Dog Trainers

[Dizzy1]

I couldn't agree more. :rate10:

Boo, Hiss, to prong collars, choke collars and e-collars!

My male has to wear a martingale collar because his neck is as thick as his head and a flat collar would have to be choking tight for him to not be able to slip out of it. I keep the martingale set at the point just where it won't fit over his head if it tightens, but is slack and comfortable normally. I just got him a beautiful leather martingale. I have a separate leather sporting collar for him to wear when doing Agility, it has nothing protruding on it that could catch on tunnels or other obstacles. It has a flat ring that sits on the back of the dog's neck for clipping the leash to, which makes it easier than always having to reach under the dog's neck and fumbling for the D-ring.

My female wears a flat nylon collar, but when I can afford it I will buy her in a sporting collar to wear all the time. I like the sporting collar that much. Both the martingale and the sporting collars are from Red Dog Leather, a small company from Ontario. They are just starting out so don't have a website yet but they do have a Facebook page. Their products are pricey, but well worth the extra $$.

ETA: My dogs roughhouse a lot so I don't leave their collars on them at home or when they are out in the yard. Only if I am taking them out somewhere, or if we are doing yardwork and the gate will be opened often, I put their collars and tags on them just in case of escape. They probably wouldn't go far, but they are dogs, ya know?

I completely disagree with Victoria Stillwell's views on choke and prong collars. They are amazing training tools if you use them what they are designed to be used for. I have noticed that in a couple of Victoria's videos she seems to be twisting things to try and make her point, including the video above. If you have a choker/prong collar and are using it for a walk and letting your dog keep pulling and choking itself then you are simply not training your dog and not using these collars for what they are designed for which are corrections. Even if you use a flat collar and let the dog lead it can cause just as much damage. The idea of a prong collar for example is that it simulates the teeth of the puppys mother so when the dog needs to be corrected and you give a quick and light snap of the leash the dog gets a quick nip and does what you are asking it to do and despite Victoria's exaggerated claims it doesn't hurt or choke the dog ... any reputable trainer will try it on the owner first to show you how gentle they really are and any reputable trainer will tell you which excercises/lessons are suitable for a prong collar and which ones you should remove it for.

I also noticed this video ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlbzqMbilE

... again, I feel that Victoria is twisting things to try and make her point. For example, you don't put a dog on its back to punish it when its doing something wrong ... you do it to calm a dog down and put it into a submissive state when you want the dog to be which might be an overly hyper dog or even if you just want to give the dog some medicine or belly rubs. Best thing to do is put the dog on its between your legs on its back once a day and just give him/her treats or loving to show the dog they're not being punished and that the back position, although its time to be calm, its not a bad thing. As per Victoria's suggestion of ignoring the dog as a form of punishment, well if anyone of you want to be the first in line and try that while a dog is being too rough with a child or other animal ... be my guest.

And to be honest, in my opinion, the dog market is becoming a huge business. Just look at the dog food market compared to 15 years ago. Before we just had a few pet stores and a few major dog food brands, now you have a dog speciality store in almost every strip mall and the variety of dog food is mind boggling. Dog training is no different, its a huge business and you have to make it sell. Victoria, from what I've seen seems to be trying to disagree with other dog trainers and even discredit the very basic fundamentals of dog behaviours. Yes, one should always keep an open mind on things but I just feel like she's trying to stand out from other trainers just to sell her business and really has no proof to back up anything.

Dogs are and always will be pack animals, no matter how domesticated they are, and every pack has a pack leader, this is simple truth ... its up to us to decide and establish who that leader is.

[Johlanna90]

Hey CoffeeCanuck! I know I'm a bit late here but I wanted to point some things out for you.

First off, I noticed that you don't like positive/treat training because, probably like me, you don't want to have a bag of treats strapped to you at all times for your dog to listen to you. Well I'm here to tell you that the fastest way to learn a behavior (technical term for "sit", "lay down" etc.) is through treats. HOWEVER, once the dog knows these behaviors (and only known behaviors, this doesn't apply to new ones!), that's when you should become more unpredictable. Instead of asking for 1 trick followed by a treat, ask for 3. Then 2, then 5, then 1(you get the idea)...it makes your dog work, think, and want to perfect these behaviors because that's what gets the best treats! And yes, a different variety of treats is best. Adds to the unpredictability. "Will I get chicken? Or just a piece of carrot?"

Now I know by now you're saying "you're still using treats, get to the point!" So here's some alternatives. If your dog is doing great on leash, teach a "go sniff". That's a reward! If your dog is doing well around distractions, let him go to them as a reward (granted that they're ok with it). Their favorite toy can also do well. Be it a tug toy or a ball.

I will say though, using treats IS the easiest way to reinforce a behavior. Like I said before though, don't feel the need to give them a treat every time they do something. Then they become mooches :P

Here's a link that breaks it down into steps for you: http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/a ... eats/20247

One of my all time favorite trainers is Emily Larlham. She has a website of free dog training videos on almost every situation and behaviors you want to teach your dog, including leash aggression. http://dogmantics.com/free-video-list/