Advantages Of Guide Dogs

Not many people think about how immoral it is for us humans to take animals from the wild and hold them captive for entertainment. Captive animals are often deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, and they experience captivity-related health problems as a result.

The well-trained, educated staff have a vital role in coordinating and providing the necessary information to the individuals and families regarding the four types of assistance dogs. Service dogs, Facility dogs, Hearing dogs, and Skilled companion dogs. Having a knowledgeable staff who are able to deliver services, advocate when necessary, provide referrals as well as brokering for the client. These aspects in addition to, it’s structure, funding, collaboration and delivery of services, cultural competence, systems thinking, worker and leadership effectiveness are used in order to enhance or change the lives of individuals. Empowering the consumer is crucial to creating independence, thus meeting the goal of this organization.

Throughout the years, we have been made to believe that wildlife in the entertainment industry is captivating. Even though these animals may seem to be happy and healthy, the truth is the majority of these animals suffer a great amount of abuse. SeaWorld and the Circus have made a name for themselves, by claiming that he/she provides a safe a friendly environment. However, what is not shown during these performance acts is the abuse these animals suffer, or the amount of stress and anxiety the animals are under. Wildlife in captivity for exotic animals can cause a serious amount of stress along with abuse, anxiety which can lead to a fatal result for the animals and the people who take care of them.

There are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the United States alone (HSUS), and a single puppy mill can house anywhere from ten to one thousand breeding dogs (ASPCA). Puppy mills are unethical by design - they are designed to produce puppies as fast as possible without concern for either the pups or the mother. The conditions in puppy mills are often deplorable. In the case of the puppy mill that was raided, pups were separated from their mothers at incredibly young ages, the rooms were filthy, and the breeding dogs and pups alike suffered from diseases and malformations (Solotaroff). As stated in both Solotaroff and the ASPCA’s articles, in many puppy mills, dogs are housed in tiny, cheap cages, are unable to interact with anyone, and are generally neglected. Female dogs can be bred indefinitely,

Dogs can be trained to be service dogs to help blind people do things more independently. These dogs can help someone cross the street or help them pick up things that they may have dropped. Things that might have been difficult for them to achieve are much easier now with the assistance of their service dog. Dogs can help people physically and emotionally.

Guide dogs for the blind help their owner walk and keep them safe. It makes them feel okay to be blind and that they have someone there with them. The deaf also have service dogs that help them with everyday activities and take away the owner’s worries. These amazing dogs also bring happiness and lower depression. They love their owners and give them a sense of purpose. People who deal with anxiety are provided with comfort from their service dogs. Also, their dogs can sense a panic attack and will help keep the owner as calm as possible. There are service dogs for people who have seizures as well. These dogs give confidence to their owner’s and reduce seizures. They also are able to tell when a seizure is going to come and provide comfort during a seizure. Autism is another disability that service dogs are trained to help with. They can help the owner relax and bring peace to the entire family. Service dogs can also help those who are handicapped by picking up objects, opening doors and helping their owner get dressed. Overall, service dogs make a positive impact on their owner’s lives by creating a better lifestyle and allowing them to be more

Once a puppy dog being trained as a service dog reaches eighteen to twenty months, they leave their training family and are brought to the training organization for further training along with other service dogs. The dogs are trained to have good manners. During their training time they learn fifty plus commands. They are trained to perform tasks that are difficult and uncomfortable such as crawling along the floor so that they can get under furniture to retrieve items that their owners may have dropped. The dogs must be strong in case they need to push or pull a wheel chair through a narrow area. At the end of training, they are given difficult tests to test their shyness and submissiveness, if they startle, and if they are forgiving and loving. If they pass all their tests, they go through a boot camp where their potential owners are trained how to take care of them. During

Historically dogs have served many purposes for humans. They have been used for hunting rodents, disposing of pesky rodents, fighting wars, protecting people as well as valuables, and tending to livestock (Staats et al, 2008). In today’s American society, dogs have become a first option to serve as companions and new additions to families. However, that is not the only purpose that canines serve. Dogs can also be of assistance to people with disabilities, military and police services, and therapeutic practices as well as a companion. To accommodate to the growing demand for pet or service dogs, it has become increasingly easier to buy or adopt them. There are now many options of how to obtain a dog. There are options such as breeders, Petland,

Zoos, SeaWorld, and circuses are places for families to enjoy entertainment. However, most people do not realize how the animals in each of these establishments are handled. Yes, they all bring in revenue and present the tricks these animals can do, yet these places preform detrimental acts to the animals. For example, the killer whales at SeaWorld are sometimes starved if they do not perform the way the trainer wants them to. In comparison, circuses torture lions and tigers until they are submissive to how the show-people want them to act. Zoos do not necessarily torture their animals, but it is proven the animals live much shorter lives in captivity. “Lives of animals in the wild versus captivity are literally worlds apart, and even the best captive facilities can’t recreate the conditions of the wild — not exactly. Most don’t even try, leaving animals in tiny enclosures with no socialization, enrichment or joy. Captivity is unnatural and unhealthy” (Sentenac). People are starting to recognize the danger of continuing these practices, but there’s a long way to go.Furthermore, animals in all of these places have suffered many traumatizing and even deadly events. There was a recent report that two circus lions, whom had severe head injuries, were killed by poachers who snuck into the sanctuary. “Last year poachers bypassed an advanced security system at a lodge near the town of Tzaneen in the Limpopo province, killing two lions by feeding them poisoned meat” (Graham).

