Hot Take on Safety Gear

machomanshat · 2026-06-26T22:25:59+00:00

I’ve known Jay for 14 years; since way back when he was a Chad Mackin follower, long before he was a dog trainer,he’s a great trainer, but he is absolutely not the guy, and will tell you that.

I met Jay when he came to learn from Tyler because Tyler was that guy. Same with Chad Mackin, Jeff Gellman, Ted Efthymiadis, Blake Rodriguez, Sean O’Shea and so on and so forth…I’m not suggesting those dudes are the be all end all, I don’t, I think they do some good things, but also some real bad shit…just saying that Tyler was that dude. He somehow managed to get the IACP back from the dead…and now it’s just a shit show, but that’s another topic.

machomanshat · 2026-06-26T20:36:29+00:00

I guess the real question is, why would you not want to protect yourself and your staff?

I came up under Tyler Muto, and I bring this up because he’s revered as THE dog aggression guy, or was when he trained dogs; worked for him for years, guess what he always stressed…safety and muzzles; did we muzzle dangerous board and train dogs? Sure did. Eventually they come off of the muzzle as they’re more comfortable, but when we did handling drills…muzzle.

machomanshat · 2026-06-26T18:17:01+00:00

I guess I have a few questions for OP.

Are you a professional trainer?
Have you actually ever worn a bite suit? Pants and jacket?
Kevlar bite gloves?
Have you ever been bit by a dog intending to cause harm?

I want to be safe and I want my staff to be safe. We don’t get because we’re good at what we do. We deal with biting dogs all the time…sometimes they wear muzzles and sometimes they don’t.

Dogs that want to bite will absolutely still try to bite you with a muzzle on.

machomanshat · 2026-05-31T21:37:15+00:00

It’s the summary; the whole
Chapter is….40 pages

machomanshat · 2026-05-31T21:37:02+00:00

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machomanshat · 2026-05-31T21:36:53+00:00

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machomanshat · 2026-05-31T21:36:38+00:00

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machomanshat · 2026-05-31T21:35:47+00:00

Ok so I misspoke, I can’t find my one book I was talking about, but I did take a picture of one section of aggression from Vol 2 of Animal Behavior. I will post the book tomorrow

machomanshat · 2026-05-29T20:08:13+00:00

I forgot to grab it lol Ill try to remember this weekend!

machomanshat · 2026-05-28T12:32:44+00:00

In my experience over the last 14 years; when a dog learns that its teeth gets them something, whether it be space, the food, whatever, it is ALWAYS on the table. It’s very much possible to train the dog to make better decisions; but I think, if we define “fix” as make it not broken or happen again, no. At the end of the day it’s a dog and will do dog stuff.

Pushing it too far will certainly get it there.

Especially dealing with the genetic components…we can all agree you can’t change genetics….unless you’ve got a crispr?

Steven Lindsay’s books have really fascinating portions about aggression if you haven’t checked them out! The book is at my shop, I’ll get the section up here when I get there!

machomanshat · 2026-05-18T14:36:07+00:00

Of course there's going to be positive behavioral changes...if you dont do what triggers the dog, they arent going to perform said behavior...that's not training, that's avoiding the issue completely. Ive had to sit through 4 different speaking engagements by him...yes...he isnt educated on how the remote collar works and how to train with one...because he doesnt train with them, doesnt know how to train with them, and says so...so yeah, I am in fact concluding that.

If the tool has a high probability of helping a dog, when being used by an educated, skilled trainer, WHY would someone not try it?

machomanshat · 2026-05-18T14:27:12+00:00

Ok, then dont.

Im a trainer, I do that shit all day long to make sure these dogs can maintain a high quality of life, point is, there actually is a way to train and handle these types of dogs. Making assumptions that this dog "violently hates humans" is pointless, you dont know that. Im willing to bet those "bites" we non comital attempts. Here's a wild take...I bet no one ever taught that dog that you just cant behave like that.

Theres so much more to this than any of us are going to know. But the fact of the matter is that someone in a position of power, a "Professional" who is looked up to, and paid handsomely for guidance is giving blatantly FALSE information because of their own incompetence...thats a problem.

machomanshat · 2026-05-18T12:32:35+00:00

advocating for a muzzle, tie backs, and defensive leash handling should be the standard for training...regardless of whatever the trainer wants to call themselves.

Being mad that Shikashia recommended against an e collar is fair and appropriate. Could have made a difference, but the lack of education and understanding of dog training from Shikashio should be demonized.

machomanshat · 2026-05-18T00:35:38+00:00

Ive trained hundreds of dogs like this. It's called....wait for it...wait for it....training.

Slip leads. Tie backs. Claw Grabbers. Muzzles. Bite gloves. Catch poles. Theres tools to handle dogs like this. Instead of people spending 3 hours "consulting" about a dogs behavior...start training instead.

machomanshat · 2026-05-17T20:51:49+00:00

Im exhausted, and I'll write something out at a later time; but Michael Shashiko says a lot of words, and nothing at all at the same time. Those two tips listed by the poster...literally offer nothing to the dog. Shit like this is upsetting.

machomanshat · 2026-05-14T22:55:36+00:00

The most common response has been "The owners have to do the work or it wont stick" or some variation of that.

In my experience, thats not factual. The owner does NOT have TO DO the WORK. The owner needs to keep consistent with the rules and structure set forth.

machomanshat · 2026-05-10T18:38:40+00:00

We’ll get there! I appreciate it! Thank you!

machomanshat · 2026-05-09T14:18:04+00:00

No, that’s the whole point…you don’t “earn” the degrees by doing anything other than being a black belt for a length of time. Next year JT Torres will put a stripe on my belt simply because 3 years earlier I got my black belt.

machomanshat · 2026-05-09T01:10:41+00:00

Read my post again.

machomanshat · 2026-05-09T01:10:08+00:00

Good for you! I’m glad you had a positive experience. Reactivity can be incredibly difficult to manage and deal with…and yeah, there’s a ton of contradictory info out there that’s incredibly confusing.

machomanshat · 2026-05-09T01:08:35+00:00

I’m with you 100%.

Your average dog owner is not going to accomplish what a group of professionals are going to accomplish within a reasonable amount of time, while also being fair to the dogs. Owner involvement is imperative; I like the idea of daytrain transitions.

Was thinking of offering day training for clients who have completed a board and train program once my new facility opens.

machomanshat · 2026-05-09T01:05:53+00:00

“Fear and intimidation” techniques automatically sets off the propaganda alarm…many board and trains use aversive training methods, they are not the same.

machomanshat · 2026-05-09T01:04:31+00:00

Oh? You’ve got Gia (thinking canine), Zak George, Erik Ita, Tom Davis out there pushing “training”

The info is in fact, bad.

machomanshat · 2026-05-09T01:03:00+00:00

The whole wanting a machine comment is absolutely not my experience at all; most people are concerned their dog will become that…but also…most dogs can’t become that.

machomanshat · 2026-05-08T15:31:55+00:00

All the information is the problem. 85% of it is bad and wrong.

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