From the Barstool of Tarma Shena

Farei Infrequently 2026 0604

I don't often repeat my FB posts here but this one is worth the discussion. I didn't realize that's how I felt until I said it. But I know in my heart it is true and it's just really hard some days.

For those of you who follow our dogs and training, I wanted to let you know that according to the FB Experts, it's just a matter of time before the terriers go off the rails. Silly me, I thought the older dogs get, the better behaved they become as mental and emotional maturity solidifies continued training. But apparently that is NOT how it works. In fact it's quite the opposite. At which point, an "e collar" on stun will be our only option. Light up the sky baby.

That's not the sad part though, the saddest part was not even that person or their dog. It's all the people like her who told the OP it cannot be done. They could not accomplish it with their dog, therefor no one can.

And they are the majority. I saw one trainer besides myself offer help and the OP didn't respond to either of us. She responded to collar recommendations, medications and fencing.

In this up-side-down world of Social Media experts "we the professionals" are the crazy ones.

Why am I talking about this? Because I saw a trainer say "You haven't proved your skills until you've worked with shelter dogs."

Crazy idea here, I know, but I'm trying to stop them from getting there in the first place. Most dogs enter the shelter system because of behavioral issues, which are then exacerbated by the stressful environment.

Training them at that point isn't a sign of skill, it's failure, as humans we failed that dog.

Every person who commented on that post, without even so much as a picture of the dog, and said "IT COULD NOT BE DONE", failed this dog.

Every person who suggested a pharmaceutical cocktail of medications because that is all that worked for their dog, failed this dog.

And I would bet money that every person who commented, was in this same position at one time. Everyone told THEM it could not be done and the expectation of failure spreads like a disease.

The part that really hurts though, because I know it's true, is the one comment that suggested SSS.

You know why? Because it will be over.

No Trazadone/Gabapentin/Fluoxetine combo, No dead chicken around the neck, no crate without food or water until it stops looking at them, no shock collar, no shelter environment.

For that dog, the "social media expert canine behavioral modification experiment" will be over.