Help Us Shed Light on the Benefits of eCollars!

At Sit Means Sit, ecollar training is an integral part of our Colorado dog training program. We use these devices to teach dogs of all ages and sizes how to master obedience skills. If you have experienced Sit Means Sit training first hand, you understand that ecollar training is both effective and humane. This is precisely why we are calling on you for help!

Help Protect the Future of Dog Training in Colorado!

There is a meeting scheduled this Friday to encourage local government officials to deem the Colorado dog training industry as “force free.” Meaning it will be illegal to use training methods that include ecollars, chains, prong collars and other correction tools. At Sit Means Sit, we believe in a balanced dog training methodology which includes the use of ecollars. We have successfully helped thousands of dogs and their families master dog training skills as a result. This new legislation would impact trainers as well as dog owners.

We are urging you to voice your opinion on the topic. Tell local officials that you do not want to see this regulation put into place!  We are collecting as many letters as we can between now and tomorrow afternoon. If you would like to share your thoughts, we encourage you to submit a letter to us. We will be compiling all communications we receive and delivering them in Friday’s meeting.

Please address your letter to: PACFA and Department of Agriculture and email it to us. We will see that your letter is delivered in Friday’s meeting.

You are also encouraged to attend the public PACFA meeting:

Friday, May 19

12:00 pm

305 Interlocken Parkway in Broomfield, CO.

Feel free to make yours as brief or detailed as possible. If you agree that the government should not place regulations such as these on the dog training industry, we urge you to speak out now!

Here is an example letter.

To Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA) and Colorado Department of Agriculture,

It has come to my attention that a group seeking state regulation of the industry of dog training will be in attendance at your public meeting on Friday, May 19, 2017 and that the goal of this group is to establish regulation based on “force-free” training which would include the prohibition and banning of any tools with fall outside the realm of “force free.”

I write to you today not as a professional dog trainer, but as an individual who has dedicated her life to the betterment and welfare of animals and feels that such a move by either the state or individual cities and counties in Colorado would have grave results on dog trainers, pet owners, animal care professionals and most importantly, the dog population as a whole.

A brief background on me…I have spent the better part of the last 25 years working in an animal-related field. During and after college (where I studied animal behavior and learning extensively as part of my Psychology minor) I worked for several years at a large Denver-area veterinary hospital including the role of Practice Manager. Additionally, I worked for a national animal welfare organization, the American Humane Association, where I worked closely with shelter staff across the country and assisted in our animal cruelty and disaster response teams. I have volunteered at the Dumb Friends League and Maxfund as a dog walker, adoption assistant, and behavior consultant. I also had my own pet sitting business for many years. Most recently I co-managed an animal health foundation where I worked with veterinary specialists from all over the world. I now work in the pet retail industry and serve as a board member, evaluator and foster home for North American Dutch Shepherd Rescue.

In my personal life, I train and compete in several sports with my dogs including Mondioring, agility, Rally Obedience, and dock diving. We also play around with nose work, lure coursing and Barn Hunt. I spend an enormous amount of time and money honing my skills as a handler and trainer and I have been blessed to work with and learn from some of the best dog trainers in the world. My approach to training is what is often referred to as “balanced,” meaning that all four quadrants of learning are available for use: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. Overall, my training is based on relationship-building and having a reward-based approach while always remembering to train the dog in front of me.

This letter does not serve to debate the different methodologies of dog training but I do strongly believe that while dog training is firmly rooted in science, it is also an art that requires a creative and careful approach. As I said above, you must always train the dog in front of you and by removing all but one quadrant of learning theory will strip away the ability to rehabilitate and help thousands of dogs who will not respond to a “force-free” positive-only approach. Over the years, I have trained and handled countless dogs who would not be alive today without a balanced approach. My own breed of choice is one that requires structure, an understanding of boundaries, a high level of impulse control and obedience, and fair corrections when needed. Being heavily involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of the breed, my colleagues and I have seen an alarming increase in dogs surrendered to shelters or rescue who have not had any behavior control or guidance. These dogs need intense rehabilitation to become adoptable and if we were to be restricted to a force-free approach most of these dogs would not survive.

The subject of regulating dog training is tricky…while I often cringe at the ease in which people can become dog trainers, I do not know how the industry would be objectively regulated or licensed. The efforts of the group here in Colorado illustrate that point brilliantly as they not only wish to regulate the industry, but wish to do so under their own personal agendas and beliefs by banning tools they don’t agree with as well as any training method that is not positive-only. Some issues that come to mind beyond the overall impact stated above include:

• Financial: who would pay for such a regulatory program/process? Most state/city/county budgets are already strained without such an additional burden. Additionally, dog trainers are small businesses and the implementation of licensing fees and educational requirements would put many out of business.
• Objectivity: Who decides what is “force-free?” How do you control the ripple effect? Will it get to a point where using a negative verbal marker word such as “No,” is a violation?
• Public Safety: Without the use of all four quadrants, many pet owners will be unable to safely control their dogs. This may include senior and physically challenged populations. Also, to reinforce a previous point, many rescues and shelters will now be unable to safely rehabilitate dogs for adoption.
• Redundancy: Any type of dog training tool may be misused or serve as a form of “abuse.” Flat collars can cause extensive trachea damage, head halters (Gentle Leader type, etc) can cause neck and spinal injuries, and harnesses designed to discourage pulling can cause long term structural and soft tissue injuries. The Animal Welfare Act serves to protect all animal populations from abuse and neglect so implementing another regulatory agency/process to oversee dog training and its tools is redundant and unnecessary. Any trainer, force-free or not, who violates the AWA can be already investigated by the proper authorities.

In closing, all professional and private dog trainers seek the same thing…we all wish for happy, well-balanced, safe dogs who are free from abuse and neglect. Efforts by such groups to impose such one-sided regulation serve only to further divide the dog training world which inevitably hurts the dogs the most. I hope that PACFA and all Colorado government entities take my letter and others to heart when considering this matter.

Thank you for your time