Are dog shock collars a good option? Which ones are effective?
Looking into a dog shock collar option because all other options are exhausted. Are there varying degrees of shock collars, or some better than others. Those around the $150-$200 price range seem to have good reviews but kind of looking for some personal experiences. Not even sure if it is a good idea? We love our dog but she doesn't listen at all.
We have a perimeter fence from Pet Stop (http://www.petstop.com/) that uses a shock collar to train our dog to stay in the yard. Training the pup was painful to watch - utter fear and agony in the dog's eyes when she was getting zapped. The training works, though. In three years since the training she has been zapped only twice, and now we actually can let her out without the collar on - she never goes beyond the invisible barrier. It probably has saved her life by keeping her out of the street.
Before you put the collar on your dog, I suggest you put it on your leg and zap yourself so you understand what you're doing to your pet every time it activates. And be prepared for the derision of other pet owners who think it's cruel. Try to find a good trainer in your area who might be able to help you with other methods you haven't tried yet. But if this is what works for your dog then I think it's better to correct the dog than have to put it down in fear it may harm a person...
I have a friend who was a professional dog trainer (until she became disabled) who would cheerfully choke a dog owner who used a shock collar on a dog. I'm less violence prone that she is, but I pretty much concur with her view of such devices.
When her dogs (large Belgian Tervurens) insisted on whining and fussing to be allowed into the one room that was dog free, Shirley decided the whining must be their telling her they wanted their nails trimmed! So each time they whined from the doorway, Shirley would cheerfully and lovingly go into the hallway with them and do a little light nail clipping. Ooh! Ick!! Nooo! It was quite amazing how quickly the doorway whining stopped!
She is no longer able to update her website, but she keeps it up as a service to folks wanting to learn about click training. Can't hurt to check it out, and it might be useful to you: www.shirleychong.com . Be sure to read about making a doggie nail file!
@durkzilla: Sorry -- not aimed at anyone in particular!
Might be useful for kids, but doubt it.
I just searched the Pet Stop site, and their FAQ indicates that they do have the type of "remote trainer" collar you are looking for. You'll probably need to contact the local agent for pricing and availability.
We've been very happy with the quality of the collar and equipment. The collar takes an odd size battery, though, so you'll want to sign up for the battery replacement program through the agent.
@magic cave: No worries - it is a really touchy subject and honestly I feel like a bit of a failure as a dog owner by resorting to this solution.
When I was a kid I saw my dog get run over. I swore that my kids would never have to see something like that happen to our dog.
And for the record, I did zap myself first, repeatedly, to the great amusement of the kids and the sales guy, before I put the collar on the dog. It hurt less than getting hit by a car.
@durkzilla: I have to agree with you on the collar vs. getting run over. One of my pups slipped through the gate several years ago, and we lost her to a car moving less than 10 mph. (She actually ran into the side of a front wheel.) I commend you (oh, gosh, that does sound kinda pompous, doesn't it?) for checking out the strength of the shock before using it on your pup.
I detest them. There are better ways to train a dog.
In the days before shock collars, we had to install an electric wire around our fence line to keep our 2 boneheaded dogs in the back yard. We had about 1/2 acre fenced back there so it was too much to check regularly. One dog was a beagle that liked to follow her nose. She escaped about 10 times in the first few months we had her. She worked through all of our fixes.
Once it was installed, they got zapped once, and ran for the house. I think they got zapped on other time and then never again. After about 6 months or so, we unplugged it and never had another problem.
It seems cruel but it is better than losing the dog altogether. It shouldn't be the first solution but sometimes, it seems like the only one.
You don't say why you need a shock collar. If it is for bark control, then in my experience a citronella spray collar is best. I've used all kinds of bark collars and ultrasonic distractors and without question the citronella versions are most effective and no one would consider it to be inhumane. I have also tried lemon spray versions but didn't find it as functional. The shock collars have some utility in conjuction with an "invisible fence" or the radio control ones for hunting dog training, but in my experience they are virtually worthless for barking.
I use shock collars on my 4 & 6 year old kids. they work great, they are the best-behaved kids in town!
Be sure to check your state and local ordinances too. Shock collars, spike collars, pinch collars, etc. are illegal in my city unless being used for specific training purposes under full supervision. This was quietly passed a few years ago here as part of an anti-animal cruelty law specifically to ban unsupervised tie-outs and I'm surprised how many people seem to not have any idea of the new requirements. They think that if they can buy something, it must be legal to use it in any way they like.
