We are certified professional dog trainers who train under the humane hierarchy, we are not advocates of balanced training.
Balanced training uses positive AND punishing techniques. A balanced trainer might use treats to reward a dog when teaching loose-leash walking (positive reinforcement), but they also might use a choke chain and resort to correcting when the dog pulls by tightening the choke (positive punishment). Please be aware that a trainer jerking on a dogs collar can collapse a trachea. We have clients who’s dogs have suffered this consequence from a previous balanced/aversive trainer. Don’t put your dog at risk!
Balanced trainers might use a variety of tools with their canine students, from those in the positive reinforcement sector like clickers and body harnesses, to aversive devices like choke, prong, and shock collars; water bottles; or shaker cans.
The science leaves little doubt as to which training methodology is superior. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) makes clear that “reward-based learning offers the most advantages and least harm to the learner’s welfare.” It states that “reward-based training methods have been shown to be more effective than aversive methods. Multiple survey studies have shown higher obedience in dogs trained with reward-based methods.”
Please contact us at 828-507-3020 for more information.
Now And Zen Dog Training 