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Choking Man (2006)
IMDB rating: 6.30
Plot: Choking Man is an intense blend of psychological drama and magical realism that encapsulates the contemporary immigrant experience in America. Jorge is a morbidly shy Ecuadorian dishwasher toiling away in a shabby Jamaica, Queens, New York diner run by Rick. He works all day long in the shadow of the ever-present Heimlich Maneuver instruction poster which hangs in the diner kitchen. From his solitary kitchen corner, Jorge gropes mutely for a bond with Amy, the newly hired Chinese waitress and even though she tries to reciprocate, the gulf that separates them may be too large. On the job he is continually tormented by his coworker Jerry and at home in his Harlem boarding, under the psychological control of his domineering ‘roomate,’ he battles his inner demons. Set in the vicinity of JFK airport, the most culturally diverse neighborhood in the world, Choking Man captures the feeling of claustrophobia and almost literal asphyxiation newcomers to America experience as they struggle to find a place and purpose in this strange land.
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Directors: Barron Steve
Actors: Gomez Berrios Octavio,Paul Aaron,Patinkin Mandy,Alvarado Mando,Andino Paolo,Barron Oliver,Brenninkmeyer Philippe,Ginn Rupak,Jones Russell G.,Roffe Al,Suarez Alfredo,Drama,
Is this what training has come down to?
We took Zeke to Petco yesterday to use their self service grooming station. While there, we noticed they had a training class in session. It wasn’t begginers, either. It was intermediete or advanced training.
A gentleman had a schnauzer, and they were trying to make him sit and stay, and then go to the gentleman’s wife in an adjoining room when the gentleman commanded it to.
When Zeke walked by, this dog stood up, turned around, looked at Zeke, and started yapping it’s little head off.
First off, how did this dog ever make it past begginers?
Of course, being the clicker happy, "god forbid we correct" people that everyone is becoming, the trainer just stood there and said "Shh, shh, it’s ok. It’s ok, fluffy. Sit. Fluffy (I don’t remember it’s name), sit. Sit fluffy, it’s ok. It’s ok. Sit. Sit. Sit." In the biggest baby talk voice I’ve ever heard. The owner just stood there like an idiot. The dog stopped yapping for one second, just to turn his head and look at the trainer, and she clicked away and praised away and gave him all these treats. For what?
Really? Is that REALLY how the majority feels that it is best to train a dog?
If that was my dog, he would of gotten a good leash pop and firm verbal correction for coming out of a sit or stay and for barking. When Zeke was a year and a half old, he went through a phase where he barked his head off at every man he saw. That phase lasted for about 3 days, until he realized that a good pop on the leash with a choke chain is not fun.
What is your opinion on this training method, the all click and no correction one that is sweeping the dog world? Petco and PetSmart alike follow this method in their training classes. Do you feel that corrections are wrong? Why? Do you feel that your dog is TRULLY obedient, or only obedient when IT wants to be? (Case in point, the schnauzer in an upper training class that couldn’t even sit and stay with distractions).
BTW, I worked at PetSmart for over 2 years, and 4 years later I am still good friends with many of the managers and employees at numerous stores in the area. I can say that ALL the trainers are like this because that is how they are taught. I’ve only known one good trainer through them, and she was originally trained through an inmate rehab situation with GSDs, and she didn’t "believe in this clicker BS", as she use to say, lol.
For what? I’m guessing for looking away from your dog. But the woman should have corrected him way before then and THEN used the clicker/given him a treat.
I’ve never understood it either. There is a place for rewarding good behaviour obviously. But I don’t see why you should ignore the bad. You don’t have to be cruel, just firm. In my household, I’m known as the mean one for not "just ignoring him" when he does something wrong.
Would these people just ignore their dog for chewing on a wire, for example, and reward them for not?
I just think people cannot differentiate between "firm" and "cruel". I do not beat my dog when he does something wrong. That would be cruel. What I do is give him is a swift correction and physically MAKE him do what I tell him to if needs be. I am being firm.
Julie – BYBs are scum! | Nov 29, 2009
I think its mostly done for the "owners" to make themselves feel better about treating "Fluffy" well.
God forbid you actually show some backbone with a carnivorous animal….that would not be politically correct. "Fluffy" might get depressed, or worse yet, rebellious….and then you are going to have to take him to a doggie behaviorist and spend all this time getting down the root of "Fluffy’s" emotional issues and such…..
***banging head on desk****
bells3011 | Nov 29, 2009
my dog i worked hard to train without a clicker (clickers are stupid) and with treats and she sits everytime i tell her and she is only 5 months old she knows 4 tricks shake lay sit and stay and i mean how do they expect fluffy to learn if they r praising her for wrong things
animal lover | Nov 29, 2009
First, Petco and PetSmart are NOT the place to bring a dog to be trained. I look at these "trainers" as absolute amateurs – barely know what they are doing.
Second, I am a huge advocate for positive reinforcement and clicker training. The clicker is simply a "marker" for behaviors – not a reward. I do competition obedience and agility with my dogs and have found no method more effective for training than the clicker.
Some dogs absolutely need "corrections", especially strong willed high drive dogs like GS’s or other working breeds that can potentially become dominant or aggressive.
It’s definitely a balance between the two for a well rounded dog. I feel corrections need to be done properly though, too many people don’t have a clue about proper corrections in terms of severity and timing.
Just my 2cents…
ckdl | Nov 29, 2009
I feel the exact same way. I hear everyone saying "use the clicker method!" but I think that’s useless. Well maybe not useless, but I think that the original way of training dogs is more efficient and even though it may seem harsh, too me it seems like it brings a closer connection to you and your dog. Why would u use a clicker to ‘praise your dog’. And yes it does seem that this method only gets dogs to do what you want when you ask. Not all the time because they know if they do something wrong, nothing’s going to happen. If you tell them in a harsher voice and maybe give them a light spank then they’ll truly know what their doing wrong and right. If you use a clicker, it seems as if they just act correctly just for the click and a treat, but in the inside, they still don’t know it really is something they shouldn’t be doing. Another point, even though Petco and Petsmart say they’re all for the animals, you always know that its not true. It’s like how Tae-Kwon-Do businesses (I know it’s random haha) pop up all over the place and you see 5 year olds getting black belts. It’s all for the money. Same with Petco and Petsmart. They just want the money and maybe not ALL of the people working in these stores think about money but most of them do. So all in all, I totally agree with your way of thinking!
cottoncandyluver44@sbcglobal.net | Nov 29, 2009
There is a reason that 99% of the "trainers" working at Petsmart/PetCo are cashiers turned into obedience instructors. Anyone with any real dog training experience won’t work as a trainer there for long, and this is why.
Your hands are tied to the company’s policies on training, and you can’t actually help anyone.
The classes at these stores are based on PC image, rather than results. As National chains, they want cookie-cutter, "pet parent"-friendly training, and this is the program their consultants designed for them. As you can see, it’s basically useless. But at $100+ a pop (despite the fact that probably only 35% of the students ever complete a course), it is profitable!
Loki ? Wolfchild | Nov 29, 2009
If you are willing to endlessly repeat a command until it becomes so much white noise to a dog, wait patiently until mold grows under your shoes for the dog to give the right behaviour, then mark it with lavish praise, the dog may learn that if it wants to obey a command, it will be rewarded with praise by a grateful owner.
Clicker training works on the premise that NOTHING in a dogs environment will EVER be as satisfying to them as the praise or treat their owner has, but I KNOW that doesn’t reliably hold true.
I have witnessed on innumerable occasions an owner attempting to recall a dog who is more interested in the satisfaction gained from environmental distractions, than a treat or praise.