Just installed an invisible fence with shock collar for our dog. She escaped our fenced in yard repeatedly. As soon as we would work to block one area, she would move to another and dig/squirm under the existing 42" chain link fence. Staking the fence down, blocking it with heavy objects, nothing worked.
We were in the training phase, where the collar buzzes and vibrates. She ignored it and went under the fence again while wearing it.
She's had the collar turned to the lowest static setting, and so far has not escaped the yard once, in three days. Prior to this, it was daily if not multiple times per day.
I had mixed feelings about this. When I wasn't frustrated about her escaping and leading us on a wild goose chase around multiple yards, I felt pretty bad. But, as another person pointed out, it's a lot better than seeing her get hit by a car.
So, if you are looking to keep your dog in an enclosed area, I can recommend the Petsmart system. For other needs, see a trainer.
@durkzilla: We were concerned that a shock collar was very harsh as well but we have been considering it for two months now because 2 nights ago, she almost got hit by a car- again. Getting hit by a car is my worst fear honestly. She darts out of the house and runs very fast around (for about 10 minutes) and then comes back. The problem is, she is not looking where she is going. No matter how many walks we take her for, she still does this.
She also does not listen to anything- but on the same hand, she is a very sweet, loving dog. She is one of those that follows you wherever you go- even to the point where she gets under your legs (yes annoying but livable). Another habit we want to break her of is getting on the furniture and beds. She will not ever lay directly on the floor- she is always jumping into bed with us at night where we have to remove her multiple times....
@durkzilla: ... We got her a dog bed but she does not like it. We even placed it by our beds because she always wants to be close to us but she still doesn’t lay on it.
We adopted her when she was 2 from the shelter. She was in the streets before that. It is almost like she thinks she runs everything and can do whatever she wants. We have had her for 2 years now and have exhausted a lot of options.
Thank you for the site and it looks like they have a local number to call so I will ask them some questions over the phone. Maybe starting with the invisible fence is a good first step to keep her safe.
@magic cave: I am checking out the site you provided for other possible options for indoor use outside of the shock collar. It really is a great site with a lot of information. We have gone 2 years fighting the training thing so another few months to try something else can’t hurt. Thanks again. :)
@durkzilla: We were concerned that a shock collar was very harsh as well but we have been considering it for two months now because 2 nights ago, she almost got hit by a car- again. Getting hit by a car is my worst fear honestly. She darts out of the house and runs very fast around (for about 10 minutes) and then comes back. The problem is, she is not looking where she is going. No matter how many walks we take her for, she still does this.
She also does not listen to anything- but on the same hand, she is a very sweet, loving dog. She is one of those that follows you wherever you go- even to the point where she gets under your legs (yes annoying but livable). Another habit we want to break her of is getting on the furniture and beds. She will not ever lay directly on the floor- she is always jumping into bed with us at night where we have to remove her multiple times...
@durkzilla: We were concerned that a shock collar was very harsh as well but we have been considering it for two months now because 2 nights ago, she almost got hit by a car- again. Getting hit by a car is my worst fear honestly. She darts out of the house and runs very fast around (for about 10 minutes) and then comes back. The problem is, she is not looking where she is going. No matter how many walks we take her for, she still does this.
Thank you for the site and it looks like they have a local number to call so I will ask them some questions over the phone. Maybe starting with the invisible fence is a good first step to keep her safe.
I am not seeing the comment replies that I post so if there are multiple posts- sorry!
@kamikazeken:
That's pretty sickening.
If you need to use a shocking device to teach your dog, you probably shouldn't own a dog in the first place. Go read some books and discover that you are the actual problem.
Shock, prong and choke collars are cruel, painful and pointless. They are for lazy people who can't train a dog properly. Violence begets violence.
If you love your animals, then you shouldn't put them in pain.
@kamikazeken:
Not sure why my comment was removed? So I'll say it again. That's a pretty sick comment there buddy, even IF it is a joke.
If you need to use a shock collar than you shouldn't own a dog. Instead you should read up on how to PROPERLY train a dog. The dog is not the problem, YOU are the problem. Learn how to train yourself before you go shocking another animal.
I do not personally care for shock collars for dogs. However, if you absolutely must get one, please, please train the dogs with it correctly. You can cause some real issues with your dog if you use the shock collar wrong or don't train correctly with it.
I would also suggest finding a positive reinforcement dog trainer in your area and take a class or two. A good trainer trains you how to train your dog so you can take the knowledge and apply it to anything you want to train. Admittedly recalls, coming when called, is one of the harder things to train, especially when the dog is outside and has other things that are way more interesting but it can be done.
