Just a little rant: My love for dogs started with training dogs in shows and obedience in the early 90s. Back then I did not have anyone to learn from so I just read lots of books, watched lots of videos (VHS) and went to a lot of shows and talked to lots of people. I was very lucky to have met a lot of show breeders and I was given many opportunities to keep and handle their dogs and had the fortune to won a little something along the way. I love dogs and dog training very much. Dog training to me is an art form and it is a beauty beyond description when you see a dog and its trainer bonded as one. Back in the days, things were more simple and the animal right movement was not as strong as it is today. Actually, most of my peers were using more corrections than I did. I was more of a positive motivation all the way kind of guy. I never used a prong collar and did not really understand why e-collar was needed. I felt that I could train my dog to do commands I tried with just food and a little choke chain so why use more? I did not keep any dog for a while but my love for dogs has never died. After I had this opportunity to have Sadie, my new dog, I started to look back into training just to refresh my memory. To my surprise things have changed and there are lots of talk about how some tools and training methods are being cruel and some stores would not even sell prong collars. I have the chance to meet and talk to some k-9 training people and ironically, in this politically correct and against animal cruelty age, I am now using a prong collar. A prong collar is the easiest and most effective collar I have ever used. It also inflect much less discomfort than a choke collar if used properly. This is just my own opinion of course. I have handled lots of dogs, usually the first thing I need to do was to get them to heel next to my left side and turn with me nicely. So, I do know a bit something about training a dog to heel. Walking in some off leash parks I see lots of dogs with very serious social problems. Usually these problems are reflected in the behaviours of the handlers/owners. One may even go as far as saying the problem of the dog is actually the problem of the owner. These dogs cannot have a happy life because they cannot play well with others. Some of them cannot even be walked during day time hours because they would bark, attack, and pull too much. These owners are very well intentioned and believe that they love their dogs very well. Because of this love they usually would not opt for something like a prong collar as they think it would hurt their dogs too much. I once saw a very big beautiful German Shepherd on a trail. The owner was a tiny woman. She was holding her dog with both hands, trying to pull the dog back as the dog pulled forward and barked at us with his teeth exposed. That woman must be very frustrated if she has to walk her dog like that all the time. The dog must be very stressed as who would want to be close to him? Is she cannot walk the dog on leash, how can she let the dog off leash? How can this dog get his exercise that he needs? These type of problems are complex, more often than not, the owner is not the pack leader for one, and the communication between the owner and the dog are usually very confusing to say the least so the dog is not really clear of what is expected. Isnt this kind of ownership cruel? Why would animal activists focus on a mere collar which is a little corner of a whole picture, yet ignore the problem these kind of dogs are facing? With a prong collar, I was able to train my dog to walk very nicely next to my left leg in less than 2 days. Since then, I hardly ever need to use any correction. My dog is loved by many dogs and never had any problem playing with anyone or any dog. I am training her to come when recalled under distraction now. I may use an e-collar on her to achieve this. She already knows the command and I am using a long line now. Shopping for collars, this trainer in a pet store was giving me a lecture on prong collar and how I should not be so mean to the dog. I think using correction is important when trained under heavy distraction because a dog needs to know the consequences so his behaviours can be changed quickly. So many trainers and dog owners are saying prong collars are cruel and some story are not even carrying them any more. I have to ask, is not training your dog so he cannot have any friend cruel? Is not training a dog how to walk so you cannot take him our cruel? How about not knowing what you are talking about and giving out bad advice to people who just want to be able to walk their dog properly in a short period of time? Why keep checking and choking the trachea of a dog for mouths with a choke collar when you can teach a dog to heel nicely in 2 days--may be even less--with a prong collar? Why risk the dog rushing pass a parking lot and killed when you can teach your dog to come when recall with an e-collar? K-9 dogs are not trained with positive reinforcement only. Under heavy distraction, your positive toy or treat cannot compete with the outside world and there is always a chance the dog would choose to leave you for the world. I did not understand this when I was younger because I never tried to train off lease under heavy distraction. Now, as I get older, and have seen more dogs and such, I understand. I hope more people can see what I see and may be more dogs can have a normal social life. A lot of dogs cannot live a normal life. Their owners love them but they do not know any better. They try to seek help and they were told not to use these cruel devices and not to seek training from a trainer who would use that. To me, that is cruel! Let me attach a video to show you how effective a prong collar and ecollar can be. This dog Finn was not trained well at al in the beginning. He only knew sit and nothing else in the beginning. In this video, Finn has completed his training. You can see clearly Finn, in this video, loves the trainer and is so eager to please. There is something really beautiful when a dog and his trainer has a bond that is irreplaceable. https://youtube/watch?v=oIqzMpXN5z8
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 06:08:36 +0000
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