08/11/2025
The Cruel Irony of Punishing a Dog Already in Distress
There’s a painful irony in the dog world: Dog’s being punished, who are already struggling to cope, who are often reacting because something in their world already feels punishing, frightening, or overwhelming.
Instead of asking, “What’s happening inside this dog? What are they trying to communicate?” instead “ lets punish the dog”
A shock.
A spray bottle or collar
A prong collar, choke chain etc.
That dog is often already in distress. Their behaviour was a symptom, not the disease. Their reaction was an attempt to say, “I can’t handle this. Help.”
And yet, people respond by piling on more stress, more fear, more aversion, and then somehow framing it as a favour.
“I’m correcting him for his own good.” “She needs to learn.” “This is how you train a balanced dog.”” Now they can go off lead and be a dog”.
You can’t scare fear out of a dog, but you can shut them up.
You can’t correct trauma into trust, but you can shut them up
You can’t punish away panic, but you can shut them up.
Quiet doesnt mean coping
My approach is that dogs need understanding. They need to be heard. And we owe them the grace to ask why before we decide how to respond.
This doesnt mean i dont believe in boundaries, or guidance.
It means I believe in being fair, being compassionate, and working hard to reduce worries whilst striving for change not just shuting the undesirable behaviour down.
-Speak Dog on FB
