Should You Use a Shock Collar for Dog Training?

Control Or Pain?

The reason that many dog owners want to use shock collars is to control the dog. The reason for shock collars is to control dogs behind an electrically-controlled fence. Shock collars work in the security world. The stories of four dogs imply choices regarding shock collars.

Goals Are Kind

To have a predictable dog, you need to be an owner with clear, definite plans. The dog wants to know when it can eat, when it can play, and who is a threat to the household. If the owner shrinks back from all visitors, the dog may shrink back, or it may react to anxiety by defending the owner against all visitors. We had one dog, Star, who shrank from people. Surprise! When we looked the dog in the eyes through a glass door, it began to snarl at us from the other side. Having human beings look at it from the glass door challenged it. It was hostile to what it could not predict.

A Dog’s Motives

To have an obedient dog, you need to know what your dog wants to do. The intermittent use of a shock collar is, therefore, a step in restraining an aggressive, large dog, or in restraining a wanderer. Dogs moving within their boundaries with adequate food, limited to an indoor space, may not require a shock collar at all. The shock collar should be used when the dog is with the owner, who is realizing how many patterns it breaks.

A Dog Within Groups

There were three other dogs. The shock collar could have helped a neighbor’s dog,Bob, living outside the door, as it cringed around the door, snarling, barking, and shrinking back against the neighbor’s car. This dog had no fence, no food outside, and no owner present during weekday daylight hours. The sitter could have taken it further toward the neighbor’s house and shocked it when it snarled at the neighbors. Shocks should be tiny and contrasted with rewards.

Dogs And Exploration

The two other dogs I have in mind are one dog, Ralph, wandering around my high school, and another dog, Lee, with a barking habit. The wandering was encouraged when students fed their snacks to the dog. The barking habit was around other leashed dogs. The shock collar could have been used when the barking dog pulled at the leash, as it lunged at other dogs. The small shock could occur, then a disapproving voice, then a quiet portion of the walk would be rewarded by food.

Peter Wendt is a writer and researcher living in Austin, Texas. He recommends you check out dog trainer Chapel Hill and dog training Greensboro NC.