No question they are great people and bred some incredible dogs, but I have experienced and heard about some horror stories. Steve is an incredible trainer, but only trains one way. If your dog needs a softer touch Steve isn't the guy. He is quick to shock your dog. I understand why he does this, but some dogs need more attention rather than being ground down.

My suggestion would be to talk to several trainers. See if they use the collar or not. I would be looking for one that doesn't use it. If used improperly, and too much, it will ruin an otherwise fine retriever.

Also, talk to the trainers and see how much emphasis they put on field trials vs. hunting. Its very similar, but not the same.

Its 12 weeks old - WOW, I don't envy you. Finally both of mine have gotten out of the "puppy" out of them.

Oh yeah, Steve is going to be in the same neighborhood of $500 a month.

This post was edited on 2/1/11 at 11:43 am

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Posted by VernonPLSUfan

Leesville, La.

Member since Sep 2007

15881 posts

Posted on 2/1/11 at 11:43 am to Vol Fan in the Bayou

Shock collars......lazy arse trainer.

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Posted by JasonL79

Member since Jan 2010

6398 posts

Posted on 2/1/11 at 9:21 pm to Vol Fan in the Bayou

quote:
No question they are great people and bred some incredible dogs, but I have experienced and heard about some horror stories. Steve is an incredible trainer, but only trains one way. If your dog needs a softer touch Steve isn't the guy. He is quick to shock your dog. I understand why he does this, but some dogs need more attention rather than being ground down.

My suggestion would be to talk to several trainers. See if they use the collar or not. I would be looking for one that doesn't use it. If used improperly, and too much, it will ruin an otherwise fine retriever

My dog is with Steve now and has been there for 2 months. I'm not getting the same experience you are talking about. My dog is doing great and I have been up there several times to watch Steve train him. He seems very easy on my dog and is actually easier than my last trainer (Bart Posey). My dog also shows no signs of being ground down.

Sounds like you may have had a very timid dog that would have been hard to train regardless if a shock collar was used or not. I've had several dogs trained with a shock collar and know several people that have had theirs trained with one and nobody has ever had a problem with the collar ruining the dog.

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