Train With Your HEART

A number of notorious "trainers", locally and in the media, promote the use of unethical devices — electric shock collars ("e-collars"), pinching/prong collars, anti-bark devices and the like — and outdated, brutal methods based on dominance, alpha theory and the infamous "pack leadership" approach.

Let's be absolutely clear and as blunt as it gets: if a professional uses such tools or methods, they have no skills or ethics, and should be banned from working with dogs.

This is a threat to animal welfare we will no longer passively accept.

As our follower base grows steadily and our opinion begins to count in the industry, it's time to make a stand and put our money where our mouth is. This is why we launched the Train With Your HEART project.

• We invite all dog owners willing to support the initiative to either contact us or simply share this page to spread awareness.
• We invite all professionals willing to take part to contact us. Trainers, groomers, walkers and anyone else working with dogs can participate and make a real, concrete difference.

HEART stands for Help End Aversive & Repressive Training.

This is not just a declaration of intent — we take action on two fronts.

First front: depleting the existing supply

We're well aware there's a great number of aversive tools in British homes: shock collars, prong collars, martingales, half-check collars, anti-bark devices, air horns and so on. In most cases people were advised by ill-informed or downright incompetent professionals. We want them neutralized.

We will buy any aversive tool from anyone who:

1. Surrenders the tool.
2. Commits fully to force-free dog training.

No questions asked, no judgement made. If the tool isn't yours but you obtained it from a relative, a neighbour, or a stranger you convinced to surrender it, we'll buy it all the same — see the practical details below.

Second front: campaigning and educating

1. We fight attempts to block the legal ban of cruel tools such as e-collars.
2. We lobby for shops and chains to pull these devices from their shelves.
3. Commitment to force-free training is integrated into our T&Cs; we no longer contract with dog owners who don't fully commit to force-free training.

What's the objective, exactly?

The ban of electric shock collars is inevitable, and the ban of other aversive tools such as prongs is bound to follow — but the cogs of law are slow, and it takes a while for a law to be efficiently applied even after it passes. By giving dog owners a proper incentive to ditch outdated tools, we put pressure on unethical professionals, so they eventually have to change their methods to stay in business. You can't make money promoting e-collars against prey drive if your clients sell away their device and try force-free methods instead.

Not every dog owner will switch, but if every force-free trainer collects even half a dozen tools, that's a huge number pulled from circulation — the beginnings of real change, and real economic pressure on unskilled trainers still promoting brutal, alpha-theory methods. Even if no one else joined us, we'd still go on with it: each tool taken away is a victory for a dog somewhere.

To our fellow dog professionals

If you're willing to make a stand and, like us, put your money where your mouth is: share this page, tell your clients and followers you agree and enrol, display the HEART badge on your own pages, and let us know — we'll promote you on our Facebook page, even if you're direct competition.

This isn't about marketing, it's about doing right by dog welfare and putting pressure on unethical professionals. It will cost you money — there's no way around that, no sugar-coating it. You can go on ranting about dangerous professionals, or do something about it.

That said, there's a solid argument that it's also a valid marketing move: it helps you attract clients who are already aware of the issue and receptive to your commitment to a more ethical industry, and a good number of the owners who surrender devices will become ambassadors for your results. A triple win — your business, your dogs, and your clients' savings.

A few well-known aversive-training lobbyists will come at you for it. If they do, it means you're threatening them — and that's the whole point. We're ready to deal with it, and so should you be.

Practical details

If you're a professional, we don't ask for any money, contribution or fee. Enrolling is entirely voluntary and free — what it costs you is purely what you pay your own clients/followers to get them to surrender their tools. Each participating professional deals with their own seized tools and their own clients; we don't handle other trainers' clients, tools or exchanged values. Please use the HEART visual and link back to this page only, so the effort stays collective.

These are only our own guidelines — every professional should adapt them to their own means and market, and state their own terms clearly to clients and followers. Some will only be able to offer vouchers, credit or discounted bookings; others will offer cash. In our own case, we do either value or cash depending on circumstances:

• £50 per e-collar
• £25 per anti-bark device
• £15 per prong collar or similar tool

We pay £1.50 in credit towards our services for every £1 of item value, or £0.50 in cash for every £1 of item value if no service is required or possible.

Example: a client surrenders a prong collar and a martingale, valued at £30 total. They can choose between £45 credit towards services, or £15 cash.

We do not accept promises of destruction — only items we physically collect when surrendered. Surrendering an item means committing not to buy, borrow or use any sort of replacement in future, and to ethical, force-free training methods to the best of your ability.

Want to take part, or find out more? Get in touch — we're happy to talk it through.