Are the tools cruel?
No! These tools, when used properly, are amazing communication devices. The big misconception with these tools is that the prong collar is sharp and stabs the dog and the e-collar shocks the dog. Both ARE NOT TRUE!

Prong Collar-
We use a very specific brand of prong collar (Herm Springer) because they are made well. They have smooth rounded edges and it sits on your dogs neck just like any other collar. The prong collar was actually designed by a vet to replicate the feeling of a mother correcting her puppies, she doesn't do it to hurt them she does it to show them there are consequences to our actions. In addition to that when fitted properly and with proper training, the prong collar is one of the safest collars you can have on your dog because it evenly distributes the pressure on your dogs neck, unlike a flat collar it will not put all the pressure on your dogs trachea. It is also a limited slip collar which means it cannot choke a dog because it will only tighten a specific amount. 

E-Collar-
Just like the prong collar we use a specific brand of e-collar because the quality of these tools is very important to us! We use the Educator Mini! The big misconception here is the it shocks dogs. That. Is. Not. True. To clear up a few other misconceptions; there is no electric current going between the prongs, it does not shock the dog and it does not leave burn marks. I use this brand of e-collar because it is the best quality, yes there are bad e-collars out there, this is not one of them. This e-collar is just like a TENS-Unit that is used on people in physical therapy and things of that nature. As someone who has used both TENS-Unit and an e-collar, they are the same thing. It activates the muscle and has been described by clients as "a tickle under the skin". (I highly encourage all of my clients to feel the e-collar so they realize that it's not so scary)
This brand of e-collar has 100 levels. That does not mean its so much stronger than the cheaper ones it means that you can really fine tune the level the dog is working at. A 1 on a cheaper e-collar is about the equivalent to a 10 on ours. So with our brand of e-collar we are able to use much lower levels. For reference I cannot feel the e-collar until it is at a level 8, barley able to feel that. The majority of the dogs I train have the working level of a 4 and the correctional level of a 10.

Our Training Methods-
BALANCED! We take a truly Balanced Approach. We start off with all food to teach the dog how to do what we want. Then, instead of just plopping the tools on the dogs and correcting them we actually teach the dogs what the tools mean and how to turn off that pressure. This teaches the dog that they are in control of tools, they have the power to avoid the pressure all together and they have the power to turn that pressure off. 
Over the course of three weeks the dogs are trained ten commands. With each commands a dog learns, they go through seven stages of training. There are so many stages because it is very important that we teach these dogs what the tools mean. You cannot just slap the tools on the dog and start pulling on the leash and pushing buttons on the remote. There is a very specific process. Only use these tools with the help of a processional trainer!
In addition to the gradual and precise introduction to the tools, we have similar methods for adding in distractions. I do not expect a dog to preform commands on week one in a room full of crazy distractions. We will start out with no distractions and add in distractions as the dog is ready!
Finally, the most important part... we teach YOU your dogs training. This is the most important part of everything we do. If you do not know or are not comfortable with your dogs training YOU WILL NOT BE SUCCESSFUL!
We really care about each individual dog and family that comes through our program and we want you all to be successful, so you will get a minimum of four graduation lessons where we will teach everyone who lives with the dog what they learned and how to hold them accountable. We don't stop there though because it can be overwhelming at first and you may not know what to do next with your now fully trained dog. We will send you home with a 90-day protocol. This protocol is to help make training a part of everyday life for you and your pup. It will help you get comfortable with the training, your pup learn that they have to listen to you just like they did with me and it will help your pup learn that there are rules, boundaries and structure at home too. It is 90-days of structure for a lifetime of happiness for your pup. 
Here at Rachel Koehler Dog Training we do not have a magical wand that will fix all of your dogs issues and make them the perfect dog from the movies. However, we have years and years of experience studying dog behavior, years of experience training dogs and years of experience working with owners and fine tuning our protocols to help make owners and their dogs as successful as possible. We know our methods work if owners are willing to put in a little work after graduation because we have seen it time and time again. We can train any dog but if you want your dogs training course to be a success you have to be willing to put in some work with your pup after graduation! As long as you are willing to put in the work, we are always willing to go the extra mile to make sure you and your pup are happy post-training. We have successfully re-trained many dogs that have been through several other training courses without success and a promise we make to all of our clients is, as long as you are willing to try your best to use the training and follow the protocol we will be your last trainer!