Using remote training collars as part of a basic obedience class

I am truly always happy to answer questions as long as they are posed in the context of someone wanting to hear (not necessarily need to agree with) my answer. Your use of the word “threat” does make me skeptical about sincerity…I don’t threaten dogs, nor do I believe any of the dogs in my class feel they are under “threat” If they did you would see it visible in the video. And if that were visible you would not say that exact results could be obtained in other ways. If it were visible that they dog’s felt “threatened” it would be quite easy to rebute my claims that the e-collar is humane and can be used in a very limited stress way.

As to your question…I personally have not seen the same result achieved in other ways. And I say that meaning lets compare apples to apples. These are all just average pet owners, they have real jobs and real lives that much of their time is devoted to. They love their dogs, but are in no way fulltime or volunteer trainers. These are people in a BASIC obedience class. These results are happening in a room full of dogs, not screened with only the Good dogs allowed. This is just who showed up for class that night. Some of the dogs have only 4 weeks (4 lessons) of training. AND most importantly these exact results are reproducable in the outside, uncontrolled environments. The only reason this clip was made indoors is because it was winter here at the time and we do our classes inside. I will be showing more clips of the outside work in coming months.

IF it is true that these EXACT results can be achieved why then is no one is showing it? Not one dog doing cool stuff, not a few trainers dogs in a room..but a room full of average folks with very little time under their belt getting all the dogs in the room to do this?
Fwiw, I am in no way advocating that anyone must train this way. My entire purpose for this site is to stem the prejudice and outright lies that exisit surrounding remote collars. There are those who have notions that are simply not true that want to ban this tool and it is utterly outrageous because it is based on false information. I also want to be very clear that I understand that people can misuse this tool. HOWEVER, that is not a justified reason for banning it. People are capable of misusing anything…what we need in this profession is MASSIVE education about all options of training. There is an assumption that the average owner is too dumb to be trusted to make decisions or has poor timing or whatever………I believe that is all hogwash and I think professionals owe it to the dog owners to understand all forms of training. Even though I do not highlight the other training I do (it is not the intetion of this site) I fully understand and appreciate clickers, all sorts of training aids, I use tons of food etc. I do not believe in banning anything other than ignorance. Education opens minds, which opens understanding, which leads to people making informed choices, which ultimately should lead to more dog’s getting trained and less ending up in the shelters or euthanized.
I appreciate you taking the time to check out the site and to send in your question! I hope we can continue to dialogue.

Comments

3 comments

Leigh says:

April 2, 2011 at 5:03 pm

My question is, and I would truly like an answer if you care to do so, why you even need the electronics, when the exact same level of training can be done without the threat of shock, stimulation, tapping, or whatever you choose to call it? Thank you.

- Robin says:
  
  April 2, 2011 at 6:06 pm
  
  I am truly always happy to answer questions as long as they are posed in the context of someone wanting to hear (not necessarily need to agree with) my answer. Your use of the word “threat” does make me skeptical about sincerity…I don’t threaten dogs, nor do I believe any of the dogs in my class feel they are under “threat” If they did you would see it visible in the video. And if that were visible you would not say that exact results could be obtained in other ways. If it were visible that they dog’s felt “threatened” it would be quite easy to rebute my claims that the e-collar is humane and can be used in a very limited stress way.
  
  As to your question…I personally have not seen the same result achieved in other ways. And I say that meaning lets compare apples to apples. These are all just average pet owners, they have real jobs and real lives that much of their time is devoted to. They love their dogs, but are in no way fulltime or volunteer trainers. These are people in a BASIC obedience class. These results are happening in a room full of dogs, not screened with only the Good dogs allowed. This is just who showed up for class that night. Some of the dogs have only 4 weeks (4 lessons) of training. AND most importantly these exact results are reproducable in the outside, uncontrolled environments. The only reason this clip was made indoors is because it was winter here at the time and we do our classes inside. I will be showing more clips of the outside work in coming months.
  
  IF it is true that these EXACT results can be achieved why then is no one is showing it? Not one dog doing cool stuff, not a few trainers dogs in a room..but a room full of average folks with very little time under their belt getting all the dogs in the room to do this?
  Fwiw, I am in no way advocating that anyone must train this way. My entire purpose for this site is to stem the prejudice and outright lies that exisit surrounding remote collars. There are those who have notions that are simply not true that want to ban this tool and it is utterly outrageous because it is based on false information. I also want to be very clear that I understand that people can misuse this tool. HOWEVER, that is not a justified reason for banning it. People are capable of misusing anything…what we need in this profession is MASSIVE education about all options of training. There is an assumption that the average owner is too dumb to be trusted to make decisions or has poor timing or whatever………I believe that is all hogwash and I think professionals owe it to the dog owners to understand all forms of training. Even though I do not highlight the other training I do (it is not the intetion of this site) I fully understand and appreciate clickers, all sorts of training aids, I use tons of food etc. I do not believe in banning anything other than ignorance. Education opens minds, which opens understanding, which leads to people making informed choices, which ultimately should lead to more dog’s getting trained and less ending up in the shelters or euthanized.
  I appreciate you taking the time to check out the site and to send in your question! I hope we can continue to dialogue.
  
Michael Burkey says:

February 25, 2011 at 8:30 pm

Robin, this is great for folks to see; dogs and owners having fun while utilizing remote collar training. And, there is so much movement and activity going on and yet the dogs are all attuned to their owners instead of playing with each other or becoming reactive due to all the activity. You won’t find that in a traditional non remote collar class! Excellent video! Thanks for posting it!

Using remote training collars as part of a basic obedience class

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