Lizbud,
I read the article on Stephen King in the ooze magazine. It has my blood boiling! This guy needs locked up and the key thrown away! The fact that he even considers himself a "Dog Trainer" is an insult to those of us who truly do train dogs and have their best interest at heart. This guy is nothing more than a sadistic human being who vents his anger on dogs and calls it training. I am just a little confused how he can get dogs to be trained. If I was a person looking for a trainer, I would want to know all about them and I would walk away from anyone who wanted to harm my dog in such a cruel manner!

Basically, I believe my dogs are a part of my family and as such deserve humane treatment on my part. It does not take a guiness to figure out that a dogs eyes popping out of it's head is not right! Would anyone do this to a human infant? If they did they would be arrested and charges filed.

Dog Training is nothing more than common sense. If the dog does something correctly it is praised and rewarded. If it does something wrong it is corrected. Notice I said corrected and not punished. Correction is as simple as a verbal "NO", a not so happy "LOOK", withholding a treat, or ignoring the dog. I do not use corrections that are physical unless I know the dog understands the behavior I expect and blatantly defies me. In this case a time out or if the situation warrants a collar correction. This is so unnecessary if you have a dogs trust and respect that I have never used a physical correction on my 6 month old Golden, who has already earned his Canine Good Citizen! People are constantly remarking on how happy he is and how well behaved he is. Trust me, he is a puppy and has his moments but I love his puppiness.

My opinion on dog training is just plain simple common sense. I use positive training methods, reward for wanted behavior and no reward for unwanted behavior. Consistency is the key. The dog will learn through repetition. As I stated earlier, I do not use physical corrections in teaching a behavior. Punishment (in a mild form) only happens when the dog knows the behavior and blatantly defies me. I do not use choke collars, prong collars, or electric collars.

Each person has to do what they feel is right for their dog, however, I think we can all agree that Stephen King's method is not right for ANY ANYTHING! I hope he has never had children.

I just had to put my two cents in here.