Shock collars

[upstatedoc]

What are all y'all opinions on shock collars for dogs? Our dog doesn't listen to a word I say. This morning I let her out the back door to go P and she bolted after a squirrel and ended up in the neighbors yard barking at their dog.

[RickFLM4]

I walk our dogs on a lead or tie them out back on a lead while I wait on the patio and avoid letting them roam free. That solves the issue and avoids having either one getting hit by a car or coming across an unfriendly dog without me nearby.

One is prone to running at anything she sees and the other follows. We thought about an invisible fence but something about it bothered me even though it is probably only enough "shock" to get their attention. Maybe if they were bigger dogs it wouldn't bother me. Since they are older now and the first has a heart condition pretty much out of the question now.

[upstatedoc]

Bad listener:

[flyingfortress]

they got a bad rap when they came out, too powerful, not enough adjustment.
i will say this, if you opt to get one, SIGN UP FOR TRAINING WITH IT. you need to know how and when to use it effectively and correctly.

my 75lb boxer has been trained professionally on a shock collar and it was night and day. and to be clear, the collar i bought had settings from 0-120... and he responded very well to level 8-14. it's not an electrocution punishment, it's a nick to remind them that you commanded them to do something, or to pinpoint the moment they do something wrong. i really can't stress enough to get trained by a professional though, but it can be a wonderful tool - especially for off leash activities.

i also tried it on myself and up to about 35 was 100% fine. after that it sucked, but like i said, i never had to use it passed 14.

[Mr Tonka]

I trained mine for a month around the house while on a leash. He hasn't worn the shock collar in 2 years but still doesn't go out of the yard.

Training is key.

[WingZeroX5]

I have one and it works. Dog is completely different now. Remember that it's a training tool

[gtron]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

What are all y'all opinions on shock collars for dogs? Our dog doesn't listen to a word I say. This morning I let her out the back door to go P and she bolted after a squirrel and ended up in the neighbors yard barking at their dog.

Train your dog.

It takes time but owning a dog requires you to spend time with your dog so that shouldn't be a problem. Unless of course you shouldn't have got a dog because you don't really have the time to spend with it.

How do you train your dog? Read a book, watch a video, and consult a professional.

Not only will you not need to subject your pet to electric shock but you'll have a better relationship with your pet from all the awesome bonding.

If you decide to get the shock collar, try it on yourself and children first to make sure it doesn't really hurt.

[gtron]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

Bad listener:

[Jackal]

Just my .02$, based on my training/retraining of a couple dogs. Given, all dogs have personalities and what works for one, may not for another.

All dogs are trainable with the right incentive. I lean away from negative reinforcement and try to stick to positive reinforcement. There are times I have used the Ceasar Milan "bite", but it was only needed during an aggressive encounter.

If your dog is bolting for any reason, the first thing I would try to work on would be recall. Start by finding something she loves. Maybe it's food, maybe its attention. Either way, work on recall within the home. Call her name firmly but not aggressively (avoid calling multiple times) and say the recall command (heel, come), and when she comes to you, go over the top with treats or praise. Do this consistently and many, many times during the day at various times to avoid it feeling like a training session. Hopefully this builds the recall to the point where there is nothing more important than her name being called by you.

This may take a week, but the consistency in the training will be the key. Everyone in the house do it the same way, and with the same amount of praise.

I have also found that little things in the house help reinforce this. The Dogs should never enter/exit a doorway before you, run up and down stairs in front of you, or even walk in front of you on a leash. Eating before you should also not happen. As a pack animal, all these things lead to determining dominance within the pack. As long as you are the pack leader, the training will go smoothly and quickly.

[KingOfJericho]

What about an invisible fence? Our dog figured out her boundaries in about 15 minutes. Chasing deer, fox, raccoons, etc she never goes outside the boundary, even without her collar on.

The only time we have used a shock collar is when we have guests over. My dog has a bad habit of putting her front paws up on guests and it's impossible for me to be right there to correct her to I will vibrate first as a warning then give a very light shock if she persists. It's also handy when you're in the back yard and can't be right next to the dog the whole time.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

What about an invisible fence? Our dog figured out her boundaries in about 15 minutes. Chasing deer, fox, raccoons, etc she never goes outside the boundary, even without her collar on.

The only time we have used a shock collar is when we have guests over. My dog has a bad habit of putting her front paws up on guests and it's impossible for me to be right there to correct her to I will vibrate first as a warning then give a very light shock if she persists. It's also handy when you're in the back yard and can't be right next to the dog the whole time.

