Training - The Perfect Dog

[tmbroo]

So I am exploring ideas of training my 4 month old Yorkie. I came across the "Dog Father" Don Sullivan that raves he is the best. I am a bit hesitant because the training consists of using a behavioral collar. Being a new Yorkie Mom I am very leery of everything. I know I probably need to lighten up a bit but just can't help to be so overprotective, especially when I have been told that using a harness is best for the Yorkie breed because of the risk of a collapsed trachea. I love him more and more everyday but he does need some discipline.


Have any of you used the "perfect dog" training by Don Sullivan? If so, did you like it? Did it work?

[thelittleyorkie]

Originally Posted by tmbroo

So I am exploring ideas of training my 4 month old Yorkie. I came across the "Dog Father" Don Sullivan that raves he is the best. I am a bit hesitant because the training consists of using a behavioral collar. Being a new Yorkie Mom I am very leery of everything. I know I probably need to lighten up a bit but just can't help to be so overprotective, especially when I have been told that using a harness is best for the Yorkie breed because of the risk of a collapsed trachea. I love him more and more everyday but he does need some discipline.


Have any of you used the "perfect dog" training by Don Sullivan? If so, did you like it? Did it work?

Some things I found on the 'Net:

Don Sullivan's Secrets to Training the Perfect Dog (www.theperfectdog.com) - Fraud, Review 158971 | Complaints Board

Dogwise Forums - a real Don Sullivan review! My thoughts on other TV trainers too

Some key quotes:
"What I found deceiving about the Don sullivan system is that while he pitched his collar and leashes non-stop...he rarely used them himself! In most of his DVD he was using a choke or pinch collar! He was even using E-collar in some parts. Very deceiving and disappointing. "

"Overall the DVDs are okay if you are just looking to teach a dog some basic commands. The rope and collar on the other hand are complete garbage! If they sold the DVDs alone I would say they are worth paying for ($20-30 max). One would be better off buying the DVDs separately and then heading to the hardware store for some rope and a prong collar. "

"The freedom training lines are worthless. DS seems to think that you can only have success using these lines. He is a good sales man and tries to pitch you these collars and lines. I will tell you differently. Save yourself the money, go to the hardware store and buy some rope."

"Personally I thought the "system" was a huge rip off! The only part of it that is worth any money is the DVDs. The command collar (for lack of a better term) is a [[CENSORED]]! Not only that, but could easily break, proving to be dangerous to the untrained dog and dog owner. I can see someone using this collar and easily losing control of their dog as the dog breaks free from the collar!"

"The information on the DVDs was great. He shows how to execute commands and addresses many of the "what ifs" that a person with an untrained dog may have. I do agree with him on a lot of things he had to say. He did shed some light on other topics including dog parks, and how to train a dog to retrieve. "

" What I don't agree with him on is the premises of his training methods. He talked briefly on his beliefs about dogs and he made it sound as if he believed that all dogs by their very nature are "bad"."

" I do not subscribe to the line of thinking that "all dogs want to please. We just need to show them how""


Amazon ---- this is an Amazon link...read the 78 Customer Reviews at the bottom.

[yorkiemini]

My opinion based on many years of dog training:

I would run the other direction from any trainer who insisted on behavior type collars. My Cali has gone through tons of training (as did my previous dogs) and always only wore a harness. Plus, I am a positive reinforcement proponent so anyone who uses a behavior collar would not fit my training criteria/philosophy.

Protect your baby!

[thelittleyorkie]

Originally Posted by yorkiemini

My opinion based on many years of dog training:

I would run the other direction from any trainer who insisted on behavior type collars. My Cali has gone through tons of training (as did my previous dogs) and always only wore a harness. Plus, I am a positive reinforcement proponent so anyone who uses a behavior collar would not fit my training criteria/philosophy.

Protect your baby!

From reading the Amazon reviews, a lot of them say that this guy uses a very aggressive method. He teaches YANKING on a dog's leash when being disobedient, and when they don't cooperate, he yanks HARDER AND HARDER. He likes to jerk at the chains/leashes.

An Amazon reviewer said: "He is an advocate of the prong collar to an extent but mostly he just pushes his specially made collar on you throughout the entire video. Also if you watch his video you will see he doesn't even use his collars, he uses a choke chain. He does address this though, saying that he supposedly hadn't invented his collar when he originally shot the training segments. He believes regular flat collars cause more throat damage due to people letting them lunge and it's best to use a corrective collar early."

