From: canis55 <cani...@my-deja.com>
Date: 1999/09/28
Subject: Dear Marilyn Re. Ness

Dear Marilyn,

I just visited your updated site. The two Ness pages are great.
Freezing
the video frames to reveal the emotional impact a leash correction
has
on a dog was a wonderful idea. Lee Kelley did something similar to a
Brian Kilcommon video. The difference is we were focusing on the
emotional impact a leash correction has on the trainer. When you do
this
to a training video you can clearly see the tremendous emotional
charge
some of these trainers are getting from hurting dogs.

It's a strange business, this dog training. I wonder what motivates
any
of us to engage in it. I'm suspicious of anyone who says they do it
because they love dogs. I know a lot of people who claim to love what
dogs represent to them, and yet they don't become trainers. I don't
think this is because they love something else more. I think there is
a
difference between loving what dogs represent to us and loving what
training them creates in us or even creates in them for that matter.

It's a complicated process and perhaps many of us have lost sight of
what we're doing. I read books and articles that matter of factly
explain how to systematically inflict pain on dogs in an effort to
create a desire to perform tasks that I often see dogs performing of
their own accord. I know many of these behaviors can be shaped and
encouraged to the same degree of reliability without all the violence
and pain. Where they can't (if that's the case), I wonder why we think
a
dog should perform a task that is so repugnant to its nature, that we
must resort to violence and coercion to compel them to participate.

Maybe I have far too much respect for dogs, but when I read this
stuff
it sounds like slavery and involuntary servitude to me. I can't see
much
difference between what we're doing to them (for their own good) and
what my country men did to the African peoples for nearly half a
century.

It's hard for me to accept that I'm surrounded by so much madness, but
I
have to go with my heart on this one. Most of what we demand from
dogs--if not all of it--will be offered willingly and
enthusiastically
if we only learn how to request it in a manner they can comprehend.
If
it turns out that I have to attack a dog to get it to do or to not do
something, then maybe the dog isn't supposed to do what I think it
should.

The whole thing's so complicated that I can't really express it. I
just
know I don't like some of the stuff I'm seeing or reading about.

--
I trains'em as I sees'em.