That's what i thought we were talking about. The fence i bought came with a collar that can be controlled remotely as well. It was really helpful at dog parks because my dog just wants to play and play and play. Other dog seem to tell him they've had enough and he doesn't stop. The remote has two buttons on it. One for the beeping that happens when he gets close to the invisible fence line and one to emit a shock. So when dogs get tired of him trying to play and snap at him, i make the collar beep. that usually does the trick if i catch him soon enough. Then i'll make it beep if he approaches the same dog again and he leaves it alone.

[eluded]

I use these:

http://www.dogtra.com/products/remot...ning/obedience

[jpnh]

different dog breeds are trainable to different degrees......

there's a reason that there are very few northern breeds in obedience classes at shows.........think about it

With that said as others have mentioned, different personalities respond to different training methods

Maybe its time for some professional advice from a trainer who's used the collars and other methods......

Dont forget....the collar is just a tool....there's nothing inherently good/bad about it......whether its a good/bad training tool depends primarily on you as the tool user......

[CANGRKE70]

Originally Posted by gtron

Train your dog.

It takes time but owning a dog requires you to spend time with your dog so that shouldn't be a problem. Unless of course you shouldn't have got a dog because you don't really have the time to spend with it.

How do you train your dog? Read a book, watch a video, and consult a professional.

Not only will you not need to subject your pet to electric shock but you'll have a better relationship with your pet from all the awesome bonding.

If you decide to get the shock collar, try it on yourself and children first to make sure it doesn't really hurt.

This!

I own probably two of the most stubborn dog breeds you can try and train. A Siberian Husky and a Chihuahua.

Only piece of advice I can give you is use walks and food to your advantage. Your dog needs to respect you as the alpha. If you're not, go fuck yourself.

Go online and read a reputable dog trainers blog on how to become an Alpha in your dogs eyes.

If you can only correct your dog with electric shock you're clearly taking the lazy way and shouldn't own a dog in the first place.

When I smoked, my husky would bring me my brand of cigarettes from another floor of the house when I asked. That's the level you need to get to so that he'll respect your command of stay if he see's a squirrel running around.

[M_Six]

I need one for our cat who scratches at the bedroom door every morning. I've often wished I could give her a quick zap to shut her up.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I need one for our cat who scratches at the bedroom door every morning. I've often wished I could give her a quick zap to shut her up.

How loud could a cat possibly be?

[Joekerr]

Apparently loud.

I've been thinking about a remote collar for my dog as well. Generally speaking, he's very well behaved. But there are those odd times where he just can't seem to control himself and goes tearing off the property and while I know he's friendly, other people don't and I can't have that.

As others have said though, if you establish yourself as the alpha, they will listen. He's honestly a good dog though - he'll even leave a plate of human food alone mid way through it if I tell him to, or, most recently, my 2yr old son was going to happily give the dog his food and I turn around just to see the food being extended, and the jaws open to receive and he again left it when I told him to. And he's a Lab, who is hugely motivated by food. Basically a walking disposal bin for us, he cleans up all our scraps.

[ilikebmxbikes]

I have two australian shepherds. Extremely intelligent and highly trainable working dogs. Some breeds are much more difficult to train so if you have tried this already, ignore it.

I use the same language with my dogs for different commands. Always use the same words.

I used small pocket treats to train them. The small treats are low calorie and quickly eaten by them so you can give them tons. Just carry a small bag of the treats in your pocket when you go out and often reward them both in treat and in praise. They will begin to associate staying close to you as a means of reward.

I do believe all dogs are good and only become bad when anxious. By curing anxiety by introducing them to new things and places as well as giving them a language and routine to latch onto, their behavior will improve tremendously.

[1MOREMOD]

Works on wives also that won't stay in kitchen

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Works on wives also that won't stay in kitchen

How loud can a wife possibly be?

Oh, wait...

[2000cs]

Zero effect (tried different models, too) on our Choco Lab. When she gets a scent or sees a rabbit or squirrel (or opossum, or…), she’s off. She has been professionally trained, and is very obedient except when there is a strong distraction. The shock collar had to be set so high it caused pain just to get her attention, and we were not willing to do that. And yes, we did all the training properly without distractions.

She is now 9 years old and has developed a fear of beeps. It started with a smoke alarm chirping; the controls on our oven beep when pressed so that will send her into hiding in a closet. So we’ve talked about using key finders around the yard with a cellphone to set them off as she gets close. Also afraid of lightening but not thunder.

[tdott]

It really helped us with our Bernese mountain dog, he is a big boy and they can pull hundreds of pounds so it was important to get him to listen, esp for my wife as he could and has taken her for a ride.

He was professionally trained with it, including training for us. We rarely ever used the shock function, we use the vibrate function which he reacts to and listens, even the beep function works most of the time.

Just having the collar on makes him more well behaved on walks, some of the time we forget to charge it, but when he knows its on that seems to be enough now.