“Are you using any tools in your training?”
That was the question that started my day.
It’s not the first time I’ve heard this, and I figured it was time to make a post about these mysterious, often debate-provoking “tools” that pet owners and dog trainers talk about.
Specifically, when someone says “tools,” they’re usually referring—ranked from “nastiest” to “gentlest”—to prong and e-collars, choke chains and slip collars, and Starmark and martingale collars.
I always answer honestly: I use whatever tools are necessary for a specific dog.
But that doesn’t mean I’m always going to throw a prong collar on an aggressive dog or always put a tiny, shivering, insecure dog into a “gentle” harness.
It doesn’t mean I’ll use any of these tools at all.
In fact, you don’t *need* tools to train a dog.
A confident presence, a firm understanding of the end goal, and excellent timing of rewards and corrections can achieve the same results.
But the people who come to me for help usually lack all of these things—and those qualities take time and experience to build.
The tools are a stand-in for this lack of experience and knowledge.
How exactly do I use tools? It depends.
I once used an e-collar to teach recall to a profoundly deaf dog.
It lived on a large property, couldn’t respond to verbal commands, and had a tendency to bolt when frightened. It almost got hit by a car—twice. The owners had to learn how to communicate with their dog, or it would have died.
I taught the dog to associate short, low-stimulation signals with “come.”
On multiple occasions, I’ve used prong collars on timid, fearful dogs who had mastered the art of escaping from every collar and harness. These dogs learned that escaping was no longer an option—and more importantly, that nothing bad happened if they simply followed their owner. Many of these dogs became noticeably more confident and happier.
I’ve also used prong collars on reactive dogs who had learned that barking and lunging made the scary things go away.
With guidance, they realized there was nothing dangerous about those triggers—and that staying close to their human would always be safe.
I’ve used e-collars to train dogs for people with physical disabilities and for elderly owners of large-breed dogs.
I’ve helped save at least fifteen dogs from being rehomed or euthanized by teaching their owners to establish healthy boundaries—often using a prong or e-collar—because boundaries were exactly what these dogs needed.
Yes, one could argue that improper use of these tools can make behavioral issues worse.
But what’s often missed is this: the dogs weren’t in those mental states because of tool misuse. They got there due to a “no corrections” mindset, a poor understanding of positive reinforcement, and an inability to recognize what actually needed to be rewarded.
So, are dog training “tools” bad?
Decide for yourself—but be willing to think beyond “good” and “bad” labels.
Because very little in this life is black or white.