Our Policy regarding Adversive Equipment

At Dog Utopia, our top priority is your dog's mental, physical and emotional safety. 
Recently we have seen a marked increase in the number of dogs coming into grooming on prong collars. We want to be transparent with you about our policy regarding prong, shock and choke/”training” collars.
After much research, discussion, and trial and error, we no longer allow prong, shock or choke collars past our front gate. We want all our clients to continue to feel welcome, but we will ask that you remove the collar and attach the leash to a flat collar, which we can provide.
The reason that we have this policy is twofold. Firstly, the current research on dog behaviour is very clear. Prong, choke and shock collars are painful, and they increase fear and anxiety in the dog. Prong collar related injuries are quite common, and the psychological damage even more so.
Secondly, dogs that are trained using adverse methods frequently learn to offer fewer behaviours, and to hide their signs of discomfort. They learn that these valuable communications will either be ignored, or punished. As such, they present a greater risk to our staff, as the warnings they give are much more subtle, if they are present at all.
We understand that some of our clients feel that these devices are necessary for their dogs, or that they were told by pet store employees or other trainers that they were the best choice. We want to have an open dialogue with all of our clients, and we encourage you all to speak with us about this policy. We have included some links below to further reading on this subject.
If you want to make the move to less adverse equipment, but are unsure of where to start, or if you are concerned about behavioral problems, please think of us as a resource. Come by the shop, send us an email or give us a call, we are more than happy to help.

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