I am a clicker trainer at a big box petstore (twelve years with this particular company). I stand by my rule of if it is "metal" it stays out of my ring. I go out of my way to assist my clients in finding the best positive route to achieve their goals with their dogs. I teach private lessons as well, again using clicker and shaping to change more serious behavioral problems, with great success rates. Here's my moral compass problem... I stopped by my store to check on things and grab messages after a long earned vacation, I found a private trainer working with her client around the store. We seem to get a lot of trainers using our store as their training setting (not really a big problem as long as .they do not disturb our ongoing students). She had a young bulldog (mix) on a pinch collar, that was probably too large for him. As she approached me and my dog (we were out of uniform), she asked me if my dog was friendly, while simulatanously correcting the bulldog so hard it yelped. She paused long enough to smile at the dog's owner and say " that was a good one". The dog's owner had the most sadistic smile, agreed and asked in the dog should be corrected again. I had to force a smile, tell them my dog was in fact not friendly, while trying to dodge the bulldog. My moral compass wanted to point out that if your going to use a pinch collar, it should be properly fitted, and is meant to be self correcting, not a dog-hanging device, but I really wanted to appear to be more professional than this lot so I bit my tongue. I have never used a pinch collar on my own or any client dog, nor will I ever... but I did learn years ago about proper fit from a vendor who had to bring in a stuffed animal to demo proper collar fit. I did have managment ask her to leave and not return (using the non-compete policy we have)... moral compass gone bad! My moral compass had way more to say to them, but my need for professionalism outweighed my compass