@durkzilla: I agree nothing is worse then a dog hit by a car as a child I lost a couple pets to the highway. Before I see replies. My parents really did try. We had a dog slip out of the collar after months of owner ship. A dog that pulled out the screw in type of dog anchors. I swore I would never let my children experience the pain I did (of a early pet death). First dog we had we trained with no issues. The second I swear wanted to get hit by a car. We could not train this animal. We reluctantly purchased a invisible fence and trained, trained and trained. Still this dog would take a run when people walked by. We got a different one, the kind that you could activate with the remote. Worked with her in the house and felt confident in our training. Took her out to a ball diamond, a person at each of the openings. Let her go wham she went into crazed high speed mode. I yelled she kept going I beeped and yelled, bam she stopped on a dime. A few more beeps and she started to listen....
I have a silky terrier that I acquired at age 4 years old. His previous owner was an old gentleman who passed away. The dog had NEVER had any discipline training and had no idea what "no" meant. And yes, he had that terrier hard head and wanted to do things his way. After some leash training and basic command learning I purchased a SPORTDOF SD-400 training (shock) collar. Cost about $150. It's a pro model and can take abuse---do not get a cheap collar as you will be just throwing your money away.
My results were amazing. I now have a dog that I can take for a walk without a leash---he is always by my right side and is cognisant of my every action. However I must stress the collar is not a tool by itself. It must be used sparingly and as a REINFORCEMENT to other training. If used properly and with restraint it is a great training tool.
@durkzilla: to our voice. I would leave the remote when we went outside. It was an amazing change. She was smart enough to know if you took off the collar she was gone, checking out the other dogs in the neighbor hood. I finally was able to let her run free in our yard.
I am not sure what would have happened to this dog without the collar. She become my second favorite pet ever.
IF you use a shock collar follow the instructions smart pets will only get shocked a few times. The warning beep will be as effective as the shock if done properly. Use the shock on yourself to ensure it does not become a habit. The shock was unpleasant, but survivable a car is not...speaking of I hear what could only have been a dog get hit by a car 2 days ago. The hair rose on my neck as I heard the welp. My wife got up she asked what was that I was a bit afraid to look outside, but told her as I grabbed my flashlight. The neighbors called to police and I got my kids back in the house.
@kamikazeken:
That's pretty twisted, even IF you're kidding. Maybe social services needs to pay you a visit?
If you need to shock an animal to train it you shouldn't own one in the first place. If you didn't train the dog as a puppy it's your fault. People think they can own a dog and do no training while it's young and expect it to be a perfect animal.
The dog isn't the problem. YOU are the problem. YOU need to be trained. Read some books on dog behavior. Maybe you should spend the money to take the dog to a professional trainer, someone who knows what they are doing.
I guarantee you will regret it if you decide to do shock training. At least I hope you would.
I often wonder what it is that makes humans think they have a right to put a device that causes pain on the neck of another animal to "train" it. The only thing a shock collar does is trains the dog to fear. I know I couldn't live with that.
Moral of the story: Pets aren't for everyone. They take time and patience.
Yuck.
It only works if you turn up the collar all the way. The collar needs to hurt enough to make it stop barking. Or just buy a breed not prone to barking.
@iggz: thank you for your comment, however, saying that animals are not for everyone because they do not take the time with them is a little ahead of yourself. First off, we adopted her from a shelter when we was 2 years old - very set in her ways already. We have spent a lot of time with her and have already corrected some things outside of a shock collar.
I practically have a zoo at my house: a dog, 2 cats, 2 sugar gliders, 3 ferrets, and a guinea pig - and a 55 gal tank with fish if you count that?
Moral of the story: I grew up with a lot of animals and currently have a lot myself. They are all great and are trained. My concern is for my dog that I am afraid will get hit by a car - which would truly be heartbreaking. We have spent time training her, helped her through heartworms that she had gotten before we adopted her and more. Again, thanks for your input but it seems you might be on a high horse/very emotional about the subject to provide constructive criticism.
@hlx: Thanks for the tip. I will look into that.
@discountlingeriedeals: You're welcome. Good luck.
I saw an episode of howard stern where they taped one of these to an employee's scrotum. hilarity ensued... I'm thinking that leaving a shock collar on the kitchen counter when you have some friends over for drinks could lead to an epic party.
Anyone else here want to put one of these on iggz, and have a big button on deals.woot where any random person can shock them?
@foyman: "It must be used sparingly and as a REINFORCEMENT to other training. If used properly and with restraint it is a great training tool"
I think what you said here is perfect.
@discountlingeriedeals: Let's see what problems you have told us about.
