Humane animal training makes us better people

November 11, 12:00 PMClicker Training ExaminerEve Alexander

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Prison Puppy Program at Toledo Correctional Institute in Ohio.

Animal Planet's Monday night special show, Cell Dogs, clearly showed the relationship between humane animal training and the trainer's own level of personal enlightenment.

The show spotlighted several innovative community partnership programs that help dogs and prison inmates. In most cases the dogs come from shelters. Sometimes it's an abused dog that needs  tender loving care to learn to trust humans, but others are hard cases, dogs that bite or show aggression. Oftentimes the most challenging dogs are matched with the most high risk inmates. Other programs utilize inmate trainers to prepare donated purebred dogs for service careers such as companions for blind, deaf or mobility disabled people. Another program trains puppies for future police work like bomb detection.

The prisoners are taught how to train by seasoned dog trainers. They strictly use positive reinforcement techniques and never, ever, do they use physical corrections. Dogs are rewarded with treats, pats and praises for good performance. Most of the time undesired behavior is ignored, but if necessary, vocal corrections are permitted. One inmate marveled at how he had learned to use his voice at an even keel to correct the dog rather than intimidating the dog with loud volume or harsh words.

Prison authorities praised the programs, noting that since they started their prison population has experienced a decrease in violence and an increase in cooperation. The inmates, many of whom are serving life sentences, tell of learning about unconditional love for the first times in their lives. As they receive the love from their assigned dogs, they learn to give it back, to the dogs, eventually to other people, and most important of all, to themselves. In teaching puppies socialization skills, the inmates also learn about human socialization skills which many of them never were taught. Inmates talk about learning patience, feeling pride in their dog training achievements, understanding that change is possible for abused dogs as well as for people, about responsibility, trust, honesty, and of the power of love to transform the most bad ass inmate into a man who is not ashamed to cry when his beloved dog partner is 'paroled' to a loving new family.

This excellent documentary proves that humane training shows respect for animals and dignifies people.

Some of programs featured in Cell Dogs include:

Prison Pet Partnership Program
The Prison Pet Partnership Program rescues and trains homeless animals to provide service dogs for persons with disabilities and operates a boarding and grooming facility to provide vocational education for women inmates.The Prison Pet Partnership Program began in 1982 as part of Tacoma Community College’s inmate education program. The Program’s facility is located on the grounds of the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington.

Paws in Prison
Paws in Prison is the non-profit fund raising arm of a win-win program that places homeless dogs in correctional facilities where they are trained and socialized by prison inmates. It is a fully self-sustaining program, where-by inmates are trained to train other inmates to prepare these otherwise unadoptable,  ‘last-leg,’   dogs  for new, permanent family homes. For inmates, this is a life changing program. They learn patience, team work and  gain confidence in their ability to contribute to society as they make a difference in the lives of these animals and the families that adopt them.  

Puppies Behind Bars
Dr. Thomas Lane, a veterinarian in Florida, thought that prison inmates would make excellent puppy raisers, and started the first guide-dog/prison program. Not only do inmates have unlimited time to spend with the puppies, but they benefit from the responsibility of being puppy raisers in ways that are especially important to their rehabilitation: they learn patience, what it is like to be completely responsible for a living being, how to give and receive unconditional love, and -- since puppy raisers take classes and train the dogs together -- how to work as a team. The puppies live in prison for sixteen months, after which they are tested to determine their suitability for training as service dogs for the disabled or explosive detection canines for law enforcement. The inmates have taken tiny little creatures, who were not housebroken, did not know their names, and obeyed no commands, and have transformed them into well-behaved young pups who are a joy to be around. The raisers, too, have matured: the responsibility of raising a dog for a disabled person and the opportunity to give back to society are being taken very seriously. Puppy raisers show the pups tenderness and love, which had not been given expression before, and are deeply committed to supplying the solid foundations upon which guide dogs are made. The puppies have affected the lives not only of their puppy raisers, but of virtually all the inmates and staff at the prison.

Project POOCH
Project POOCH provides opportunities for youth in corrections to develop the personal and vocational skills they will need to become responsible, productive members of the community. The program accomplishes this by teaching youth to care for and train shelter dogs for adoption. The youths work with their dogs daily,and practice the principles of positive reinforcement and behavior modification. As the trainers manage their dogs, they learn how to manage their own behavior. They also earn school credits, develop good work habits, and acquire valuable occupational skills. The relationships, emotional support and mutual trust established between the trainers and dogs are pivotal to the success of the program. For some students and dogs, this relationship is a first experience of unconditional love, and it helps them develop the self-confidence and hope they need to build future relationships.

Photo credit: Toledo Correctional Institute Puppies in Prison Program

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