"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi.

MYTH #1 -- You need to use a choke collar to leash train your dog. This is just not true and choke collars should only be used by those experienced in their use if at all. Choke collars do exactly what they say -- they cut off your dog's air supply! Needless to say, it's a health hazard and you can do serious damage to your dog's esophagus!

MYTH #2 -- You need a prong (spike) collar to train "tough" dogs. This is not true just like myth #1 is not true. Prong collars have spikes that jab into your poor dog's neck every time the leash is jerked. The truth is that most people do NOT need to discipline their dogs in this aggressive way! Only experienced dog-training professionals should be using prong collars, and they know the special situations that call for it. This collar should NEVER be used by the average dog owner.

MYTH #3 -- You need an electronic shock collar to stop your dog's barking. No feeling person should imagine that this modern convenience is a humane act, and in truth it is just not necessary. It's EASY to stop a dog's barking without using something as inhumane as SHOCKING!

Studies show shock collars work on only a small percentage of dogs and it teaches the dog to be afraid of the collar! What is worse, you are creating tremendous stress and most likely serious damage to your dog's immune system!

MYTH #4 -- You need to dominate your dog by using physical force (smacking, hitting, and choking). Your dog needs to view you and the family members as the "pack leader". But this respect is not accomplished or earned by beating your dog!!!!! In the wild, a pack leader doesn't suddenly overreact and beat its pack members into the ground.

A pack leader is calm, consistent, and fair. Sure you can beat a dog into obedience. You can smack it, yell at it, and shock it to force it to obey your every command, but this abuse will not gain your dog’s respect -- it'll just make your dog fearful of you and have to suffer a life of anxiety! It won't love you... and you will NOT have earned its unwavering loyalty. Your dog will be afraid of you, cower and grovel submissively every time you make a fast move in its direction and will always be looking for a way to escape your company.

Is THIS the kind of relationship you want with your dog? Of course not...

MYTH #5 -- You need to YELL at your dog, so it perceives you as tough. Yelling accomplishes little with people and even less with dogs that do not speak your language. To a dog yelling sounds like frantic barking -- which the dog will interpret as something is wrong! Good trainers can easily control their dogs with a quiet whisper, body language and hand signals.... And, of course, there are other less than intelligent and inappropriate training recommendations like throwing bottles filled with rocks at your dog, putting your dog on prozac, isolating it from the family, and tons more horrible actions directed at dogs in the name of discipline and training.

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