If you’re looking at our website you’re probably shopping around and researching options for trainers.  We want you and your dog to succeed by using the right trainer and training methods.  Unfortunately the dog training industry isn’t regulated and many people are calling themselves trainers with no schooling or certification.  When looking for a trainer make sure they only use fear free methods and never use aversives such as prong collars, shock collars or “e-collars”.  You will never find an educated trainer using these methods in the name of teaching.  Teaching involves being able to understand your dog’s body language, showing your dog how to achieve the behavior you’re looking for and telling them what they did correct, not punishing them for incorrect responses.  When a person is taught how to read canine body language and how dogs learn they are able to visibly see the damage done by these outdated methods.  Any person who tells you that an e-collar, shock collar or prong collar doesn’t hurt or that some dogs or behaviors require these methods is 100% incorrect and should be avoided at all costs.  These methods seem to provide what appears to be quick results but in fact what you are seeing as results is your dog losing the ability to express emotions.  These methods have been scientifically proven to drastically increase aggression once the dog is unable to handle masking their emotional responses, typically by being pushed past their behavior threshold so far that the reaction seems more severe than the behavior was previously before punishment based training was started.

 

Although there was talk about Pennsylvania regulating the training field like some other states have done that is not the case yet.  We look forward to the day when only educated people can call themselves trainers and hope that the CCPDT changes their own stance on the ethics of the use or aversives by trainers and behaviorists certified through what is currently the most well known and recommended certification program.