PetSmart training....
We took classes at PetSmart (So. San Francisco) recently for our new
Chinese Crested (TOY DOG) They have changed their philosophy over to
gentle training. They now do not allow choker collars in the class at
all and use only treats and encouragement to train with (plus lots of
practice).
Personally, I prefer the gentle method very much (choker collars have
always made me uncomfortable)..however, they DID mention that if you
have a large dog that is hard to control, a choker collar will be needed
at some point early on.
We trained our (my hubby's) BERNER (now 7 years old) at the SPCA and
they used the choker collar method and lots of praise and treats. We
found that with our berner, only loving happy praise was ALL he needed
and my hubby had him trained with hand signals in no time.
Now.. my TERRIER (mini schnauzer) is stubborn and persistent. A choker
collar was INDEED needed to get our messages across in the beginning.
However, as time went on (he's 11 years old now) I found that simply
lowering my voice and commanding him sternly worked best. He seems to
realize that when I lower my voice- I "mean it"... otherwise he will
decide on his own whether he wants to obey or not. He's a "thinker".
With him I finally started using a harness on a extension leash and he
and I have developed a great clicking and tension communication with the
leash (it's one of those extension ones that goes up to 16 feet).
ANYWAY.. I guess my point is... your style of training depends solely on
the breed you have and your relationship with him/her. I suggest trying
various methods and use the one that works the best and easiest.
As for treats for training.. my terrier and toy dog will do anything for
treats.... however my hubby's berner only wants love love love and
praise to obey.
Hope this helped some.. lori
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