The shock collar, remote training collar, or electronic dog collar is most commonly used in four areas –
- Keep dogs inside our property. Our dog is corrected every time he nears the fence-line. This is also known as an invisible fence or underground fence.
- Stop dogs from barking. The collar automatically delivers a correction whenever our dog starts to bark. If he continues to bark, the force, duration, and frequency of the shocks may be automatically increased.
- Train dogs and stop problem dog behaviors. Shock collars are most commonly used for off-leash training. However, some dog trainers and pet owners also use it for behavioral issues such as food aggression, and dog aggression.
- Teach dogs to stay away from dangerous animals and objects. A common use is in rattlesnake aversion training. A dog is shocked hard, but a very small number of times, when he nears a caged rattlesnake. This teaches him not to approach rattlesnakes in the future.
The use of shock collars on dogs is a very emotional topic. Discussions will often degrade into personal attacks, accusations of dog cruelty, and other types of name calling.
In this article, I will try to stick to the facts, and consider whether it is something I would use on my dogs. Note however, that facts are not always convenient, and facts are not always balanced between the two sides.
If you have already made up your mind about using electronic collars and are looking for validation, this article is not for you.
Electronic Collars vs. Shock Collars
Not all electronic collars are used as shock collars. There are three main modes – 1. Beep mode, 2. Vibrate mode, and 3. Shock mode.
All electronic collars have the shock functionality, but the beep or vibrate functions are optional.
1. Beep mode
In this mode, a beep is emitted whenever the collar controller is pressed. This beep can be used as a marker, in the same way that clickers are used in clicker training.
For the beep to be an effective marker, a dog needs prior training for associating the sound with a positive or negative consequence. For example, if the beep always precedes a sought after reward, then our dog may stop and wait, because he knows that something good is coming. Similarly, a dog may freeze or submit when he hears a beep, because he knows that failure to comply, will be followed by a painful shock.
The beep can also cause a startle response, similarly to blowing a whistle. This can be used to get our dog’s attention or to interrupt his current action. However, for this to work, we must only use the interrupt signal on very rare occasions. If applied too frequently, our dog will become accustomed to it, and just ignore it.
2. Vibrate mode
In this mode, the collar vibrates, similar to how our pager or phone vibrates to get our attention. Like the beep mode, this vibration can be used as a marker or as an interrupt.
Both the beep and vibrate modes do not deliver an electric shock to the dog.
3. Shock mode.
In shock mode, the electronic collar will deliver an electric current to the dog through two contact points at the dog’s neck.
This electric current will cause pain and physical discomfort to the dog, otherwise it would not be effective in conditioning him.
The amount of pain delivered to the dog will depend on three key factors –
- The power/voltage of the electric current,
- The duration of the current, and
- The frequency of the current.
The amount of pain that the dog actually feels, will also depend on the physical characteristics of the dog (e.g. size, skin, and fur), as well as the temperament of the dog. Some dogs are more sensitive to pain than others.
Sometimes, words like stimulation are used to describe shock collars. I even saw them described as gentle training collars.
Beware of these sales gimmicks. Accept an electronic collar for what it is. If you choose to use it, make an informed decision that is based on the actual pros and cons of the system, which I will discuss below. Note that the subsequent discussion is solely based on the shock functionality of remote training collars (not on the beep and vibrate modes).
The Good
1. Allows us to control the amount of pain delivered to our dog, and administer that pain from a distance.
One of the great challenges of implementing pain based aversive techniques such as leash jerks, muzzle slaps, and finger pokes, is in controlling the amount of force delivered to the dog.
- Too much force and our dog may break down, and become extremely stressed or fearful.
- Too little force and our dog will get habituated to the corrections, and just ignore them.
Master aversive trainers are able to deliver just the right amount of force, so that the dog will not repeat a bad behavior, but at the same time, he will also not become unbalanced and fearful.
Unlike other aversive methods, remote training collars allows us to easily adjust the amount of pain delivered to a dog, and to keep that level of pain consistent in subsequent corrections. We can also administer the pain from a distance.
However, it should also be mentioned that the amount of pain actually ‘felt’ by the dog as well as the resulting response, depends on many different factors, not just the level of shock applied.
