Shame!!!
Today a less fun article, but it just has to be said once. The mentality in Italy with regard to keeping animals is abysmal!!! Sure, I’m going to get a lot of responses to this article. Shame!!!
I read a message from a friend on Facebook. We are also acquaintances in “real live”. Together with a few other friends and volunteers, she is passionate and thorough in protecting and re-homing pets. My great respect for them!!!
She complained that many so-called animal lovers like to search Facebook for “free” advice, but are not at all willing to work seriously on a solution to solve a problem with their pet. My response to her post was: Italians need to learn how to properly train their dogs. In many European countries and the USA, dog owners take their pets straight to school. In Italy the mentality is to request a free consultation and the most “popular” answer wins.
Today I gave the second lesson to a very nice Weimaraner. A nice dog, but with a few “weird tricks” that need to be “corrected”. During the lesson in a parking lot we were treated to an incessantly barking dog for an hour. The owner also went to her balcony and started making comments that the dog to be trained was wearing a collar and not a harness. In her opinion, that was a “severe” abuse of the animal. In her opinion, a dog should have a harness (harness) during training, because a collar is very unfriendly to animals. Well ma’am; Are you aware that most harnesses and harnesses can cause unsightly back damage to your dog? And when you are such an expert…..how is it that your dog barks like mad for an hour and cannot be silenced by you?
I also have several cusists who must have re-educated their animal. They have previously gone to an official Kynological Association and were told, among other things, that a dog may not be corrected at all during education. They weren’t even allowed to say NO or BASTA to their dog. But do reward with candies, because that’s the easiest. Amateur dog instructors without any solid knowledge and experience and too big an EGO !!! Bumblers who only create insecure and unhappy dogs. The purest animal cruelty!!!!
I have lived in several countries and trained dogs there. Several countries in Europe and many states in the USA. But never have I seen so many discarded stray dogs walking down the street, as here in Italy. The mentality here is: Don’t spend money on the purchase of a pet and when the animal no longer meets the needs, we simply dump it on the street or in the countryside. SHAME!!!
Fortunately, I also have many good dog owners as students, who want the best for their dog. They are willing to educate their animal in a pleasant way. Respect them!!!
But Italy still has a lot to learn when it comes to pet mentality. A lot of Italians still have A LOT to learn !!!
Well…..I just had to say this and this article is only a small part of an arsenal of bad experiences that I have had here in the meantime!! However, my ideology is still simply aimed at improving the quality of life and joie de vivre of our dogs. And here in Italy I have a very nice challenge !!! Fortunately, I have also met several well-meaning Italians, who are committed to achieving this goal with an honest and good heart.
If you have any questions and/or comments regarding this article, please let me know!