As a child, many people would often go to the zoo or to the circus and see animals in real life. In circuses, animals would often perform tricks and stunts, dazzling the audience. In the zoo, people would often see animals in their native habitat, or what looks like it. Children were mainly amazed with the animals and were always exited to go see the animals. As the years go by, they start to realize that some of the animals are suffering and are being mistreated, especially in circuses. They see that the animals in zoos are depressed and lonely and the animals in the circuses are chained up. What is worse is that animals in laboratories are often treated very poorly; more poorly than what Americans treat prisoners and refugees. There have been many debates on whether animals should be held in captivity. Some groups believe that animals should not be held in captivity because they have the same capacities as humans. They believe that animals can feel emotion and have a sense of morality. Animals in captivity are deprived of their natural habitat and their instincts. Animals raised in captivity tend to rely more on humans compared to animals raised in the wild. They also believe zookeepers and trainers are putting themselves at risk when taking care of the animals. There have been many incidents including the death of trainers by animals, one highlighted by the movie “Blackfish” by director Gabriela Cowperthwaite. There are others who believe that putting animals in captivity is beneficial for not only the animal, but for humans as well. Humans get more jobs if more animals are put into captivity because there is an increase in the amount of people needed. Another benefit of keeping animals in captivity is that it could help save a species who is endangered and close to going extinct. Another benefit is that it helps increase the amount of food available because some animals are raised for food. Putting animals in captivity wrong unless they are being used for the animal’s benefits.

Most people know that pets are good companions, but they can also be therapists, teachers, and healers. “Sixty-two percent of American households include pets,” said the Humane Society of United States (Casciotti & Zuckerman, 2016). When people hear about dogs helping humans, one of the first things that might come to mind, are the dogs that help the blind or disabled. Another thought might be the dog that saves a family from their burning home. Today, there are dogs that help with autistic children, type 1 diabetes people, those that have seizures, and mental health issues, veterans with PTSD and others with mobility issues. Research has shown that there are health benefits from owning a dog, ranging from physical health

Think about how we will look back on our cruel forms of entertainment in the future. Will we be proud of the way we treated these great animals, with abuse as neglect? Today we turn our heads away from reality and what happens behind the scenes of animal entertainment. However, we can’t turn our heads forever. Around the world, there is so much more to animal entertainment than what meets the eye. These animals have been torn away from their beautiful, natural homes and brought to a prison of concrete. In these prisons, they are beaten, starved and tortured all for our money and entertainment. These animals lives should not be taken from them for us. Our money and happiness should not be worth these animal’s lives. Circus, theme park and zoo animals all suffer from aggression towards trainers, mental disabilities and physical injuries. These animals should not have to suffer any longer.

With that being said, dog owners have to train them to become disciplined. Bekoff and Millan disagree with each other because they both have their own techniques for training dogs. Bekoff doesn’t believe that it is acceptable to hit the animals in any way. Millan believes that it is appropriate to use electric shock collars and spike chokers when dealing with an aggressive dog. They agree that during training there needs to be a sense of a calm and loving environment. I think that dogs deserve to be treated with dignity, but they also need to be trained to be obedient. If not, dogs will do whatever they want; pee in the house, tear up pillows or blankets, bark excessively, etc. I agree that dogs should not be abused during training. I don’t believe that Cesar Millan abuses dogs during their trainings, because his techniques teaches the dogs to be more obedient. He is clearly successful at what he does because he gets hired by A-list celebrities and he has his own television show, which has made him millions. He came to America with nothing and his gift of being able to train dogs has made him a successful man. After reading both articles, I am still unsure of what defines the line between discipline and

Training is another concern. Physical punishment has long been the standard training method for animals in circuses. These methods are simply cruel. They include the use of electric prods, whips, and even some animals especially large cats, have their teeth removed. Bears balancing on balls, apes riding motorcycles, elephants standing on two legs are acts that are physically uncomfortable and behaviorally unnatural. Such “performances” do not teach audiences about how animals behave under normal circumstances. Instead, they are often portrayed as ferocious and stupid.

There are many types of animals used for entertainment such as circuses, dog fighting, zoos, and rodeos. All of these types of entertainment are not natural for these animals which is a form of abuse. Often times they are wild animals that don’t belong in cages and are not able to do things that are in their instinct to do. This is especially true about zoos and circuses. Animals are not able to roam free and instead kept in small cages. Even in optimal settings experts say that it is difficult to provide for the needs of wild animals.(Lemonick) Children should learn to respect animals and not see them as entertainment. People should only support animal free circuses and raise awareness how animals are abused for entertainment.