Although these devices are presented as a highly controllable method of modifying behaviour, via the controlled administering of pain/discomfort (the collars are designed to allow operator to set the duration and intensity of shock), an individual animal’s experience when a shock is applied will be influenced by numerous factors. In addition to individual temperament, the experience will be affected by the dog’s previous experiences, frequency of application, location of shock, thickness of hair and level of moisture on skin (Lindsay, 2005). Given that many of these factors are not easily determinable by the operator, this makes the device far less precise than suggested.
~~[RSPCA]
2. Can automatically deliver a shock correction to the dog, even when we are not there.
Another challenge of implementing proper aversive corrections, is using the right timing. We want to correct our dog as soon as he performs an unacceptable behavior, and stop correcting him as soon as he stops that behavior.
Electronic collars can be tied to a particular trigger event, such as barking or proximity to our fence-line. In this way, a shock is automatically and consistently delivered to the dog, as soon as he starts to bark or tries to escape. In fact, the invisible fence or shock anti-bark systems are convenient, because we do not even have to be there to deliver the corrections.
Shock collars such as these may sound tempting and easy to use, but unfortunately, consistent and automatic timing does not necessarily mean correct timing.
Studies show that automatic collars are risky, because tying a shock correction to a single trigger event, such as barking or proximity, is too simplistic and will frequently result in bad timing. This can subsequently lead to aggression and other dog behavioral issues.
There are some anti-bark collars that use sound aversion to stop dog barking, for example the Ultrasonic Anti-bark Collar. However, customer reviews have been poor because the sound stimulus is often insufficient to prevent the barking behavior.
3. The source of the aversive stimulus is less clear.
When we use other pain-based aversive techniques, it is usually obvious that the pain comes from us. This may teach our dogs to associate people with physical distress, which can also lead to fear. If this happens, we may lose some of our dog’s trust, and jeopardize our bond with him.
For example, when we apply a leash correction, it is apparent that the pain originates from the leash, and sometimes (if not redirected), from us. Therefore, the dog may decide to fight with the leash, or worse, with us.
This is less of a problem with electronic collars because the source of the pain is obscured, and there is no leash to fight with. However, because the pain comes from seemingly nowhere, our dog may mistakenly associate it with something he sees in the environment (e.g. another dog), the environment itself, or to multiple unrelated objects and events. This may cause misplaced stress, fear, and aggression, toward those objects.
Automatic shock collars also have a high risk of over-correcting a dog.
The Bad
1. May increase aggression in dogs.
According to Polsky’s study, dogs kept in shock containment systems (i.e. invisible fence or underground fence), can show extreme aggression towards humans, over and beyond their normal behavior.
Polsky’s results show that a big danger with electronic collars, especially automatic e-collars, is that they may cause dogs to make the wrong associations, and learn the wrong things.
Dogs may associate the pain from the shock with the environment or with objects in the environment (including humans , dogs, or cats), rather than with their escaping or barking behaviors. This may lead to anxiety or negative associations with those objects, which can ultimately result in aggression.
Some dogs that have been conditioned in this manner, may not want to set foot in the yard, for worry of pain. They may also start to attack humans and other animals, that wander too close to the fence perimeter.
Some dogs may get habituated to the shocks, and learn that if they can tolerate the pain close to the fence-line, they can escape. Once they escape, they are rewarded with no more shocks. In this way, the dog learns that escaping is a good thing, whereas staying in the backyard is not.
2. May increase stress in dogs and reduce their quality of life.
Schalke et al. conducted an electronic collar training study on fourteen laboratory-bred Beagles. Shock collar training was conducted over 7 days, for 1.5 hours per day. Then the dogs were released to freely hunt for 5 days, and to hunt on leash for another 5 days. Schalke’s study showed that the dogs who
… were able to clearly associate the electric stimulus with their action, i.e. touching the prey, and consequently were able to predict and control the stressor, did not show considerable or persistent stress indicators.
~~[ Excerpt from ScienceDirect.com ]
However, the two other groups of dogs that were not able to so clearly predict and control the delivery of the shocks, showed elevated stress levels, with the highest levels present in the dogs that were arbitrarily shocked.
