The following is an exact quote from a professional dog trainer discussing the training of a customers five month old Golden Retriever, "If other dog training methods worked they would have never invented the Electric collar!"
Hey every one can sell their own brand of smoke!

This came up in a discussion I was having with a new customer that had been working with some other trainers, before coming out to my kennel. It seems a lot of what I was showing her kinda went against the grain of what she had read and been told. All I could say was that I had learned, over the years, that a lot of people that train dogs, or write the books, had definitely studied dogs at their work, but apparently had never lived with any at home.

Now it is no secret that I have been lucky enough to work with some of the best dogmen and women in the world over the years. When I hear what some people, that pass as dog trainers, have to say about dogs or training, like the E-collar comment, I really wonder about the publics chances to learn about dogs.

I think about Tony McCallum sending dogs through crowds at a public demonstration to round up cattle, then come back past the crowd, the other dogs, maybe a few horses, and jump into the back of the pickup, just as they had been told to do, and guess what? As far as I know Tony doesn't even own a leather collar. Wonder what Tony thinks about the comment "If other dog training methods worked they would have never invented the Electric collar." As my new customer said it seems people learn a lot about gadgets and techniques, but not much about dogs!

There is a lot of inaccurate information to be found, that is one reason we have this message board, and as some of the biggest names you find in the dog world are putting out this info it really becomes gospel for a lot of people. These people may be great Agility trainers, or really efficient with an e-collar, but do they know anything about dogs? They may have stood on every world podium for SchH and ring sports, could be the most spectacular Clicker OB trainers ever, but can they communicate with their dogs without a pattern or a gadget?

Dogs that are thrown into the wild seem to get together in a pack and not only get along with other pack members, but do a good job of following orders needed to get food for survival, and I've never seen a wild dog with a clicker or e-collar, they just communicate. But you may not ever learn this until you work, observe, and live with your dog. So how do you learn about DOGS instead of techniques? Try this.

First take all of your training "tools" and put them in a drawer. Next choose two behaviors to teach or polish up on your dog. Can be as simple as "sit" or as advanced as an "Out" or retrieve your choice. Now check the date on the calendar and set a two week time limit.

Now as pack members will use games and play objects to teach pups how to hunt and bring down game, you can do the same. Dogs will also offer food to get the attention of other pack members, or the pack leader so that is another option. But you don't see a wolf go CLICK before they do that for a pack member, so no tools, just communication.

And remember if the humans are the smartest part of the pack Why don't dogs need electric??? Keep us posted.

Listen Well, Bite Hard!!!

To me an E-collar is just a proofing tool, in our day and age it is the easiest way to correct a dog at a distance. However I do not feel it should be used to teach a dog anything.

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