I do not wish this thread to turn into an "e-collar" debate. It is a very divisive topic. This is the reason I don't join forums because I don't feel welcome. It's been several years since I've joined a forum and I thought I would try again with poodleforum.
To answer your questions...
I've spent 10 years honing all of my skills using many different methodologies. I'm an e-collar trainer and very proud of my chosen profession, along with being a nurse (this skillset helps with coaching families) and a mom. I advise anyone seeking a dog trainer to please do an in-depth analysis evaluating training methods and the outcomes. Make sure you are comfortable before hiring. Not every e-collar trainer uses the tool in the same way. Everyone has a different level of skill with e-collar equipment.
I'm transparent with my company producing daily in-depth videos on YouTube (they are long some 15 minutes or more) during the 2-week board and trains. Each evening pet parents can look at their dog's progress and see their family member is also healthy and happy. Pet parents are very happy they can watch each evening and have expressed great joy at seeing these videos.
Early on in my career I did group classes, in-home training, etc. I learned that the average pet owner and dog trainers that wanted to learn how to use "the tool" did not have the ability to use it correctly. As you mentioned timing is very important along with to many other variables to name. So I stopped offering these types of training sessions.
I decided several years ago to only offer a 2-week board and train. This took the burden off of the pet parents to train their puppy / dog. This eliminated the need to "learn the tool" at the same time, learn how dog's communicated, etc. After 2-weeks, the dog is fully trained off leash along with other goals requested by the pet parents. At the end of 2-weeks I give one lesson about an hour and so far that's all that the pet parents have requested--they are go to go with their new lifestyle. I'm available for the lifetime of the dog but over 10 years I've gotten probably a 1/2 dozen calls and usually for new behaviors to assist with. The pet parents are able to work the equipment with a fully trained dog no problem and are so happy. It's all about education in use of the tool and how it works for a specific dog. It does not work on all dogs.
The majority of my customers have already sustained injuries from their dogs or have expressed that they want to re-home their puppy / dog. As a nurse, some of the injuries have required very expensive surgeries and very painful recovery periods. Training a dog is very cheap compared to back surgery costs.
Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that many families are mis-matched with the puppy / dog they have chosen. Some injuries were sustained because of the mis-match. That's a different thread for a different time.
I do not do "volume dog training". I'm focused on quality and train fewer dogs and make sure I'm always available to the pet parents. Customer service is very important to me. I love getting up each morning and feeling good about helping pet parents through delivering a quality service.
A well trained dog off leash is also very important in what I do. Off leash recall is the number one requested command. I specialize in off leash distraction training. This is best accomplished with an e-collar. It allows me to communicate with the dog and extend training over great distance, for long duration, and in high distractions. It's what I love to do!
If I get the feeling through the poodleforum members that I'm not welcome because I'm an e-collar trainer. No problem, I understand. It's happened to me on other forums and also over the past 10 years as I work out in public as a distraction trainer. I've enjoyed the forum, in the past and read frequently. I own a standard poodle and I thought maybe by joining I could post and get some feedback on topics like grooming, health, etc.
