I know Im new to the board but I have done the exact same thing as you did. My reality is that the woman would come back and no matter what I tried to do to convince her to go elsewhere, she would stay. And I do agree that pinch collars can be positive esp when the leash has left blisters in your hands. ....Dobes are smart and really in tune to their people that I cant imagine that it would take that long for the dog to get with the program. I have a dobe right now in rescue that just does the craziest things but has to be pretty smart to do them at all. Sometimes humans just need is to see something done in a positive manner to get the picture and understand what its all about. GO with your gut. If shes a bad vibe now, she will be until the end.