Most importantly, the group of dogs that received a shock for not abiding by a recall (Here) command, were also significantly elevated.
Even more distressing, is that the results remained the same when the dogs were reintroduced to the testing area after four weeks. Their stress levels remained high, even though they did not receive any shocks during this reintroduction period.
The results from Schalke’s study indicate that electronic collars are extremely risky to use even for the short term. Stress levels of the dogs were high after just 7 days, and were elevated as soon as they returned to the shock treatment environment. This is consistent with Polsky’s study, which show that dogs may associate the shock and stress they receive, with the environment itself.
This study provides strong evidence that shock collars are inappropriate for most kinds of dog training, as even common recall training will result in elevated stress levels, and a lower quality of life.
3. May weaken our bond with our dog.
Polsky and Schalke’s studies show that dogs often associate the pain from electronic collars with their environment, as well as with people, animals, and other objects in that environment. Even after shocks are no longer administered, the dogs still attach the environment to something stressful and negative.
Therefore, using a remote training collar on our dog may cause him to associate our home or backyard, with stress and pain. Or worse yet, it may cause him to associate the stress with other dogs, other people, or with us.
Remember that Schalke’s results show this negative attachment forming in a matter of 7 days.
Alternative to Shock Corrections
When I first got my Shiba Inu, I had a lot of problems with him. At the time, I was under the false impression that reward methods would not work on my dominant, stubborn, and aggressive Shiba Inu. Therefore, I was using aversive training and briefly considered the use of electronic collars, because the other aversive-based methods were not working well.
However, after doing a lot of reading, I decided to give reward dog training a chance.
Reward training is not a miracle cure, and it will still take a lot of work, consistency, and patience, to train our dog. However, reward techniques can work on dominant, stubborn, and aggressive dogs. It has worked well for training my Shiba. In fact, he stopped showing aggression toward me and others, after I stopped using pain-based methods.
Common Justifications for Shock Collars
1. Save a dog’s life.
Proponents of electronic collars sometimes argue that they are used to save a dog’s life, by preventing him from running into traffic.
It is important to note that off-leash recall is never 100% reliable, whatever equipment or training methods we may choose to use.
This is why there are leash laws in most neighborhoods. This is also why off-leash parks require dogs to be on-leash when they are in the parking lot area, or in areas that are close to roads and traffic.
I use a no-slip collar and secure leash to walk my dogs in the neighborhood. I also regularly check the collar and leash to ensure that they in good working order. Off-leash exercise can be had in fully enclosed spaces or large parks, where we are far enough away from traffic that a failed recall, will not result in an accident. Do not play Russian Roulette with our dog’s life.
2. Do not cause much pain, just a tingle.
Some people try remote training collars on themselves, and report that it only causes a tingle, so it really does not apply much pain to our dog.
However, to closely experience shock collar conditioning from my dog’s perspective, I would have to put the collar on my neck and surrender the controller to a handler. I will not know why, when, or where the shocks will be administered.
As I carry on with my day, I may feel the need for a smoke. I reach for it, and feel a tingle on my neck. It is just a tingle, so I continue.
At this point, the tingle not only persists, but increases in intensity. I am strong willed though, so I keep going. After all, that is exactly why I needed the shock collar in the first place.
The intensity keeps increasing until finally, I drop the bad object. My hand shakes. The experience was unpleasant, and now I want relief more than ever. Unfortunately, I do not even have a patch, all I have is this locked-on collar that I cannot remove. My eyes stray and my hands start to reach again …
Electronic collars are NOT harmless, nor are they just a little tingly. If they were so, they would not work. Their use is illegal for children and non-consenting adults. Here is another case in Utah. Trying the collar on ourselves, and doing a single, short, expected shock, at low intensity, is *not* how the collar will be used on our dogs. It is merely a gimmick to convince us that the collars are innocuous. If they were truly so harmless –
- Why is their use banned for children and non-consenting adults.
- Why is there so much scientific data showing how risky they can be.
- Why are they on the “do not use” list of so many well-respected dog advocate organizations.
- Why would they “work” on our stubborn dog, when other pain based aversive collars such as prong collars or choke collars have stopped working.
