Anonymous wrote:I'm a dog trainer who uses primarily positive reinforcement. If I do decide to use a prong collar- which is rare- it's only after I have tried more humane methods without success, assessed the dog to make sure it can handle a prong collar, and spoken with the owners extensively.
Keep in mind that prong/e collar/choke chain training was developed for military and police dogs who were bred to be very resilient. The average housedog often can't handle it. I specialize in dogs with extreme anxiety and aggression, and I see tons of dogs who developed these problems because of prong/e collar use. One of the saddest cases was a sweet dog who was in developed constant terror after a board & train where the trainer used all e collar training. The poor dog was such a mess afterwards that he had to be euthanized because of his quality of life. He wasn't aggressive, but lived in constant terror.
The most important thing is to find a trainer who is skilled and knowledgeable. Most trainers aren't. Many of the larger companies hire people with no experience, give them a few hours of instruction, then let them train dogs (unskilled workers are a lot cheaper than seasoned trainers. They can pay them $12/hour rather than the $60-100/hour real trainers get). Neither a collar nor treats will work in the hands of someone who doesn't know what they are doing. I recommend thougouhly interviewing all candidates, sitting in on classes, seeing their facilities, asking for references, etc.
Question- does this sound like good advice to keep a puppy alternating crate and ex-pen only (aside from outside bathroom breaks) to help train it? This was the advice from our trainer and now I'm concerned if we keep pup in either of these two locations how will it become acclimated to normal life in the rest of the house? The trainer is saying that we are setting puppy up for success by it not learning bad habits and that we have no way to reinforce "no" when or if the puppy has unacceptable behavior.
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