and yet, no matter how big the letters or how much the point is raised prior to people attending a class, there will always be someone who thinks they know best. A couple that spring to mind for me is a 12 week old GSD who arrived wearing one because 'you can't train a GSD without on' and a rescue dog whose owner had previously seen a police dog handler who insisted they were the only way to train a dog not to pull.

Collars came off, harness in the case of the pup and flat collar in the case of the rescue went on and both dogs were effectively trained by their owners

I do fully agree though that there is no need whatsoever to embarrass or demoralise owners who, for whatever reason, want to test the rules of the club. Diplomacy and tact are two important attributes for effective dog trainers

People skills are indeed just as important as dog and training skills

Indeed it is---If you want people to take a positive view of what it is you want to get across.---Indeed it is.---Having knowledge in one's head is only part of the story having good people skills to communicate this knowledge is the complete picture.

Well said, very good post

Absolutely, but that can include admitting that something that one disagrees with can be effective, albeit not always advisable, which comes back to my previous point about both sides of the "positive" argument being guilty, ime, of sticking more to the respective propaganda positions, than being truely honest at times, and about it being better to maintain lines of communication to enable progress forward.

I think you are entirely right in all your points there.