Logic tells us that this is a false claim.
3. Everybody else is biased and dishonest.
Another common argument, is that those who point out the risks of remote training collars are biased and dishonest. Personal attacks or ad hominem arguments such as these are not only pointless, but they also discourage rational discourse and the exchange of ideas. More on bias.
In this article, I describe what attracted me to look into electronic collars as a possible training tool for my Shiba Inu, as well as some of the risks that were of concern. Based on the studies and articles that I found, I also include counter-arguments (if present) for each of those points. In general, I found very little scientific evidence to recommend its use, while at the same time, there are many studies that show the risks involved.
After reading the results of Polsky and Schalke, it is difficult for me to come up with cases where the shock collar would be appropriate in dog training. Perhaps the only case would be in animal aversion training, such as teaching our dogs to fear and stay-away from rattlesnakes.
If you know of supporting scientific studies or substantiated data which highlight the good of remote training collars, it would certainly contribute much to the discussion, so please share them with us.
However, based on current reliable data, shock collars are not something I would use on my own dogs or generally recommend to others. It is also worth noting that the ASPCA, AVSAB, RSPCA, Kennel Club, and Blue Cross, are all against the use of shock collars for companion dogs.
Great site! Our 2 year old Shiba loves to runaway whenever she get a chance. She either slips out of her harness when we pull her leash the wrong way or slips out the door when we have guests in the house who doesn’t know any better. I know that Shibas are notorious for running away, but have you heard of any success stories of training them to stop running away or at least come back to you with a shock collar? When she slips away, its usually a 2-4 hr ordeal and one time it was at a busy strip mall and she crossed a very busy street 3 times. Please help!
Yeah, Sephy used to escape from his normal collars because after a little bit of use, they would slip and become slightly larger, and then he would be able to get out of them. I now use the Premier no-slip collar, and properly fit it on him. He has not escaped since.
This article has more on collar and harness escapes.
For doors, I teach him door manners and we practice that every day before each of his walks. Escaping is a self-reinforcing behavior because every time a dog escapes, he gets rewarded with a fun outing. Therefore, the more successful escapes a dog has, the more likely he is to repeat that behavior in the future.
More on dog escapes.
ASPCA article on recall training.
I am not sure how one would use a shock collar to prevent door escapes. Someone would need to be there, ready with the controller, to administer the shocks. If someone is already there, it would be much simpler and effective to make sure the dog is secure before opening the door.
As for shock collars and recall, there is a section on it in the ASPCA article.
Hey there,
I appreciate that you took a lot of time and energy to write this very thorough post, but you really don’t address barking collars at all, which is frustrating. Second, as objective as you try to appear, all the “advantages” you cite, you undercut at the end by pointing out that these advantages aren’t really advantages for X reason! (And meanwhile, you leave out some of the most obvious advantages, like the fact that a dog with a shock collar on can have much more freedom to be outside without supervision, which is a boon to pet and human alike.) And while I appreciate that for aggression, it’s best to seek a professional trainer’s help, you say it so often that it starts to undermine your point — and feel like a disclaimer your lawyer told you to add so you cant get sued. I am not saying that’s why you say that, but…….Anyway, I have a dog who starts to howl the minute I am gone unless i crate her, which I hate to do, and I really just don’t know what to do. I would like objective information, which you seem to be offering, but in the last analysis, you seem to just be saying, “I think shock collars are morally wrong,” which is not the opinion you are advertising.
1. Barking when we leave.
That sounds like it could be separation anxiety. This ASPCA article has more on separation anxiety.
*If* it is separation anxiety, I would stay away from aversive punishment. While aversive techniques may suppress the bark symptoms in the short term, they do not address the source of the issue which is the anxiety that arises from being alone or from being away from their people. In addition, aversive techniques will likely introduce more stress, which may worsen the anxiety symptoms in the long run.
I help my dog with separation anxiety by slowly desensitizing him to alone time. I start with very short periods of alone time, and slowly build up from there. There is more in the ASPCA article on desensitization exercises.
