11/03/2026
We've not posted in a while, but this about sums up what we've been trying to impart to people lately. Can you get "tool-free"? Maybe, with the right dog and circumstances. But if its the only thing keeping your dog from running into the road (or fighting another dog, chasing wildlife, biting small children, big children etc), why are you gambling your dogs well-being on the life game of frogger?
Additionally, and unless you're training for some sport-like competition, you are not even coming close to the consistency and repetitions it takes to achieve the "tool free freedom" many purport to be the end all be all place. And thats OK! In fact, we might wager you are barely touching 20% of whats needed for that 99% reliability.
Why is that number not 100% you ask? Because we believe that this last 1% is the unknown thing that will make your dog break, every time...every dog has a limit, even the best trained ones in the world. You should be training for that unknown variable because it will, inevitably, come at the moment you least suspect.
We don't say all this to discourage anyone or admonish anyone for lack of training their dog. We say it because life gets in the way. Work, family, time, stress, weather...things. Thats reality. Its OK!! Do your best and what works for your dog. We are also not saying you can slap a collar on your dog and walk away, effort IS still required. But Sean highlights key points about tool usage here. We often get the same sort of question too: when can my dog stop wearing it?
We've never met Sean. We would love to someday. But we do follow him because he speaks plain truths (that many dont want to hear) that are based in reality. Sometimes life messy, just like your basement or garage. Be realistic about it when it comes to your dog and use what works...or dont 🤷♂️😬
🌊🏖🐕🐶🐕🦺👨🏫
I hear this nonsesne from all sides of the training world. If the dog is properly trained, and properly reinforced, they will perform as desired sans tools—if you’ve trained them properly.
For balanced trainers it’s primarily a ge***al wagging argument used to try to deride the competition, and to elevate the admonisher’s sorely fragile ego. For positive only/force-free trainers, it’s primarily an ideological stance, or a gross demonstration of ignorance.
Regardless where it emanates from, the ones most negatively impacted are the innocent owners (and their dogs) who are looking to these so-called experts for guidance. And so after hearing repeatedly that having to rely on tools is a sign of either poor training or a poor moral compass, owners often view the very practical, and the very useful reliance on tools as a sign of their own failures. And so they feel compelled to try to get away from them as soon as possible.
As I’ve said many times, the goal shouldn’t be to get rid of tools, the goal should be to get rid of the problems. And for most owners and dogs those problems are best curtailed and best kept at bay by continued use of the tools which best serve the desired goals.
Are there exceptions? Are there dogs who will happily not push back against any of the rules once they know what’s expected and once they’ve been trained with lots of repetitions and diligence? Of course. Just like there are people who never speed, never roll through a stop sign, and who would never think to push back against any rules once they know them. But these are indeed the exceptions.
For most dogs, and for most people, the tools of authority (cops, laws, and the legal system for us—tools, training and owners who lead for dogs), are a necessary bulwark against our own desires and proclivities of the moment, which would often see either species—fully knowing whats expected and “proper”, make very different decisions.
