I sent a letter to a dominance style trainer in the northeast US today. I had seen a video of his on a Facebook group devoted to positive training recently. Apparently he has some radio show or something where he presumably offers old school dog training advice that doesn’t acknowledge that a dog has a brain. You guys know how much I dislike prong collars and shock collars. As much as I hate them, I do not judge individuals who use them. I would rather teach by example than by lecturing. I save my real criticism for the “professionals” who recommend this shallow from of training to the general public. They are the the worst thing facing dog training today. I like to think of myself as a good communicator, but guys like this test me more than I can tell you.
Remember, prong collars and shock collars are nothing more than the product of frustrated trainers who cannot seem to take the time to achieve meaningful communication with a dog during training. Their patience runs out. When your patience runs out, you’ve lost all credibility as a professional. I told him he had no business being in the same room with a client’s dog. I also went on to say that if I saw him jerking a dog around on youtube again I’d shine a spotlight on his unethical behavior. Furthermore, and this is what really gets me, all of his youtube videos have ratings and comments disabled. He can dish out this horrible advice but can’t take the heat of reading criticism. These types will yank a dog around during training, acting all big, tough and “dominant”, but cannot seem to tolerate someone who might call them out.
Guys, if something strikes you as shady, wrong, unethical, unnecessary, or overkill, it’s likely not the best way forward. True, meaningful communication does not happen through domination. Be bigger than this. You, the consumers, are the only ones who can really end these types of barbaric training practices. If any trainer encourages you to use a metal collar or a shock collar, please do not give them your money.
Thank you.
-Zak George
Remember, prong collars and shock collars are nothing more than the product of frustrated trainers who cannot seem to take the time to achieve meaningful communication with a dog during training. Their patience runs out. When your patience runs out, you’ve lost all credibility as a professional. I told him he had no business being in the same room with a client’s dog. I also went on to say that if I saw him jerking a dog around on youtube again I’d shine a spotlight on his unethical behavior. Furthermore, and this is what really gets me, all of his youtube videos have ratings and comments disabled. He can dish out this horrible advice but can’t take the heat of reading criticism. These types will yank a dog around during training, acting all big, tough and “dominant”, but cannot seem to tolerate someone who might call them out.
Guys, if something strikes you as shady, wrong, unethical, unnecessary, or overkill, it’s likely not the best way forward. True, meaningful communication does not happen through domination. Be bigger than this. You, the consumers, are the only ones who can really end these types of barbaric training practices. If any trainer encourages you to use a metal collar or a shock collar, please do not give them your money.
Thank you.
-Zak George
https://www.facebook.com/TheZakGeorge
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