When I was having troubles with my Shiba Inu, I wanted straight-forward solutions such as “use X technique for aggression” or “Y technique for barking”. However, I realized that dog behavior is complex. To properly change my dog’s behavior, I first need to identify its source and triggers, because those will affect what techniques I use. Otherwise, I may use the wrong method and end up with more behavioral issues down the road. This is where getting a trainer can be very helpful. It was helpful for me, and it is not just for aggression cases.
High risk techniques such as the shock collar make it even more important to consult with a good trainer so that the equipment can be properly applied and *only* applied in the proper circumstance.
2. Bark collars
Bark collars are usually applied for nuisance-barking cases. I would not use them for anxiety cases. In terms of use, this study from Cornell university shows that spray collars are more effective than shock collars. Here is a summary of the Cornell study. I talk more about bark collars here.
3. Pointing out risks in the advantages section.
I have two other options here-
a) I can leave out all the risk information.
b) I can put the risk information in the disadvantages section.
When I make decisions for my dogs, I want all of the relevant information so that I can make the best decision for my situation. I certainly want to know about all the risks so that I don’t end up using something that will have a bad result. Therefore, I decided that the risk information has to be included.
I could have moved that information into the disadvantages section, but that would be awkward because I would have to repeat everything from the advantages section. Since it relates most to the points made in the advantages section, I decided to put it there. In this way, the risk information is available where it is most relevant. Viewers may choose to read it or not.
4. Unsupervised dogs
Shock collars allow automatic shocks to be delivered to the dog. As a result, sometimes, they are used to apply unsupervised corrections. However, studies show that there are problems and serious risks with this, as I have listed in the article above.
5. Bottom Line
In this article, I talk about my own research into shock collars and why I decided *not* to use them on my dogs. I decided not to use them because based on results from scientific studies and other sources that I trust, the risks of shock collars far outweigh their rewards.
As I said in the article, the one possible exception is in the case of animal aversion training, such as snake aversion training, because the risks of being bitten by a rattlesnake can be very serious and the side-effects of using a shock collar, in those cases, are not as great. This is because of the limited number of shocks, and because studies show that in the animal aversion case, no extra stress is introduced by the collars (when properly used).
If there are studies that show different risk/reward results for shock collars, then I will re-evaluate. However, there is nothing convincing at this point.
In the last analysis, I am saying that I don’t use shock collars because the risks far outweigh the rewards. In this article, I write about how I reached this decision. That is all.
This was very helpful, my boyfriend and I just adopted a husky/malamute mix 3 days ago. We considered taking him to trainer that utilizes e-collars. We are both extremely stressed at the moment are playing with the idea of taking him to a no kill rescue instead of back to the shelter because we don’t want him to be euthanized. He has attacked our shiba inu several times and has displayed agression towards us as well. We are willing to work on this issue with him, but the anxiety that he has the potential of killing our shiba inu is a risk we aren’t willing to take. I was wondering if you had any guidance to offer as a shiba inu and husky owner. If you have any insight or advice we would gladly listen.
There are many causes for aggressive behavior in dogs.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/aggression-dogs
When does he show aggressive behavior? What is his body posture like when that happens, e.g. is his tail up or down, is he crouching down or more leaning forward? What was the surrounding context when the attacks occurred? Were there food, toys, or other resources around? What were the dogs doing before? What were the people doing? What is the context when he shows aggression towards people? How old is the Husky/Mal? How old is your Shiba? What is your Shiba’s temperament like? How serious were the attacks?
When I am trying to change my dog’s behavior, I first try to understand where the behavior is coming from, and what is triggering the behavior. Once I understand what is triggering the behavior, then it becomes a lot more predictable, and I can start to take proper steps to help my dog overcome the issue.
Dog behavior is very context dependent, so each dog and each situation is different. When there are multiple dogs involved, there is greater complexity. This is why it is usually best to get help from a good professional trainer, especially in cases of aggression, where it is important that we keep things safe and start retraining in the right way.
The dog training field is not well regulated though, so it can be a challenge to find a good trainer. The articles below from the ASPCA and APDT have good information on what to look out for while searching for a trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
More on how I went about finding a trainer for my Shiba Inu.
When I introduce a new dog, I supervise closely. I use leashes, gates, and other safety equipment, as necessary, to keep everyone safe. When I cannot supervise, I keep my dogs safely separated. I do not leave them alone together for any length of time (not even one minute), until I am extremely sure that they can be safe together.