1. "She darts out of the house and runs very fast" - This appears to be what you specifically want a shock collar for. So your plan is to leave the collar on the dog all the time and then when she dart out of the house, you will run get the remote to shock her, stopping her where she stands, frozen in fear. Perhaps in the middle of the street.
2. "Another habit we want to break her of is getting on the furniture and beds. She will not ever lay directly on the floor- she is always jumping into bed with us at night where we have to remove her multiple times. We got her a dog bed but she does not like it. We even placed it by our beds because she always wants to be close to us but she still doesn’t lay on it." - Basic obediance training for daytime, confine to a crate at night. These are dog training 101 things.
Continued...
@discountlingeriedeals: ...
3. "It is almost like she thinks she runs everything and can do whatever she wants." - Again, basic obediance training.
4. "We have had her for 2 years now and have exhausted a lot of options." - I for one would be curious what those "lot of options" were. 10 minutes a day for a couple of weeks would likely solve a lot.
5. "we adopted her from a shelter when we was 2 years old - very set in her ways already." - While young puppies are certainly the most trainable, a dog at any age that respects their owner will be eager to please and always very trainable with positive reinforcement.
6. "I practically have a zoo at my house: a dog, 2 cats, 2 sugar gliders, 3 ferrets, and a guinea pig - and a 55 gal tank with fish if you count that" - perhaps this is why you don't have the time or patience to spend with your dog the time she needs. You might want to consider that you are working your way towards an unhealthy case of animal hoarding.
@caffeine_dude: I have no doubt that the pain and fear of getting shocked can be a very effective tool to speedy training. I grew up in a house where pain, fear, punishment, and intimidation were used on children and animals alike. When I got to be an adult, it was all to easy to fall into this familiar rut too.
However, over the years, I have learned how much more all around effective learning can be without the pain and fear. Do things sometimes take longer to learn? Yes. Do I still yell sometimes? Yes, but I'm working on it. The animals I have now have never been subjected to pain from my hand and it is amazing the difference in our relationship with each other. I only wish I had learned this lesson early enough in my life for my kids and other animals.
I'm not trying to be on a high horse or somehow I'm better than someone else, I just know that there are always better alternatives than pain.
@hlx: We have spent a lot of time with her. We have done this "101" training as you call it and more. She is very stubborn and does not listen. It is easy to say "you don't spend time with her", etc. but when it comes down to it, we do. She is the type of dog that does not seem to ever get enough attention.
This is why I asked the question about the shock collar because I have heard it would be effective. The electric fence seems to be a good option, as many people have said good things about it. I had only heard bad things about them not working prior to asking the question.
As far as the "unhealthy case of animal hoarding", I think that is a far stretch. My husband brought a cat to the relationship, we ended up with another cat by default because my mom couldn't take her into where she lives, the guinea pig is my sons and the ferrets and gliders are mine. I really do not appreciate that statement because all of our animals get a lot of attention and love - and were adopted...
@hlx: do you really think they would have been better cramped up in a small cage at an animal shelter? I think not. I feel that if you can give an animal a loving home and can take care of them in all respects (including attention), then there is nothing wrong with having as many animals as I do.
@discountlingeriedeals: Maybe your dog needs an outlet for her energy. This article explains brain toys for dogs.
http://www.alphadogtoys.com/creative-dog-toys-alleviate-boredom.html
A training method that works - (NILIF- Nothing in life is free):
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/nothingfree.htm
Obedience training classes with a qualified trainer who can help you with the way you relate to your dog.
Yes, I have trained my own dogs and other peoples as well. A two year old or even a much older dog can be trained with positive reinforcement.
just call Cesar Milan. He'll fix your dog (actually you, if you subscribe to his theories).
@faughtey: Thank you for the links I will get some things off that alphadogtoys.com site and give it a try. I also saw a bed on there that looks like a couch (whoohoo!) but will have to check the sizes on it. Also, thanks for the hope that we can get her trained. Glad I posted this question. It is amazing how helpful this online community is! Thanks again :)
Only get the collar, If you can't stop your dog from attacking other dogs and people. The shock collar is a great tool to use to teach the dog, only use the collar to train a dog that doesn't listen your STOP command. It should take no longer then a couple months at the most for the dog to learn. Then you shouldn't need to use the collar anymore. Make sure there is a good return policy 60-90 days would be the best, your dog would be trained and you can get your money back. My aunt trained her dog with one and now that dog is really obedient.
Thanks so much for everybody's opinions. I've been looking at bark collars for dogs on http://barkcollarsonline.com and they seem like a pretty good option. There are some answers here that make it seem like these collars aren't good, but for the most part people seem pretty happy with them. Should I get them from the aforementioned website?
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