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People who want to save a dog's life and adopt from shelter should be very careful, because very often these canines can carry psychological traumas, cautions Satu Mare-based dog trainer Zoltan Szabo, who advises new dog owners to go through a minimal program to learn how to handle the new addition to the family.
"This behavior is apparently even more pronounced in street rescues, because they are already unstable and if they end up in a certain environment with no clearly established rules, a dominant behavior is actually encouraged. Without even realizing it, if one doesn't set rules in the dog's territory, one simply encourages a dominant and aggressive behavior. Even a Labrador can show aggressive dominance with other dogs or react aggressively. If these tendencies are not kept in check, they can cause a lot of problems," Zoli says.
According to him, improper education can trigger various behavioral issues in dogs.
"Not only a dog that is exposed to aggression, whose aggressive behavior is encouraged, that is subjected to trauma, or is deprived of love and affection will become aggressive. A canine that receives too much attention, too much affection and whose behavior and instincts aren't properly honed can equally develop serious issues. A fearful dog is more likely to turn aggressive as a compensation, as he realizes that if he growls, bares his fangs and bites, he can keep danger away, so this will be dangerous pooch," the trainer explains.
Some people who take up the training on their own, resort to all kinds of aids such as spike or shock collars, but if used incorrectly they can aggravate the existing problems.
"In many countries certain types of correction equipment such as spike or shock collars, choke collars are already banned because they traumatize the dog, using them is an act of animal cruelty. From my point of view, no one should experience how to use a correction collar, because if not used responsibly and correctly, it will only traumatize the dog and won't solve the problem. People should turn to a specialist. Many coercive practices can be avoided simply by making the animal realize its past mistakes, through effective communication and correction, through motivation. Sure, there are certain situations when even I, as a specialist, have no other way. When I have to deal with a three-year-old aggressive dog, which is already used to jumping up and biting you, you have no other solution. Regrettably, love and affection won't do the trick, there's no other solution but fight the dog into submission. Even a medium-size animal is quite strong and has a powerful bite," says the trainer.
The purpose of a brief training course is primarily intended for the owners, who learn how to communicate with the animal, set limits and understand their pet's language.
"The dog must spend energy, you must have a correct relationship in which you are the leader. You must know how to effectively communicate with your dog, what to expect from him, what his limits and possibilities are, as well as what his physiological needs are. You give him everything, but you also demand him to follow certain rules, because he's a pack animal, that's how it works. Many people make the mistake of humanizing the dog too much, their expectations of the pet are like those of a child or a human, and he cannot deliver. We can only communicate effectively with a dog when we learn to interact at his level and learn to perfectly decipher his communication and body language, only thus is living with a dog possible," Zoli points out.
He also dwells on the special category of dogs classed as "dangerous" and for which certain states require the owners to take tests in order to prove that they are capable of managing them. In Romania they are only required to register their canines with the police.
"In Romania access is free to all dog breeds, but in other countries, if you want a dog classed in a potentially dangerous category, you need to pass a psychological test, similar to that for a gun permit, but for dogs. Only thus can you really prove that you are a responsible owner and will be able to control any situation. You know what you have on your hands. For instance, many buy Akitas, but this is a dog with a strong personality, dominant, unsociable. A reckless breeder who just wants to sell the puppies claims that this breed is ideal for the family and shows photos and films of the dog playing with children, but doesn't mention the amount of training it took to develop this friendly behavior," Zoli argues.
He remarks that the number of stray dogs exploded after the pandemic because during the lockdown many people bought dogs to have a reason to leave the house for a walk, but eventually abandoned them. A lot of those dogs ended up in the street because their humans realized that they are an inconvenience, requiring daily care and attention which may prove too much for someone who has a comfortable life and is unwilling to sacrifice time and energy for the pet. In Satu Mare, the number of foster dogs is on the rise for several reasons, but the first and foremost one is that there are many irresponsible people who abandon them, considers Zoltan Szabo.
A few years ago there were 300 - 400 dogs at the shelter, now there are over 1,000. It's extremely difficult, Zoli says, explaining that although he is a dog lover and a trainer with a 25-year long career, he accepts euthanasia for space in overcrowded facilities as an inevitable solution.