More on how I introduce a new dog. However, this is in a case where there is no pre-existing aggressive behavior.
How I change my dog’s bad behavior.
Based on what you describe, I would get help from a good professional trainer; one who understands the science behind dog behavior (e.g. operant conditioning principles and more.), who has experience with aggressive dogs, and is properly certified. I would also be careful of trainers who overly stress the role of dog dominance.
http://behavior.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/local-assets/pdfs/The_Truth_About_Aggression__Dominance_dogs.pdf
I have a 3 year old lab who is still very much a puppy. He is very large. When he stands on his hind legs he’s just about muzzle to muzzle with me (I’m 5’1″). He weighs about 75-80 lbs (to my 110), and is unquestionably stronger than me. He’s a sweet boy, not at all aggressive (with the exception of a bit of food aggression with my boxer- we do feed them separately) but I was not adept at training him. I can’t even begin to leash train him- he drags me down the street. The biggest problem is jumping on people (especially me and my kids). He knocks me down frequently, like a kangaroo! He responds to “sit” so long as I point my finger at him- but if I don’t immediately pet him he jumps up to bite my hand- not aggressively, but because he thinks I have a treat. That was how I taught him to sit. The jumping is so much of a problem that sadly I can’t let him inside- I know this does not help the problem, but I have 4 kids so I’m between that rock/hard place. He’s unintentionally hurt people and broken things too many times, and he relentlessly chases the canine-hating cat and goes for her litter box and food- always an instant disaster. We have a very small house.
These are problems I ridiculously didn’t anticipate. We dont have the same problems with our 8 year old boxer. She never jumps and usually leaves the cat well alone having learned her lesson long ago- I foolishly projected her mellow personality onto a male lab puppy. I tried playing with him in the back yard hoping to earn respect, but he takes me about as seriously as the cat. I have been considering a shock collar to reduce jumping, food aggression, and feline over-loving. After reading this I’m convinced otherwise, however, I’m just gonna come out and admit that I am NO GOOD at training dogs! It is the resort of someone hopelessly incapable of training an animal who has such personality, playfulness, and size. I guess I’m just not the alpha. I think he learned his better traits by default: for example, he quit eating the Sheetrock and door (though he still loves socks from the dryer). He would be an amazing, loyal dog if he would just stop jumping and leave the cat alone. My Mom is afraid he will hurt the kids, and we are trying to sell the house, so she is pressuring me to re-home him since I obviously can’t get things under control, but I love that dog like my children and can not part with him. I’m at a loss, very frustrated.
I also had a very difficult time with my Shiba Inu at the start, and felt that he was impossible to train. I think the two key issues were that (1) I did not have good energy. Often, I would be stressed out, frustrated, or even afraid of Sephy. He would pick up on my energy, get stressed out himself, and act even more crazy. (2) I did not have enough information on dog behavior, how dogs learn, and how I go about teaching my very stubborn dog in an effective way.
Dog behavior is very context dependent, therefore, when in doubt, I get help from a good professional trainer. During my Shiba’s difficult period, it was helpful to have a trainer guide me on timing, reading his body language, and more. Timing, consistency, and repetition were all very important when training him.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
More on how dogs learn.
In terms of jumping, I have two Huskies, and they both love people and always want to lick faces. Some things I have learned while observing them-
1. My dog jumps because she is often rewarded for jumping. People make noise, get excited, scratch her, give her affection, or sometimes even food when she jumps, which encourages her to jump more.
2. My dog is especially tempted to jump when she is over-excited, or when meeting people who are over-excited.
3. My dog is a lot more calm after she has had their daily walk and exercise.
To train my dog not to jump on me, I have to make sure that I *do not* reward her jumping behavior. Instead, I get her to do an alternative behavior and reward that instead. Consistency is very important while training my dog, so I make sure *never* to reward undesirable behavior.
To train my dog not to jump on other people, I have to make sure that she *does not* get rewarded by the other person. This is a lot more difficult because a person’s instinct is to interact back when a dog jumps. When people visit, I supervise and put a lead on my dog. In this way, I have good control over her, can direct her on what to do, and can prevent her from jumping on people. I also exercise her well beforehand, so that I set her up for success.
