A Head's Up.

In the classifieds of the Herald Dispatch, there is an ad for basic obedience classes that will be held in Milton, WV. I called the number to get some information on the person that is doing the training. She said she teaches in Jackson Cty. WV and is certified to train people for the Canine Good Citizen test, or CGC as it is known.

I asked the one question that I feel is pertinent. Do you allow the use of pinch collars? Her answer was "Yes." Of course, she went on to say that she doesn't allow them unsupervised. I am sorry, but using a pinch collar is not necessary. They are cruel and unnecessary. Any trainer that uses a pinch collar, uses them because they use pain to get the dog to do the command quicker, thus the faster the dog is trained, the more money they can make with more dogs.

I call it "assembly line" training. I have post on basic obedience commands that talks about this. She had the nerve to ask me if I was alright, because I sounded strange because of the questions I was asking. She also said I was not the first call she had asking her questions about her credentials. This put a red flag up in my head.

If you are thinking of putting your dog in a class, call the facility and ask if you can come and view a class that is currently going on. If you like what you see, then make arrangements to have your dog put in a class with that trainer. Pain is not the way to train!

*****On the subject of pinch or prong collars, the statements made by me are from experience in working and training dogs for many years. I AM NOT a certified trainer and take no money for training any one's dog, but know that this type of collar, from my experience , is unnecessary. With the right approach, any dog, no matter how thick skinned or coated, will work for you without using this type of training device.*****