Q - Does play training really work? These are big dogs and need to be trained hard.
A - People learn by being told when they have got things right. If they are only ever told something is wrong it might take forever to work out what is right. Instead we show children the right way and praise them when they copy. Why shouldn't we treat our dogs the same. If they are playing up they get told off, but if they are only ever scolded and never shown what is right why should we expect them to learn.
By showing them what we want by being nice to them and praising when they get it right, our telling off becomes more significant because it's not just what they are hearing all the time anyway.

Q - Should dogs this size all wear check chains.
A - Our club believes good training means you should only need to use your voice, and that what you use in early training to help show them what you want should reflect the training methods we use. We much prefer the use of half checks, and for dogs that really pull or show signs of nervousness or aggressiveness a further restraint should be used such as a halti (TM). This could avoid the possible neck damage which could result from harsher training methods.

Q - Will I ever be able to walk my dog without having to carry a toy or a bag of tit-bits around?
A - The use of toys and tit-bits is to show your dog what you mean when you use certain words. If you do not make these words clear enough then they will only follow the incentive, however if you time your praise correctly they will soon learn when they are doing the right thing and the use of the toy or tit-bit can start to be reduced. It should be remembered, however, that all levels of achievement are only obtained by regularly returning to basics. Don't forget that your dog loves you, so why shouldn't it get a piece of sausage just for looking at you for a couple of seconds, even though they are now good enough to enter Crufts?