Thread: Advice for a novice and his friend

Originally Posted by Penny's walker

Thanks for your input.
So in 20 years of training you have never done kiwi aversion which I understand involves shock collars?
Very hard to find any useful help for gundog training in Dunedin hence the questions and admission of been novice

No, I have worked with too many dogs virtually psychologically destroyed by electricity to ever allow a dog to exposed to it, certainly not deliberately and have very strong methodology for dealing with dogs having a traumatic encounter with electric fencing etc. I would never put a dog through the Kiwi Aversion program and have hunted Deer in areas outside of this requirement as a result, if it became mandatory to do so in all areas I would go back to deer stalking without the aid of a dog.

My initial comments were direct, and deliberately so, to try and get you off the line of thinking you were/are on. It's not just Dunedin that is lacking in good info on training dogs, it's most of the world... the business of animal companions has become so huge it is now tainted with commercial fads and BS beyond comprehension. $400,000,000 spent in New Zealand annually on dog treats alone! Their use has nothing to do with effectiveness but with consumerism!

My training methodology is different to anyone else's I know, but it works. I have great dogs, they don't get shocked, treated, given a hiding, they think the sun shines out of my back passage and I think they are pretty bloody special too and, while being humble, I have had some dogs that are still, to this day, revered in gundog circles. This is openly acknowledged by various governmental service dog sectors.

I would feel as if I had failed if the day comes when I need an external device to get a dogs attention. Some days I think my dogs pay me too much attention! I recommend getting the last three back issues of Rod and Rifle Magazine and subscribe for the next six. I am their gundog columnist and that series will walk you through my methodology from beginning to end... no e-collars, no shocks, no vibration, no treats, no hidings... just you and your dog working together... it's so bloody easy... but it doesn't make money for Garmin, Tux or any of the conglomerates involved in BSing the public.