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Ask Yvette

This past week, my husband and I watched, “Supersize Me.” For those that have not seen the movie, the entire movie is about watching one man eat McDonald's for 30 days. He started the experiment with a full physical and you get to see how the diet impacts him.

What does dog training have to do with McDonald's? Not much. But the movie does take a harsh look at corporate responsibility.

On one hand, businesses are in existence to make money. But will a business sacrifice the well being of their clients to achieve financial wealth? Who is a business responsible to? The movie makes a compelling argument that corporations are responsible to their shareholders.

When it comes to the pet industry, that sense of financial gain can impact how the people in the general public perceive dogs. I personally think that when a business is selling products to you, they should take care to ensure the product is safe for your companion. They should also take care to send a message of responsible pet ownership.

For those that read the column on New Year's resolution, you know that I do have a beef with some pet industries. Why? Because slick advertising can override good old fashioned common sense.

I believe that corporations need to set an example. I also think that when a product sends a disturbing message, one should ask why.

Back to Hood Hounds. If you go into a grocery store, most parents can tell you exactly where the kid's candy machines are located. Those machines are kid magnets.

When my son went up to the machine in the A&P lobby and saw toy dogs, he wanted one. So imagine my horror to see a wide variety of breeds represented as “killer dogs.” You can get anything from a Chi-hau-hau to a Pit Bull. All are snarling and named things such as Killer or Bullet. So what exactly is a mom to tell a 5-year-old child? How does one explain that some people want mean dogs? I find it offensive in light of all the maulings in recent years. Of course, I suppose one might have a good idea why some dogs are bred badly. Because some people want it. That children and young adults might actually be buying these is disturbing to me and I find very little humor in the situation. Chi-hau-hau fanciers should be very concerned in my opinion.

But killer dogs are not the only dogs depicted in mainstream advertising. There is a popular dog food that runs an ad showing a toy breed growling at a man on a bus. The man frightened of the dog moves over, which gives the owner a seat.

Let's change the advertisement a little and have a 100-pound dog growl at someone. Not so funny anymore is it?

And here is where I'm going to draw the connection back to “Supersize me.” What is corporate responsibility? I know there are no laws to regulate the industry. I get that no one is perfect. But I would like to see the local grocery stores, the toy companies and the pet product companies to go above and beyond sales.

A child was mauled this past weekend. I shudder to think how that family feels seeing aggression portrayed as humorous or cool.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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