"It's only this one thing..."

An attractive, late 20s couple was examining the store's selection of muzzles as Lila & I strolled past, my arms loaded with 20 lbs of dog food, Lila, not so full of dog food as she would like. The woman was pregnant. Muzzle + pregnant? As insanely busy as I am, I had to go back.

Thankfully, the situation was not as grave as I feared. The 7-year-old "Heinz 57" or "all-American" had been acquired about 10 months ago, and has a habit of barking at animals on the tv.

The strategy they were considering to address this behavior was not unique. They were going to put the muzzle on the dog whenever the dog barked. This, they hoped, was going to teach the dog not to bark. Upon further discussion, I discovered that the dog has begun licking at herself.

They don't walk the dog every day.

The man does work with the dog on a routine of sits and downs, but nothing new has been added. He thought the dog was too old.

Of course, I expressed that I had heard about the failure of their approach, and that they should consider the entire lifestyle of the dog, add walking and more interaction, and also discuss the behavior with their veterinarian.

"She lays around a lot" meant "No, she doesn't need more exercise. This is a training problem" (it's a lifestyle problem) and "I don't feel like walking after a 12-hour day at work" meant he wasn't realistically going to be able to make that happen.

When I evaluate the situation, as if they were clients, or friends, or family, anti-anxiety medication would have to be part of my consideration. I don't like medications. They have side effects, and can be ineffective. They aren't my first recommendation. In fact, I grit my teeth when I can't simply dismiss them or postpone them as a back-up solution when other options are exhausted. There is no doubt in my mind that they are ridiculously over-prescribed. I've had clients who found that simply using common sense and diligence, they found much greater results than with medication.

But, coming from the dog's perspective, well... The dog won't know why she feels more relaxed. She won't be aware that it may slowly be killing her. She will experience better attitudes from the humans she lives with as a result of her relaxed behavior.

I think part of the reason why I don't like the medication solution is because it seems as if the human is refusing to do what I think needs to be done. More effort, more attentiveness to the dog, more exercise, more openness to new ways, more courage, more leadership... I rarely find myself telling people to back off of the work they are doing with a dog displaying problem behavior! But, the reality is that while we as "trainers" work with the human behavior, the goal is to make life better for the dog.

There is no One True Way. There are no "right" and "wrong" answers. We will always be choosing the best option we can from a list that does not contain ANY perfect solutions.

There are intellectual solutions, which work best for intellectual problems. There are emotional solutions, which work best for emotional problems. There are social solutions, which work best for social problems.

Then there are the shortcuts. These are what I call the "elicit" step. Getting the right answer to happen, sometimes shockingly rapidly. They are so addictive because they work short-term. Common practice is to use one until it stops working, then find another. Lots of hunting. Lots of stress at the moment when they stop working.

There are the mis-applied solutions. These are actually the right "elicit", being used incorrectly, and therefore ineffectively. Poorly used food rewards, inadequate praise rewards, improperly aversive techniques. They all fail, and can even make things worse.

Finally, there's good old optimism. "Optimism", I find, is a euphemism for "stupidity". You could call it optimistic to try to squeeze blood from a stone. Or you could call it stupid. Like the aforementioned muzzle approach, these solutions entail a hopeload of placebo effect when they work. They occasionally accidentally work, but not because they are good ideas. There are a lot of these solutions, and they seem to make their way around the dog park, doggie boutiques, groom shops, and, I've even heard some of them out of the mouths of veterinarians.

Interacting with a dog: cooperating with another complex organism, compromising and refusing to where appropriate, communicating, understanding is NOT a simple matter. Brain surgery is cutting your head open, when you oversimplify it, but saying so only displays your own lack of understanding!

Like everything else in life, it's just tough to know what you don't know.