We take a long hard look at the different type of dog collars available and how using some types will adversely affect your dog’s health and behaviour. Choke chain and prong & shock collars and their modern cousins, the e-collars, are fear-creating and pain-based devices have no place in 21st century dog training.
Fear-creating and pain-based devices have no place in 21st century dog training
Aeons ago, when I started out to train my first dog, I was advised to use a choke chain to make my dog walk nicely on lead. Even then I disliked the idea of a choke chain. Why would I want to yank my dog around? I’ve hated them since and we refuse to use them in classes.
Fear-creating and pain-based devices like choke and prong collars may have been the norm 30-40 years ago but they have no place in modern 21st century dog training.
Using choke chains, and their even more barbaric cousins, prong and shock collars, has significant risks. Choke and prong collars are designed to inflicting pain and discomfort. They can cause serious physical and emotional damage to dogs and should never be used.
What damage can they do your dog?
Their use of has been associated with whiplash, fainting, spinal cord injuries leading to paralysis, crushing of the trachea with partial or complete asphyxiation, bruising of the oesophagus, bruising and damage to the skin and tissues in the neck, crushing and/or fracture of the bones in the larynx, dislocated cervical vertebrae, brain damage and even prolapsed eyes caused by sharp increases in pressure in the head.
The metal spikes of prong collars pinch the skin around the dog’s neck and they can scratch or puncture skin. Over time, this can cause dogs to develop scar tissue (which has no feeling) and even build up a tolerance to the painful pinching sensation.
These methods are aversive, meaning they only work because something unpleasant happens to the dog when they do the wrong thing, or something unpleasant stops happening when they stop doing the wrong thing.
Aversive methods are bad for dogs
They affect dog welfare. Various studies have shown that dogs trained using aversive methods have more behaviour problems. These include fear and aggression. Long term effects include depression. And use of aversive methods will significantly affect your relationship with your dog.
Many civilized countries have outlawed prong collars, recognising the harm they can do New Zealand, Austria, Australia, Switzerland, the Canadian Province of Quebec, and many others have made prong collars (and in many cases choke and shock collars) illegal.
How does an e-collar and fence work?
“What can I do? My dog keeps escaping through our electric fence and then she can’t get back.”
Electric (invisible) fencing is not widely used in this country for good reason. It involves a wire running round an area and a special e-collar, which gives an electric shock to your dog when they approach and try to get through the “fence”. However, if the dog has gained enough speed – say, chasing some prey or other – they can be through the fence before the shock stops them. Like the dog involved in the call above.
Today I want to talk about the different types of E-collars and why they should be banned in all their forms.
There are three types of electronic (E) collars:
- Electronic boundary fences that have underground sensors. When the dog crosses the boundary, the dog’s collar gives an electric shock
- Antibark collars that automatically, or can be triggered to, spray the dog with water or citronella when the dog barks,
- Remote-controlled collars that enable a person to deliver a shock to the dog via a remote control.
A recent paper looking at e-collars concluded: “…there is no credible scientific evidence to justify e-collar use or the use of spray collars or electronic fences for dogs. On the contrary, there are many reasons to never use these devices. Better training options exist, with proven efficacy and low risk.” The authors go on to recommend a ban on the sale, use and promotion of all electronic collars.
There are excellent alternatives for all these. For example, you can use solid fencing to keep dogs confined to gardens and yards.
Spray collars don’t teach anything – the dog will become conditioned to the unpleasant hiss and spray, and it does nothing to change the barking or other unwanted behaviour, unless linked with other training. In which case you don’t need the spray collar.
Dogs trained with e-collars suffer fear and stress. And dogs may associate their use with things other than the behaviour being punished. For example, the dog may associate the punishment with the trainer, the location of the training, or (in the case of boundary fences) with people or dogs who happen to be walking by. This may result in fear behaviours and even aggression.
Poor timing by the human can significantly increase those risks.
Most importantly, there is no research that suggests electronic training collars are more effective.
Positive reinforcement leads to better results
In contrast, there is research that suggests positive reinforcement leads to better results.
Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, Scotland, Sweden, Wales, and some parts of Australia already have a ban on remote controlled electronic collars. England has plans to ban them although it has not yet become law.
Northern Ireland could soon be the only part of the UK where electric shock collars for dogs (and cats) are not banned.
All dog trainers should be using positive reinforcement methods to train dogs (and owners). Because these methods work.
If only we had proper regulation of our profession to ensure that every dog trainer used evidence-based, proven, training methods. I can only hope it happens within my lifetime.
There are no plans to ban choke and prong collars as yet in the UK.
So why do people still use them?
People choose these types of collars usually to try to stop their dog pulling.
Instead, why not teach or retrain your dog not to pull in the first place? It’s one of the key things we focus on in our Perfect Pet courses. And we insist you only use flat collars – or harnesses.
The best time to train a dog is when you first obtain them. The next best time is now.
Our Perfect Pet class run all year round. Find out how to train your dog to do what you want, when you want it using positive training methods and be proud when your pet responds perfectly, happily and immediately to your requests.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
