Collar training vs positive training

[IRescue452]

You definately don't NEED a training collar of any type. Autumn was pretty well fully trained on sit, down, come and those types of things before my stepdad decided we should do the training class like his brother did with his dog (he was paranoid about having the dog and his new twin daughters). We aced the class because she was well-trained already but we did learn some new tricks like "leave it" and "front" which I'd never heard of before having her. I'd never even owned a training collar before then. How was she trained if I didn't have a training collar? I must be magic. All I used was a normal collar without even a leash attached and some treats.

[binka_nugget]

With my first dog, Kai, I trained with a slip collar. Kaedyn was with primarily corrections as well. When Keeva came along, I trained with positive methods. Leash corrections and positive reinforcement both worked for my dogs and all three listen reliably. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to train a dog but my preferred method is positive reinforcement. The enthusiasm I get from Keeva (positive reinforcement) and Kai & Kaedyn (leash corrections) is huge. And Keeva loves to learn - she offers me new behaviors in order to get a click. It makes training much easier for me.

[J W]

I know this is old, but I wanted to share. There is no such thing as positive only training. People like to think of it as positive only to be politically correct. But using the definitions there is always some punishment as part of the training.

I will go as far as saying no method is better than another. Some trainer are better at using certain methods. Some trainers are just better too. Every animal needs some sort of balance when training. There are some beliefs that method that use corrections are faster then methods that try not to use or minimize the use of "aversions". A slip collar, pinch collar and or and e-collar does not have to cause pain. The word pain is used to frighten the unknowable people off to make you think that they are bad. No one want to hurt their pets. The play on semantics does frighten off many from using these tools. People that often talk about using rewards only an no aversion unless there is no other choice often neglect to mention even if they know it or not that withholding a treat when the dog does not respond they they the owner/handlers wants is also aversive.

Personally I would avoid Petsmart trainers is possible. Yes they can train a dog. Most don't do it well. They really aren't required to know much about training or animal behavior to become one of their trainers. I say this because of first hand knowledge. My son has been training dogs his entire life. He decided to join Petsmart and be one of their trainers. hey advertise that they train their trainers. He didn't mind learning a different method. He was called in interviewed and was going through the training. The training consisted of here is a book, read it and now refer to this book for training and questions. Someone asked a question what if the client ask a question and this is my 1s day. They are supposed to refer to the book/manual and let the client know that they are professionals. No one knows it is your 1st day. In other words they are taking advantage of the customer's lack of knowledge. Then the biggest thing they are supposed to do is to get you to sell you on you need to get the next training package. He turned down the job. he lost a lot of respect for Petsmart and their trainers after that. There are some trainers that have taken classes, attended seminars to make themselves better trainers. But of course they are the exception to the rule. There training comes from outside of their employment. I've had people that have their training there and they come to me only to find out their dog is not really trained. It is only surfaced trained. It will not respond correctly with even the slightest of distractions. I believe that there are some that are well trained. I just haven't run into them. The customers were happy with their training until they learned it should have been more.

[Jessika]

The method used it only as good as the trainer using it.

I will probably sport the highly unpopular opinion in that I do not believe training collars are all bad.

I DO, however, think they are very often misused by owners who are not properly trained in how to use them or who aren't rewarding for the correct/desirable behaviors, hence not getting results.

These are training TOOLS, not training solutions, and many owners seem to confuse the two. They are not meant to be a solution to your problem, but simply an aid to help the training process.