was asking if it was a shock collar. I explained it was an ecollar and that no electricity passes through it. And then she started making a reference to an experience she had with an outfit called “Sit means Sit”. I rudely cut her off and said we are not all the same and that we don’t like being lumped along side with other outfits.
My emotions got the better of me because it’s never fun as a small business owner to be cast into the same net of another company just because someone had a bad experience there. Especially when it’s an animal control officer. They are trained to look at each situation differently.
Then the animal control officer asked if I negatively stimulate my dog? I again, cut her off from finishing that statement because all I saw in front of me was a law enforcement official who represents dogs interests and the public also. A law enforcement official who was ready to tear me down but failed to acknowledge that almost every law enforcement trained dog has also gone through some ecollar training modification. That the training, law enforcement dogs receive is much more stringent and harsh which is why there is a heavy washout rate. There are videos of training that patrol dogs go through but most reputable programs don’t show the active training where a dog has to continue their bite while an attacker attempts to fight back. And that law enforcement dogs generally go through a third party contractor to prevent any negative liability for them training their own police dogs. Very biased or maybe the officer really doesn’t understand the field she works in.
Either way I was rude and responded with, where she was going with her question and she told me, “Wherever she wanted to go.”. As a regular citizen walking into a public store, that response let me know she was throwing her weight and her badge right in my face and that I needed to tread carefully. This is why I am concerned about retaliation from her and/or someone she may know or be connected to in a similar position.
To the female law enforcement officer for El Paso County animal welfare. I am sorry if my answers did not align with your dog training beliefs or practices. I am a small business owner and a resident of El Paso. I did not mean to get snippy when you attacked my profession and small business. I made a mistake. I’m very human and proud of the work I have done these past years. I have saved dogs from being euthanized. And I am very sorry.
A hard part to accept in all of this was she was handling a dog in front of this whole group of people there. And her dog was lunging, barking, and growling towards me and my trainee while my trainee sat there well behaved for all to see. We were approx 5 feet away from her and her dog at best, next to the registers, and where the cameras are located.
Despite my hurt ego, negative shadow cast on me, and negative shadow cast on my small business I attempted to give her my card credentials. It’s a sticker with my instagram and website. She quickly said she did not want it. I was embarrassed and my small business was perpetrated as an evil entity despite my trainee sitting there happy and calm while her dog was aggressive and scared.
I could also go into the facts that she helps collect so many dogs a day and takes them to over flowing and packed shelters where many will end up euthanized because she is still promoting the same old dog training that has caused our dog shelters to be revolving doors or a last stop for many dogs instead of helping dog owners find real solutions so less dogs end up in shelters.
The ASPCA updates their site with these facts regularly. Yes ecollar trainers do correct dogs but there are many ecollar trainers who give dogs real chances where they don’t return to the shelters and they are happy. It’s about looking at the bigger picture.
But that’s something for another day. I really felt deflated during that interaction. And after she turned me down to accept my card credentials, I responded with letting her know that a person who won’t accept a business card because they don’t agree with those practices is a person who never had good intentions when she started asking me those hardball questions for simply walking into a public store with an ecollar on my trainee.
The animal control next to me quickly stated he would take it. I quickly thought that the interaction with that officer could offset the negative shadow she casted on me and my small business but I was wrong.
That whole interaction took approx. 5 minutes. And after those 5 minutes, the GM of the Petco let me know I was not welcome at her store because they don’t sell or promote negative based training. She knew nothing about me, the final product I deliver, the many dogs I have trained, the many owners I have helped, many of which are in law enforcement, and mostly the fact that I didn’t work for Petco so it had nothing to with her store or her practices. So that was hard and embarrassing when she asked me to leave.
Overall, it was a horrible morning and an embarrassing one especially since I had a dog owner client next to me. I still promote that the majority of law enforcement officials are great and can’t be judged based off a small minority but it really sucks when a law enforcement public official uses their badge to admonish you in presence of others you know and don’t know. And use their badge to possibly affect your small business in a very negative way.
I’m Tony. Please check out my instagram. Yes we correct our trainees but we also do regular live videos where you can see a dog’s vital signs, emotional state, and training progress as they attend our training programs. We have only come across one other trainer in Canada who does as many “Live Videos” as we do showing these things. Not pre-recorded. And we actively show videos of our clients with their trained happy dogs at the end of training to show we don’t fool anybody.
Please keep supporting my small business.
To the animal control officer for the county of El Paso, I am very sorry if I offended you or if my small business disgust you. I am very sorry.
Share the crap out of my Social Media!
