picture courtesy of Jobert Aquino Aquino
Your dog switched off...yes, after you took him to be "fixed", he switched off. He no longer jumps on you when you arrive. Now it is not nice anymore greeting you when you come back home because he doesn't want to find your knee again.
Your dog switched off. She no longer pulls the leash. She is just resigned to walk by your side. She doesn't turn the head; she doesn't sniff the ground... she doesn't want to feel the pain when you "correct" her once again. She cannot communicate with other fellow dogs anymore because she will get a correction if she tries. So there she goes, walking without a purpose. She doesn't care because any place is the same and she just has to walk by your side.
He no longer barks, no longer jumps, no longer runs, no longer ... (insert here anything that you thought should be "fixed")
And yes, she stopped doing all that, but ... surprise! She is still afraid of the postman, she is still scared of thunder and pyrotechnics, and she still feels pain when your son pulls her ears. Unfortunately, she learned that expressing it can have painful consequences.
He keeps dreaming about running free. Perhaps one day, he will. He will run through the door that was accidentally left open and never return.
Your dog is, most of the time, lying in bed. Sometimes he waves a bit his tail, but always with caution. You are no longer trusted. He does not really know when he could do something that might bother you. So he just stays there.
Oh, yes. She has changed! So quiet! She no longer growls when disturbed, and she no longer barks at strangers to warn of possible danger. She also stopped trying to get on your bed when needing some love and comfort ... Last time she did, you taught her who the "boss" is.
Your dog switched off ...
And maybe it was not your intention, but that dog you see now staring at nothing, just lying down without motivation, is switched off.
We don't say there shouldn't be any rules and limits to be in a healthy coexistence, but those can't be imposed through violence and/or fear.
No matter how much you want to downplay it: pulling, yelling, hitting, locking up, not providing food or water (under the pretext of "discipline"), and not letting them show their emotions (yes, they are living beings and have feelings, same as you) is VIOLENCE.
You have a living being in your hands, and he/she needs you and depends on you to understand and assimilate the "human world". There is nothing to "fix". Instead, you should make the effort of understanding the reason for that behaviour. Believe me when I tell you that it is much more helpful to have a good relationship with your dog and pleasant coexistence.
Do not switch off your dogs. Better learn how to enjoy those characteristics that make them unique and set rules based on respect for their nature.
You have no idea of the great benefit of working with your dog while respecting his emotions and personality.
No dog should be forgotten in a corner as a well behaved stuffed dog, or turned into a cute robot who does everything you command to make you happy.
Amazing text written by Marion Bautista, founder of Safe & Sound canine education in Costa Rica, who was so kind to let me translate and share this text, to explain the consequences of dog training if you are not careful and respectul.
you can see original text in Spanish in her Facebook page in this link:
thanks Marion.