Mike, back to your fundamental question ...
My very first dog was a Siberian Husky purchased from a pet store. I wasn't raised with animals or ever had a pet dog growing up. From day one I did everything wrong based on some bad advice from an experienced "trainer". We never used an e-collar, probably because in those days they weren't as readily available as they are today. We did try choke and prong collars with what I can only describe as mixed success. We loved him dearly as you say you do with your dog and I don't doubt it, but we had 11-years of problems because of the early "training" methods. I won't enumerate them because, for one thing Huskies are a very different breed from Shelties, and two, it would take an epic to describe the chronology of events. Suffice it to say, we changed our methods with subsequent dogs and really have been very satisfied with the results and enlightened in both the way we perceive our animals and the way they perceive us.
We have been Sheltie owners for close to 30 years including those bought from breeders and rescues. We don't show or compete in agility. These are strictly companion animals and we want them to be friendly and well behaved. For the most part, they are. However what you must understand - and this pertains ESPECIALLY to Shelties - each animal has their own personality. Shelties take this to the extreme and you, as the owner must be able to adapt to them rather than force them to fit an impossible ideal.
On the plus side, Shelties are smart and fun-loving social creatures. When they bond to you, they are yours for life ... moreso than your own children (at least in their minds). They would throw themselves on a grenade to save you, or if a grenade isn't available, a bee hive or roaming skunk will be an equally heroic gesture. They will be there in the morning, every morning with big, happy eyes that say they're glad you're alive.
On the down side, Shelties are smart ... wait, isn't that a plus side? Well, they require a lot of attention and activity. There is nothing more lovable and well behaved than a tired Sheltie.
On the other hand, if they are bored or not given the proper attention, they can react like an abandoned child. They can go anywhere from mischievous to antisocial. Really all a Sheltie wants is something to do and a little recognition for doing it. If you don't teach the Sheltie what that is, they will try and teach you. Many a Sheltie has been given away or abandoned because the owner didn't want that level of involvement. If you want a dog that will just lie around until you want to go for a walk around the block, there are many breeds that thrive in that environment. Shelties don't. Period.
Shelties are sensitive. They react and remember and during their youth (up to two years) they are very susceptible to fear imprinting. Two examples with me current two. When they were pups, about 20 or so weeks, they were zooming around the kitchen. (Sheltie "zoomies" are like a Tasmanian devil on crack) Rather than grabbing them to stop them, I took a dish towel and slapped it against the side of a cabinet with a loud thud accompanied by a stern "no" (or it could have been "stop"). In any case, to this day, both my boys cower at the sight of a dish towel. And, they know the difference between towels. There's nothing more they like than being rubbed down after coming in out of the rain, but it's got to be a bath towel or hand towel. If i have a dish towel in my hand they won't approach me. Unfortunately, that might happen with yours and collars (or leashes) you can never tell what will be imprinted even from a seemingly harmless one-time incident.
The second happened when they were older. I was walking them through our neighborhood past a house who owned a Rottweiler. The owner was standing at their front door chatting to a visitor with the door open and the Rottweiler got out. He came right at us and before I could intervene he had my larger Sheltie pinned to the ground. The Rottweiler's owner came and got the dog off my Sheltie and luckily he wasn't hurt, but to this day he is afraid of bigger dogs and generally shy around any stranger. He wasn't that way up to that point. That was three years ago.
My point being that any negativity, no matter how unintentional or benign can have long-lasting impact on a Sheltie. This is exactly why we have avoided ANY negative type training. Even raising your voice in frustration will upset a Sheltie. You have to be cool and steady to keep your girl from becoming an emotional wreck. I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen.
Look at it this way ... the quick and easy results of these training methods will always require much more work to fix the problems they will cause (and they will, trust me), if they can ever be fixed.
I don't think you are a troll or argumentative, but I do think you are looking for some type of confirmation that the method you are using is okay because it's working for you. I would also guess that because you even asked the question in the first place that you suspect it's not, but were hoping you might find some redeeming rationalization. Sorry, as far as most people here are concerned, what you are doing isn't good for your dog and, ultimately, your relationship with your dog.
