"It's like they're wondering, 'who took away my knives?' " An epiphany that humbles and subdues them for all time."
My god. Is that supposed to make the owners feel better? That's the saddest thing I've seen all day. And then them talking about how "happy" disarming makes these dogs???
It reminded me of the single time I gave Ace to Simon-- he had severe thunderphobia. In our defense, thunderphobia is a hard one to have patience with, as you just CANNOT keep a dog below threshold until he's ready. You just can't. And he was still mobile enough that he was hurting himself trying to get out of whatever space he was in. The vet didn't exactly explain what ace was, and I was under the impression that it was an anti-anxiety sedative that might make him sleepy enough to ignore everything.
Long story short, he had a terrible reaction to it. And when I found out that him laying there as though sleeping soundly and happily was actually him being unable to move while panicking on the inside, I was horrified with myself and modern medicine. Luckily, it was only a trial run-- no storm going on to worsen his anxiety. I research EVERYTHING now, including proper dosages. But that was a hard lesson in the difference between what we perceive as expressions of calmness, happiness, etc. and what the dog is actually trying to tell us-- or unable to tell us. Like people who think a wagging tail is always good news, or that sitting stock-still means a dog is calm, or that a drugged state that pleases US, the HUMANS, is a good one.
I guess what I'm getting out is making a dog totally defenseless makes ME feel anxious-- the thought of being totally incapable of helping myself is terrifying. The thought of these poor dogs realizing they have no tools for their defense is just heartbreaking and it cannot help the situation.
Not to mention these poor people just threw everything at the problem-- all at once, probably. I've been that person. Patience is a hard lesson to learn.
And further evidence that CM is a guy who has a "way" with dogs, and is lucky that his techniques don't backfire on him. Some people have that magnetism with people, and some with animals. Doesn't mean everyone else can get away with their crap.
AND-- the thought that people are now probably going to flock to this doggie dentist for the procedure.
Oh my god. I'm sorry, but $1,600 isn't all that much for someone looking for a quick fix.
Sorry. This just really set me off.
"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.
Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford
--Amalie