Spare the Rod, Spoil the Dog

My 4month old golden retriever Xena had her first dog training session today. A friend referred me to a dog trainer who goes by the name Kurt (DOuGlas? hehe..) who could train Xena in a month. Cute as she is, she's really hyper and chipper and almost to the point of being the Goddess of Death and Destruction when left by herself..so me and my siblings had to take the "This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you" stance--Kurt the trainer instructed me on how to reinforce her 'Sit' and 'Heel' commands using what is called a 'prong collar' (Never heard this term before) which is used and is apparently very effective in training. Although he reassured me that the collar doesn't hurt her, i still felt this twang of guilt everytime i tugged at the leash. After a rigorous 1 hour session Xena was exhausted but doggone happy--she even got to meet a couple of pet pals Caster (a german shep) and Robin. (a burly 2yr.old golden retriever) For an almost 5 month old pup she seemed quite the flirt after she got over the initial shock of being sniffed at..Hmm..