More on why dogs jump and how I train my dog not to jump on people.
More on how I deal with my dog’s bad behavior.
When I play with my dog, I set up clear play rules so that playing is safe, and so that my dog learns good play behaviors and self control. I also throw in many obedience breaks, so that I manage his excitement level.
For walking a large dog that pulls, some people use a head-halti. The head-halti controls the head of dog, and allows us to prevent pulling with very little force. However, as with any piece of equipment, it has its own pros and cons, it needs to be properly fastened, and properly used. Incorrect use can cause harm to the dog.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-leash-training-equipment#halti
Given that there are young children around, I would get help from a good professional trainer. This will help to keep things safe, and also start things off in a good way.
Big hugs to your furry boy and girl.
If you are not confident training the dog you need to find a qualified trainer that can help you in person and they will be able to advise you on whether the use of a ecollar is a good idea or not. That being said I have had similar as well as other problems with my shepherd and worked with a professional trainer that was able to train me on how to properly use an ecollar to train my pup and manage some of his bad behaviors. If you are willing to learn how to use the collar correctly and not COMPLETELY rely on the collar itself to fix the problem ecollars can be a valuable TOOL in training and managing behavior. When the right collar is used (I have one with a shock and vibrate function and have been using it for about 6 months and have used the shock a SMALL handful of times) they are not cruel like most people think I hardly ever have to use mine at all any more I do put it on just in case but with the right training after the dog understands what is expected and what is acceptable they no longer need the shock or even vibration as a reminder, especially a dog like a lab they are so loyal and want to please their people soooo badly that it should not take much time with consistent proper training to fix your dog’s issues!!!
Good luck!!!
So, we adopted a 1 year old chocolate lab mix (we think part hound)…she was very good at first and now when we go for walks its horrible, she barks and goes crazy when other dogs come up our way. When we first got her we would bring her to the dog park and one night when my husband and son went to the dog park, she was running with the other dogs and ran into a tree and kinda wrapped herself around it…I am kinda thinking her behavior with other dogs is due to that bad experience. Anyway, the barking even inside and in our fenced in backyard are ridiculous and starting to affect our son (who is 1 and cries really bad when she barks, gets really upset), so now we are looking into a shock collar to stop the barking at every single thing she sees. On another side note, I work and deal with a toddler and totally don’t have time to train and catch the behavior consistently. Any help/advice would be great.
My Shiba Inu was also reactive to other dogs when he was young. What helped him most was doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises.
I also set up a consistent and fixed routine for my dog, and good daily exercise so that he has good positive outlets for his energy. He is more calm and able to learn after he has exercised. If I am too busy, then there is dog daycare or hiring a dog walker. I make sure to pick a good daycare, with trained positive based caretakers, and good/safe facilities. These activities can also help with socialization with other dogs.
Dog to dog reactivity combined with being behind a fence can lead to barrier frustration.
http://www.scafshelter.org/education/tips-from-the-trainer/1196/tips-from-the-trainer-barrier-frustation
http://www.bigdogsbighearts.com/Leash_Aggression_Barrier_Frustration.pdf
http://www.dogforum.com/training-behavior-stickies/reactivity-leash-aggression-barrier-frustration-12538/
Shocking a dog every time he sees or hears another dog is risky and may cause a dog to associate other dogs/people with pain and discomfort. This can lead to other behavioral issues, including aggression, as was shown in Polsky’s study and others, which I describe in the article above. It can also lead to more frustration. A shock collar is *not* something that I would use on my dogs for such a circumstance, especially with a young child in the household.
