The APDT Chronicle of the Dog Summer 2018 | Page 44

FEATURE | TRUTH IN TRAINING ORDINANCE
global suppression of behavior. As I continued to pass, I noted the
dog had a fighting stock crop, ears cropped to the point of almost
being nonexistent, and that he was intact. It seems to me that a
Cane Corso, being a fighting breed, would not be an ideal match
for a service dog, furthermore the fact that the dog was intact and
glazed over concerned me.
Minutes later, without warning, growl or vocalization, the Cane
Corso leapt out of his sitting position and latched onto a little
boy’s head. The Cane Corso would not release the boy and while
moving his head back and forth in a shaking fashion, had to be
choked off the child by his trainer/owner. The child was severely
injured and was taken away by ambulance. The police detained
the trainer/owner of the Cane Corso and Animal Services took
the dog to be euthanized.
The final hearing passed on a 5-2 vote the first dog training
regulation in the world, called Truth in Training. The ordinance:
1. Requires licensing for boarding facilities that also provide
training.
2. Creates a database of trainers via a free registration.
3. Requires transparency via a written training plan the owner
agrees to and signs.
4. Requires reporting of dog death and dog necropsy.
Also, trainers must “provide their credentials to the county for
publication and have liability insurance of at least $100,000,”
according to the Tampa Bay Times. “They also must undergo
local and federal background checks. Trainers convicted of
animal cruelty would be barred from working in the county,”
Tampa Bay Times staff writer Steve Contorno wrote.
So how did this ordinance pass when the vast majority of trainers
were opposed? It passed because it was consumer driven. It
was the consumers who were in the majority and opted to sign
petitions by the thousands asking for dog training regulation.
Consumers wanted the regulation, consumers pushed for the
regulation, consumers made it happen.
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Building Better Trainers Through Education
Conclusion
I challenge my peers to research their community and find out
who the abusers are. When you find a story of a dog’s death
publicized, know that that story is the exception because most of
the owners have likely taken the only justice they found, the cost
of their dog and vet bills, and signed a non-disclosure agreement.
It is time to clean up our profession, or simply it will be cleaned
up for us. The solution to dog training regulation is simple—
transparency. If trainers are held accountable for what they do,
not for the tools or methods they use, the data will shine a light
on the truth: Violent and inhumane dog training harms and kills
dogs.
As professionals we must face the uncomfortable truth there are
abusers among us. Any denial makes us part of the system that
enables abusers to continue abusing.
Being regulated is inconvenient, but it brings accountability
and some consumer protection. I welcome that. I see how it can
seem scary to be held accountable, that followings ethics can be
challenging, but we have no choice. It is our responsibility to give
consumers what they want: Safe, effective, dog training free of
dog injury, psychological abuse or death.
Angelica Steinker, M.Ed, CDBC, PDBC is former CASI faculty
and current faculty at DogNostics Career College. She owns and
operates Courteous Canine, Inc. DogSmith of Tampa which is a full-
service dog school in the Tampa Bay area www.CourteousCanine.
com.