My very first dog was a Siberian Husky purchased from a pet store. I wasn't raised with animals or ever had a pet dog growing up. From day one I did everything wrong based on some bad advice from an experienced "trainer". We never used an e-collar, probably because in those days they weren't as readily available as they are today. We did try choke and prong collars with what I can only describe as mixed success. We loved him dearly as you say you do with your dog and I don't doubt it, but we had 11-years of problems because of the early "training" methods. I won't enumerate them because, for one thing Huskies are a very different breed from Shelties, and two, it would take an epic to describe the chronology of events. Suffice it to say, we changed our methods with subsequent dogs and really have been very satisfied with the results and enlightened in both the way we perceive our animals and the way they perceive us.
We have been Sheltie owners for close to 30 years including those bought from breeders and rescues. We don't show or compete in agility. These are strictly companion animals and we want them to be friendly and well behaved. For the most part, they are. However what you must understand - and this pertains ESPECIALLY to Shelties - each animal has their own personality. Shelties take this to the extreme and you, as the owner must be able to adapt to them rather than force them to fit an impossible ideal.
On the plus side, Shelties are smart and fun-loving social creatures. When they bond to you, they are yours for life ... moreso than your own children (at least in their minds). They would throw themselves on a grenade to save you, or if a grenade isn't available, a bee hive or roaming skunk will be an equally heroic gesture. They will be there in the morning, every morning with big, happy eyes that say they're glad you're alive.
On the down side, Shelties are smart ... wait, isn't that a plus side? Well, they require a lot of attention and activity. There is nothing more lovable and well behaved than a tired Sheltie.
On the other hand, if they are bored or not given the proper attention, they can react like an abandoned child. They can go anywhere from mischievous to antisocial. Really all a Sheltie wants is something to do and a little recognition for doing it. If you don't teach the Sheltie what that is, they will try and teach you. Many a Sheltie has been given away or abandoned because the owner didn't want that level of involvement. If you want a dog that will just lie around until you want to go for a walk around the block, there are many breeds that thrive in that environment. Shelties don't. Period.Shelties are sensitive. They react and remember and during their youth (up to two years) they are very susceptible to fear imprinting. Two examples with me current two. When they were pups, about 20 or so weeks, they were zooming around the kitchen. (Sheltie "zoomies" are like a Tasmanian devil on crack) Rather than grabbing them to stop them, I took a dish towel and slapped it against the side of a cabinet with a loud thud accompanied by a stern "no" (or it could have been "stop"). In any case, to this day, both my boys cower at the sight of a dish towel. And, they know the difference between towels. There's nothing more they like than being rubbed down after coming in out of the rain, but it's got to be a bath towel or hand towel. If i have a dish towel in my hand they won't approach me. Unfortunately, that might happen with yours and collars (or leashes) you can never tell what will be imprinted even from a seemingly harmless one-time incident.
The second happened when they were older. I was walking them through our neighborhood past a house who owned a Rottweiler. The owner was standing at their front door chatting to a visitor with the door open and the Rottweiler got out. He came right at us and before I could intervene he had my larger Sheltie pinned to the ground. The Rottweiler's owner came and got the dog off my Sheltie and luckily he wasn't hurt, but to this day he is afraid of bigger dogs and generally shy around any stranger. He wasn't that way up to that point. That was three years ago.
My point being that any negativity, no matter how unintentional or benign can have long-lasting impact on a Sheltie. This is exactly why we have avoided ANY negative type training. Even raising your voice in frustration will upset a Sheltie. You have to be cool and steady to keep your girl from becoming an emotional wreck. I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen.
Look at it this way ... the quick and easy results of these training methods will always require much more work to fix the problems they will cause (and they will, trust me), if they can ever be fixed.
I don't think you are a troll or argumentative, but I do think you are looking for some type of confirmation that the method you are using is okay because it's working for you. I would also guess that because you even asked the question in the first place that you suspect it's not, but were hoping you might find some redeeming rationalization. Sorry, as far as most people here are concerned, what you are doing isn't good for your dog and, ultimately, your relationship with your dog.
For our intuitive, sensitive breed, it just is the logical approach.