Another one says: "Basically you are using the physical correction of yanking on the plastic pinch collar harder and harder until the dog complies with your commands. Aside from this yanking he also recommends upper cutting the dog under the chin to make it learn the drop it command and to knee it in the chest to correct unwanted jumping. Or hitting the dog in the chest to teach it boundary training. This training is the equivalent of me trying to teach you to speak a foreign language and every time you mispronounce a word I will punch you. And I will continue to punch you harder and harder until you get it correct and only then will I stop hitting you."

Kneeing in the chest? prong collars? correction collars? yanking? jerking? upper cutting? ... this guy is a maniac! These will only teach a dog to be submissive or overly aggressive in the future.
AVOID AVOID AVOID

[smelcerk]

I have never heard of him or his approach but just read the reviews above and it makes my stomach feel sick. I could never use one of those collars. I am definitely a proponent of positive reinforcement for shaping the good behavior we want. I was the same way with my children. I feel that punishment creates fear and sneaky behavior and that was not something I ever wanted from my kids or my dogs.

[Lovetodream88]

Positive training is the only way to go in my opinion.

[Britster]

Please watch some of these trainers:

Zak George's Dog Training rEvolution - YouTube
kikopup - YouTube
Training Positive - YouTube

[Rachael1983]

I believe you should do what's best for you and your household. Positive reinforcement works with many dogs especially if they are food or toy driven. One of my yorkies needed very little training and he didn't use treats or toys for incentive. He just was easy.
My current yorkie needs training and I use treat training.

Other dogs I've owned/trained needed behavioral techniques such as shock and choke collars. All ended up being very well trained. So it depends on the dog and yourself.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Rachael1983

I believe you should do what's best for you and your household. Positive reinforcement works with many dogs especially if they are food or toy driven. One of my yorkies needed very little training and he didn't use treats or toys for incentive. He just was easy.
My current yorkie needs training and I use treat training.

Other dogs I've owned/trained needed behavioral techniques such as shock and choke collars. All ended up being very well trained. So it depends on the dog and yourself.

I don't think any dog needs to be hurt to be trained especially not a small dog!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Rachael1983

I believe you should do what's best for you and your household. Positive reinforcement works with many dogs especially if they are food or toy driven. One of my yorkies needed very little training and he didn't use treats or toys for incentive. He just was easy.
My current yorkie needs training and I use treat training.

Other dogs I've owned/trained needed behavioral techniques such as shock and choke collars. All ended up being very well trained. So it depends on the dog and yourself.

I am not 1000% against shock collars IF used correctly and with the right person and training. I do not believe the general public should have access to them. I have some idiots that have no idea what they're doing with shock collars. I think choke collars are a waste, and would sooner use a prong collar (they are actually safer).

But in general, I do believe any dog under 16lbs needs these tools to have a properly behaved dog.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by yorkiemini

My opinion based on many years of dog training:

I would run the other direction from any trainer who insisted on behavior type collars. My Cali has gone through tons of training (as did my previous dogs) and always only wore a harness. Plus, I am a positive reinforcement proponent so anyone who uses a behavior collar would not fit my training criteria/philosophy.

Protect your baby!

I would suggest you read a book called The Loved Dog by Tamar Geller...she is Oprah's trainer and we all know how much she loves and treasure her fur babies. The book is amazing and comes from a trainer who has a deep love for dogs and a very deep understanding of a dog's mind.

[embgirl]

I'd never use those behavioral collars on Giggy!

[tmbroo]

Oh my goodness gracious thank you, thank you, thank you! I WILL NOT be using Don Sullivan's anything!


I could never imagine yanking a roped collar on my sweet Yorkie! NOT GONNA HAPPEN!


Thank you for all your input and replies. I am loving some Yorkie Talk!

[yorkietalkjilly]

You don't need training aversives - they shut down some very anxious dogs and make others neurotic, while training with positive reinforcement works much better and you wind up with a happy, feisty, well-behaved dog with whom you've forged a lifelong, loving bond. Geller's book will show you the basics, go into some details, whys and wherefores, but you can read about positive reinforcement and learn a great deal of how to train using it online.