You’ve found someone better. Smarter. Wiser. Faster. Stronger.

The United States has become a punitive society. We call ourselves the “Land of the Free” but we are really “the Home of the Jailed.” The United States of America incarcerates more people than any nation on earth. More than China, which has 4x the population. For whatever reason, we have become a punitive society. The most punitive nation in the history of the world. With ever more draconian punishment and correction because politicians are afraid of looking “soft on crime.”

Do we really have the most evil people in the world living in the United States? Or is there something evil about our criminal justice system?

What does this all have to do with dog training? A lot. Dog trainers and experts are not immune from the direction of society at large. It is no coincidence that during the right wing presidency of George W. Bush that a right wing dog expert like the Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan would arise with a message of tough love, correction, and no fun dog training and handling.

There is a price to pay with a heavy handed message of punishment and correction. Whether for dog or human, it creates severe side effects. As for the side effects on humans, we would need massive volumes and I’ll leave that to others to describe.

As for dogs, a punitive/corrective/confinement approach and philosophy leads simply to a diminished dog. Diminished in intelligence, curiosity, learning and creativity. And a more dangerous dog. A dog who may find no other option than to use his teeth in opposition to the methods employed against him.

Michael T. Patton aka “The General” is a Left Wing/Libertarian dog expert who is fully capable of using punishment and correction. But he eschews punishment and correction whenever possible. Or if he uses correction, he does it in a way that does not put the dog in a position of having to defend himself from the crazy human with the choke chain.

Want to know the main difference between a Right Wing dog expert like Cesar Millan and a Left Wing dog expert like Michael T. Patton? Besides Michael having a Biology degree and Cesar not having one, Right Wing dog experts have a lot of experience being bitten by dogs. They will brag about the number of times they have been bitten by dogs and they will proudly show you their scars.

Michael T. Patton aka, “The General” has never been bitten while training a dog, even though he has reformed dogs who were fighting to the death. Not only is he better, smarter and more talented. He is a real writer, so when Michael T. Patton gets a book deal (and he will) he will be able to write his own books!

2010 is going to be a good year!

michael t. patton and jackie brown of dogtv.com