If you choose to use a shock collar, it is best to do so only under the supervision of a professional trainer who is properly certified. Shock collars should only be used for short periods of time daily, and *should not* be left on the dog all of the time.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
Very good article but it didn’t address bark collars specifically. I have tried one on our small dog and its the only thing that stops her from barking at everything she sees out the front window of the house. I tried it on myself and it nails you. I suggest you try any thing you are going to put on your pet on yourself and then decide. I don’t mean wear the dumb thing just hold it up to your vocal cords and bark or hit the button. Mine is similar to getting hit by an electric fence, and thats the low setting without it ramping up. I don’t like it but it works and keeps me from feeling I’m going to get abusive with the little yapper. She still voices her displeasure but now it is with growls and whines which we both seem able to live with. As to it hurting our relationship she still seems to think the sun rises and sets on me and just speaking to her and showing her the collar after she has had it off for a few days works. In a few weeks when she gets back to barking we put it on again for a few days and reinforce the training. Seems to work.
Hi there, I just really wanted to say thanks for your post. I find it very difficult to discuss these things in most dog training communities because, as you rightly suggest, they tend to make emotions run high, and I often find it’s impossible to have a balanced argument, or discuss with people in ways that are based on actual research rather than horror stories, hearsay, and myths. I’ve been using the vibrate and beep functions on our shock collar, and I decided to use it as a means of creating a situation in which I can use reward-based / positive reinforcement training. There was absolutely nothing that would snap our dog out of certain reactions (like chasing, barking and nipping at cyclists; or nipping people who approach me or hug me), and as soon as I found a means of snapping her out of that reaction a couple of times and she had realised that an alternative reaction was possible, we could start actually rewarding her (which wasn’t possible earlier because, as you mention, she had gone over her threshold). Anyway, this post has really helped me gain perspective on the shock setting. THANK YOU!
I recently rescued a 1.5-2 yr old 80lb American Bulldog. He is the PERFECT house dog. Sweet, behaves, no bad behaviors, however, when we go out on a walk he’s a complete @(*&$*^%! He doesn’t respond to treats because he doesn’t care about them and I can’t seem to make any sort of connection with him outside. I’ve tried the halti, the chain, the prong collar… nothing seems to work and it seems impossible to “snap” him out of whatever the object of his attention is on. Yesterday we were walking ON LEASH and a golden retriever OFF LEASH came charging us, Charlie grabbed hold of the golden’s face and wouldn’t let go despite my efforts. I feel like if I could make the same connection we have INSIDE then OUTSIDE would be so much more manageable. I’ve heavily considered the shock collar but really cannot afford for it to backfire and have him be aggressive or worse, even more disconnected.
My Shiba Inu, Sephy, was also reactive to other dogs when he was young. He had a pretty low reactivity threshold, so he would quickly get over-excited, go rear-brained (lose control), and at that point, he is no longer capable of learning, listening, or anything else. Once he goes reactive, the best that I can do is remove him from the trigger stimulus as quickly and effectively as possible.
Therefore, the key with Sephy is to keep him below his reactivity threshold and to help raise that threshold through desensitization exercises.
Some things that I did with Sephy-
1. I start small and set him up for success.
In the beginning, we practiced leash training in the house and backyard where is it quiet, with few distractions. Once we are very comfortable with that, I very slowly increase the environmental challenge. First, we go to quiet areas in the neighborhood and then very slowly build up from there.
2. Neutral experiences.
I use distance and barriers to weaken the “other dog” stimulus and keep my dog below his reactivity threshold.
3. Shorter but more frequent walks.
In this way, neither of us gets frustrated, and we have lots of successful walks. The more successes we had, the more Sephy’s behavior improved.
4. Calm and decisive.
Sephy is very sensitive to the energy of the people around him. If I am frustrated, stressed, angry, or nervous, he will pick up on that, get stressed himself, and become even more reactive. He behaves best when I am calm and decisive, so I try to have in my head a plan A, plan B, and plan C.
5. Dog behavior is very context dependent.
Therefore, each dog and each situation is different. During Sephy’s difficult period we got help from several professional trainers. None of them fully solved Sephy’s issues, but each of them helped me to better read and understand Sephy. We also did a lot of desensitization exercises at our local SPCA, under the direction of one of their trainers.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
More on what I did with Sephy.
oh and another comment. i personally check to see how strong the shock is before giving it to my dog. people freak when they hear your SHOCKING your dog..U SHALL BURN.. naw its like a buzz or a thump feeling, im okay with it being done to me so i see no problem using it as a teaching tool. like i said. i no longer need to buzz my dog. but if i ever do need to im glad i have the option