I no longer require that students starting classes purchase specific equipment. Sure there are things that I like and believe will make the teams learning progress faster. I had a little epiphany when I realized that people were buying recommended equipment but never used it outside of class. Now I tell new students that they are welcome to bring whatever equipment they have been using on their dog. I then make a suggestion of what might work better for managing the dogs behavior and often have a tool handy so that we can experiment in the class. I find compliance is a lot better if people decide for themselves that something works.
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