How To Train Your Dog With Love + Science - Dog Training with Annie Grossman + Anamarie Johnson PhD (Formerly known as School For The Dogs Podcast) · Annie Grossman

Petitions, boycotts, and dog-abuse defenders: An Instagram Live with Zak George

·27 min·1 clip

Zach George says using aversives 5 to 10 percent of the time still contradicts the world’s top behavior groups.

1. How To Train Your Dog With Love + Science uses an Instagram Live with Zach George to discuss a petition, a boycott, and disputes over dog training methods. 2. Annie Grossman hosts the conversation, and Zach George is the guest because he has been targeted by a change.org petition and is responding publicly. 3. The episode asks what the petition is for, what the boycott is meant to do, and why George says dog training should be understood through science. 4. Grossman reads the petition posted five days earlier by Augusto de Oliveira and quotes its accusation that George is spreading “misinformation on dog training techniques.” 5. The petition names BarkBox in a call to action and says supporters should pressure sponsors to create “a constructive dialogue.” 6. George says it is his “first petition ever” and says the signature count is “2,400 signatures or 2,500.” 7. He says he is continuing pressure on Westbrook Pet Resort in Ringwood, New Jersey, because the facility supported de Oliveira’s methods. 8. George says people with platforms have a responsibility to speak up, and he links that responsibility to public criticism of dog-trainer behavior. 9. Grossman describes the petition as “topsy-turvy day” and says each accusation feels reversed against George. 10. George says he went to the Ringwood event and was shocked that he was “the only one in the room” who thought the setup was problematic. 11. He says the dogs were already learning before anyone started formal work, because “the training is already happening.” 12. George says the room had “15 dogs” and that many seemed stressed before he approached them. 13. He says he watched a video from the event in which de Oliveira repeatedly told owners, “we’re going to start in a second.” 14. George says a traveling trainer can “come in, sell everybody on something and then leave” before consequences show up in the same city. 15. Grossman raises concerns about George’s safety, and he answers that he is “not worried in the slightest” because he believes he is right. 16. He says there is a need for regulation because “so-called dog trainers are going to just be on their good behavior” only when they are required to be. 17. The tone is argumentative and fast-moving, with choppy audio, interruptions, and repeated attempts to stay on the thread of the petition. 18. The format is a live back-and-forth with direct reading from a petition, short pivots to sponsors, and audience comments that Grossman occasionally references. 19. People following dog-training ethics and trainer accountability. 20. People looking for a calm, non-confrontational discussion. 21. The show’s host identifies it as How to Train Your Dog with Love and Science during the live. 22. Grossman says she has already done episodes about Dog Daddy, aka Augusto de Oliveira, before this live. 23. George says he refuses to “platform aversive dog trainers,” which is the logic he uses to explain skipping Balabanov’s show. 24. He compares the idea of appearing on that podcast to platforming a flat earther. 25. George says he has listened to “most of Dog Daddy” on Balabanov’s podcast and calls him “a complete charlatan” and “a complete showman.” 26. Grossman says she heard from commenters that George’s treatment of Susan Garrett matters in how others view him. 27. George says the phrase “balanced training” does not fit if a trainer uses aversives even “five to 10 percent” of the time. 28. He says that using prong collars or leash pops even occasionally “wreck[s] your work” and conflicts with the science he cites. 29. George names the AVMA, the College of Veterinary Behaviorists, and the British Veterinary Medical Association as support for his position. 30. Grossman says the Westbrook facility was “so filthy,” and she adds a personal note about her daughter refusing to sit on the toilet there. 31. George says he wants the Tampa event to be cancelled and asks people to contact him if they want to join public education efforts. 32. The conversation closes with Grossman suggesting “interspecies educators” as a possible rebrand for dog trainers.

As heard by us

A direct argument for treating dog training as a welfare issue, not a branding exercise.

The episode treats dog training as a welfare issue, not a branding contest. It keeps its focus on the trainer, the people around him, the influence of platforms, and the case for regulation.

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Why you'd press play

If you want the Dog Daddy backlash framed as a serious accountability saga, start here.

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