You're certainly entitled to your preference for how you wish to train your dog, however I do not appreciate your judgement that those of us who choose to use other methods are patently abusive toward our animals.

I have had a pet bitten by a copperhead - she certainly became aversive after her experience. Luckily we were able to rush her to a vet for treatment. I don't know what would have happened had we been backcountry, hours from a vet. Once she healed from her wounds she gave wide berth to anything in her path that even remotely resembled a snake. Had she been trained to avoid snakes she might have avoided a great deal of pain and suffering. At the time (30 years ago) it never occurred to me that you could teach dogs to avoid snakes.

Good luck in your quest.

MNS

P.S. We did not kill the snake that bit her - it had already been run over by a car and was dying. I have lived knee deep in copperheads and cotton mouths and never once killed a snake. Snakes have their place, as do other wild creatures, and like other wild creatures they don't deserve to die just because they cross our path - or we cross theirs.