A Drug Pusher for Dogs?

Novartis has a training course for dogs trainers.

And you know what folks learn in that course?

Simple: If a dog has separation anxiety, give it drugs.

Specifically, give the dogs Clomicalm.

Guess what the press release says?

Go on -- guess.

That's right: 14% of all dogs need this drug! That's one in seven.

And guess what dogs need to be medicated most often? You guessed it! The young ones and the old ones -- just like with people.

I ran across a press release informing me of all this when I perused a list of The 10 Weirdest Drug Stories of the Month for November 2008.

Now, for the record, I understand there may be a place for medication with some animals. But one in seven dogs? That seems a bit much!

The dog trainer quoted in this stilted press release was someone by the name of Ami Moore, and I had to wonder what kind of business she was running to be pimping for Novartis. I mean, most dog trainers I know consider drugging a dog a sign of failure, not success.

And so I Googled her. And guess what I found? It seems Ami Moore, who calls herself "The Chicago Dog Whisperer," was charged with two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for putting shock collars on very young dogs. According to Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Illinois Attorney's Office, "In one instance, she had three shock collars on one dog. One was near the genital area of the dog."

Woo-eee! That's a good dog trainer.

For the record, Ami Moore says the charges were "racial" and were filed only because she happens to be black. I will let folks read this story from The Chicago Reader and judge for themselves.

Now, to be fair, Ms. Moore was acquitted because the District Attorney fumbled the ball and did not get the officers and expert witnesses to court.

So no harm, no foul, right? Just pump one in seven dog with drugs, and put multiple shock collars on the others while you are training them.

Cue the calming music.


Steppenwolf :: The Pusher (2005)
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For those who want to know more, I have good news. Ms. Moore says her:

Friendly two hour Rapid Rover Rehab Consult™ will resolve 99% of your dog training, behavior and potty training problems in 2 hours. Yes, just two hours.

Wow. And guess what? This two-hour program, which costs $499.99+ works on "pushy dogs, hard-to-train dogs, stubborn dogs, out-of-control dogs, dominant dogs, fearful dogs, anxious dogs, obsessed dogs, hyper dogs, mouthy dogs or just driving you crazy dogs."

Of course, the $499.99+ price is not for dogs with separation anxiety or aggression. For those dogs, the two-hour course costs $999.99+

Did you notice the plus sign? I bet that's important!

Ms. Moore goes on to say her methods "give you results just like you see on television" and that in just two hours "Rapid Rover Rehab" can fix barking dogs, biting dogs, nipping dogs, chewing dogs, jumping dogs, humping dogs, growling dogs, snapping dogs, snarling dogs, mouthing dogs, dog chasing cars, dog chasing squirrels, dog chasing rabbits, dog going in the trash, dog stealing paper, dog pulling on the leash, dog running away, dog bolting out the door, dog growling when feed, digging dog, dog stealing food, dog stealing clothes, dog socialization, growling at your family, dog to dog aggression, dog to human aggression, on-leash aggression. sit-stay in the real world, down-stay in the real world, come in the real world, heel in the real world, bad manners in the house, crazy dog behavior in the car, ignoring your commands, annoying you when you watch a movie, bothering you while you eat, dog jumping on your friends.

And you know what's best of all? There's a PayPal link right below this claim. Excellent. Everything is so easy!

I just have one question: If the two-hour course for $499.99 will solve everything, why is there also a 31-day "boot camp" (the cost is $3,999.99) for dogs with anxiety and aggression issues?
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