There is some truth to this.
I do give a lot of credit to the positive reinforcement (P+) folks as much if their training has crossed over to what you and I train for and do.
There ARE a lot of dogs that people have as pets that do very well on P+ only handling.
While I DO use prong collar and e collar in training I find that most of the training, especially at the start, is P+. Puppy training/teaching is with food and that segues to ball reward. Protection training the bite is the reward and a good dog seeks that reward.
As the dog's training progresses corrections become pretty infrequent. It must evolve this way as there are neither corrections or rewards (especially in tracking and obedience) on the trial field!!
No one should malign training tools that work well and leave intact the goal of a happy, well trained dog. Neither side should whole heartedly throw out the tools another uses be it food and a clicker or an e collar. The only caveat is to learn how to use these tools effectively and a personal choice not to use a tool is just that; a personal choice.
The level and intensity of training we seek heading toward a goal of trialing in IGP , PSA, AS, Ring Sport etc. is not generally required for the pets people keep. A lot of pet dogs would never be able to do these sports.
If a pet dog can be trained with only P+, then that is OK. I will tender that in some instances a lot could be accomplished with a
clear correction BUT if the owner wishes to spend more time using another method it is their dog and their choice. I use all the tools but I don't use all the tools on every dog.
I leave with this warning:
Handler Aggression or Climbing the Leash is typically due to a bad read on the dog by the handler an lack of clarirty. If you own a strong dog he/she may have an "opinion" about obedience in protection. That opinion needs to be understood and acknowledged without loss of obedience. Most leash climbing is due to bad communication between handler and dog. You can see it coming. Change the conversation. Ask a question the dog can easily answer and reward the answer (bite or ball depending on what you are doing).
Leash climbing in a trial will get a DQ
If you get a chance BigDog85, shoot me a PM (you have turned this off in your profile). I would be interested in "talking" with you further..
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