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Please read this article, carefully. I have used electric collars for over 20 years with great results. It depends on what you need done and how much work you are willing to out into it.
Do not listen to the bleeding hearts who tell you how cruel it is and how much it hurts, read the ENTIRE article and then decide for yourself on what is best. The electric collar is one of the best training tools out there today. Good luck.
ADD: Mellisa, you have NO idea of what an electric collar is or how it works, why talk? I would be more then happy to have one on and have you push the button, I do it all the time. As a matter of fact, I insist that all people whom I train dogs for, HAVE to put it on, BEFORE their dogs wear it. If you have no idea and you are a bleeding heart, as you so put it, please, do not get involved in things you don’t have any experience in.
Punishment training never works, and causing pain to your dog is animal cruelty.
Why not consider a reward based training program like clicker training? It works a lot better and the dogs will work toward pleasing you rather than becoming fearful of putting a foot wrong.
Yes, shock collar dog training does work!
I have trained 2 dogs, for various reasons, using this method.
I do not know ideally how old a dog ‘should’ be but common sense tells me to not use a shock collar on a dog, even of big breed, until the age of at least 1 year old when he has developed muscle mass in the neck area.
Shock collars are sold under many manufacturer names; I am sure you have found them on the internet. Look for one that come with an instructional video, cd or dvd for clarity of instructional use and less guess work.
All of them come with training hints and suggestions.
Be sure to follow them! They will guide you to have your dog wear the collar for as many as 3-7 days before you begin thinking about shock training.
Your collar should be equipped with 2 ‘training’ tools; one being the shock (they call it ‘correction’) and the other being an audible ‘beep’ function (they call it the ‘alert’).
You will be taught to give your dog a command, lure your dog with treats and demonstrate what you want him/her to do well before you think about pressing that ‘shock’ button.
With regards to the ‘shock’ be sure to shop for a collar with at least 8 levels of intensity. You may need to only use #2 or #3 and never go higher!
I totally agree with another who answered – if you use a shock collar to train, you MUST put it around your own thigh and experience the shock you intend to give your animal before you do it.
I never had to use above #2 on an 80 pound boxer and only #3 on a 70 pound boxer.
After a few months of routine training, I was able to simply put the collar on my dog and take him for off leash walks in extremely busy environments – without using the control to shock him! Once I felt he may be considering getting further away from me, I would simple ‘beep’ (or ‘notify’) him that he was indeed wearing his collar, and he would happily get right back to my side.
After a year, heck, I would forget the control and just put the collar on him most times – that’s all he needed!
I taught a second dog to respect the house cat after 2 weeks of inhouse training wearing the collar.
Yes, the shock startles your dog – it is supposed to! A low intensity is no worse than a normal electrical shock. The shock is not constant, it lasts about 1 second.
As you shop for collars, pay attention to how many feet of coverage (between you with the remote and your dog wearing the collar) it has. I worked with a 150 foot range and had minimal issues.
Best of luck with your decision.
if your not able to train your dog with love and patience but can be heartless enough to even consider a shock collar then you just shouldn’t own a dog!!!!
Used properly, they can be an effective TOOL in training. I am not sure exactly how they work, but one of my contacts has experience with them. I am starring your question, so he can see it and answer you.
A complete waste of money and the use of such a collar is nothing more than animal abuse. Owners with dogs that have behaviour problems may find it difficult to control their anger when using these collars. a good trainer does not need to use punishment to train a dog, in fact, reward-based training is generally proven to produce much better results.
Actual ‘Shock Collars’ are so rarely used today, (as opposed to Electronic Training Collars – which may be too prevalent and way too accessible) … I have to ask, where have you, Joe N, ever seen anyone with a ‘shock collar?’ What was the trainer doing with it?
And for those answering here who do not know the difference between a shock collar and an electronic training collar … why are you even offering any comment at all?
This is very cruel. Please turn yourself into a dog and let me use this shock thing on you.
In my opinion no, they don’t work. They are cruel and a waste of your money and anyone who uses them is looking to take the lazy route. Nothing substitutes for a correction coming from you. In fact it’s more productive than a shock collar.
A few flaws with the shock collar is that for one it is extremely painful. I tested a friends shock collar set at level two and it hurt worse than being shocked from a light socket. The shock collars will also inadvertently go off if there is a loud base that travels through the dogs body for example car stereos or airplanes. They also prevent the dog from crying or alerting you of people around your house or even from letting you know they have to go outside. Barking is a dogs natural behavior and preventing a dog from conducting a natural act instills further behavioral problems such as chewing and excessive running.
Dogs normally bark for attention and the best way to stop it is to ignore it or correct it. Ignoring it tells the dog it will not get attention from barking. Make sure you are also giving your dog plenty of exercise to wear the dog out. Exercise is 50% of the solution, 25% is dicipline, and the remaining 25% is socialization and positive reinforcement. Often though these collars will simply build up the dogs titration level making it more difficult to train the dog.
i dint know about using them on a dog,but i have used them on a few woman and they actually liked it and asked for more,not on high electricity…
Sadly, yes, it often does work (though no method works for every dog). When the dog does something you don’t like, you press a button and the collar the dog is wearing shocks him. I have seen dogs with burns on their necks from this.
However, it works at what cost? Do you really want a dog that is terrified to do anything because it may get hurt for doing so? Do you really want your dog to confuse what he is being corrected for and think it’s because he was next to a child or your friend, not because he was going to jump up to say hello?
Positive reinforcement-based training works too, and is much kinder to the dog. Your dog will learn because he wants to, not because he is afraid. And, because he is willing to try to figure out what you want, you can teach him more than you could using a shock collar.
Apparently Greekman would consider me a “bleeding heart” but I don’t see what’s wrong with not wanting to hurt a being to train it. I’m not saying the dog should get to do whatever it wants, just that there are better ways.
Oh, and Greekman, I’d be happy to put a shock collar on you and zap you every time you made a mistake. Tell me then how much you learned and how much you look forward to training in the future.
i think shock collars should not have even been invented and who ever did must have been mean and lonely….