Dog training collars, tips and tricks | Shock Collars or Remote Collars

This is another device that gets the sensitive crowd in an uproar and that only sometimes comes from a lack of understanding. Remote, or Shock collars are not intended to inflict pain on your dog every time he gets out of line nor is the pain meant to be severe so much as startling. If you can tolerate the idea of an electronic fence to keep your dog from running out in the street and getting killed, then you can tolerate these dog training collars. 

The premise at the heart of shock collars is the same as at the heart of our previous two offerings, prong collars and choke collars. All three should be used for conditioning only, not as your dog’s permanent collar. Once the desired objective is achieved you should return to using a regular buckle collar. 

Shock collars work by…, well it’s right there in the name, folks. When your dog is behaving in a manner you are trying to break, he gets shocked. But not right away. Used as intended, Remote collars first provide a warning by either vibrating or buzzing, emitting an audible tone or providing a mild current which grows in intensity until ultimately, if corrected behavior is not achieved, delivering the conditioning shock. The intended shock should deliver more of a scare than pain. That said, it is enough of a jolt to really get your dog’s attention and might well result in a surprised yelp. 

Advocates of remote collars point out that their benefits are no “real” physical damage and the ability to “reach out” even when your dog is some distance from you. Detractors will never be convinced that shock collars aren’t cruel and will, with good reason, point to their ability to mentally damage a dog which is already frail, shy or prone to low self-esteem. Advocates will counter that this is an issue of misuse, not a flaw in the device.

I’m updating this post to elaborate on a couple concerns I either didn’t point out or emphasize to my satisfaction. The convenience of a remote means correcting your dog has the ugly downside of also potentially confusing and harming your pet emotionally. Think of your own potential for lost confidence and increased fear if, everytime you did something you thought was ok, a bolt of lightening flashed out of the sky and gave you a good zap. Sure, you might learn not to do that thing anymore, but you might also find yourself in a constant state of fear waiting for the next punishing blow to come for something you were doing. Detractors have a very good point when they emphasize the risks associated with shock collars potentially ruining a dogs confidence.

In addition, remotely correcting your pet removes you from the equation and that’s missing the point a bit. You and your dog need to live together harmoniously. While there is debate about whether a dog accepts a human as the “alpha” pack member or not, there is no question that a dog is capable of accepting your alpha role. If you’re nowhere around when a correction is delivered, your pet won’t associate you with the correction and you’ve lost the advantage of training your dog to respect your boundaries. Instead, he is simply learning that doing X results in pain.

Another point I didn’t mention is that some remote collars come with setting options that are simply, in my opinion, cruel. That is to say, the shock delivery can be cranked to such a high level on some collars to  represent, in my opinion, blatant abuse. If you have tried everything else and still insist on a shock collar, I recommend you try a little experiment (NOT FOR THOSE WITH HEART CONDITIONS OR PACE MAKERS. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. MAY CAUSE SIGNIFICANT PAIN). Wrap the collar around your bare leg and, starting with the lowest setting, give yourself a zap. Increase intensity from there. When you find yourself thinking, “ok, that HURTS,” consider your dog will feel the same.

So am I against dog collars? No. And though I’ll repeat it again later, my objective in this blog is neither to endorse nor dissuade you from any reasonable training device. My intent is to inform you about all aspects (and there are good and bad to any of the options available depending on your frame of reference) in an effort to assist you in making an intelligent decision that fits your needs.

My personal thinking is that there are dogs which can definitely benefit from the use of a shock collar when its use is well understood, limited only to training and managed by an even tempered, loving pet owner who wants to condition, not hurt, their pet. Zapping Fido every time he gets on your nerves and for every little infraction is NOT the intended use. If that’s your intention then I’d like to suggest you wear one for a few weeks around your husband or wife and give them an open door policy to zap you at any level and anytime you get on their nerves. See how you like it. Ladies, this might be a way you can finally get your man to leave the toilet seat down. My wife is seriously considering doing this to me. 

Used appropriately by an individual who truly understands canine behavior, their dog’s motives and the proper use of these devices, shock collars may serve well as dog training collars. To that end, my recommendation is that if you’d like to purchase a shock collar, you also purchase a book on canine behavior. That and read the collar’s instructions and recommended use at least twice.

Also important to remember when using a shock collar is that the device should not serve two roles. Shock collars have metal prongs which allow the shock to penetrate the dog’s fur. If you attach a leash to a shock collar and your dog jerks on the leash, those prongs can pierce or, at the very least, bruise the skin under your dog’s fur. If you opt for a shock collar, you will also need a standard buckle collar to which your dog’s leash will attach.

When it comes to dog training collars, shock collars really serve as a devisive split between old school training and modern training. Modernists focus on canine psychology and positive reinforcement to the exclusion of all else. I find myself sometimes straddling the fence because I know full well that when one dog tries to explain something to another dog, he may use negative actions to get his point across by snarling, snapping, biting, mouthing or charging. With that in mind, I am not against the use of shock collars as a training tool when the situatio warrants. But…

I also take the lesson from dogs that they don’t tend to hold grudges. Humans are far less forgiving and far more prone to vindictive actions. Even a well intentioned but impatient owner might find himself inclined to hit that button one more time to get the darn point across or to crank the intensity setting higher than required for training purposes. It doesn’t work that way, folks, and you won’t be doing your dog or your karma any good. If you have a quick temper I would strongly recommend staying away from shock collars as a dog training tool.

If you are a patient and loving dog owner with a problem dog and you have the patience to truly work with your pet, then I won’t recommend against using a shock collar strictly for training and nothing else. Please don’t take this post as an endorsement or condemnation of shock collars. You’ll have to decide for yourself if that’s the route you want to go. My objective here is simply to ensure that, whatever choices you make, you make them responsibly. For those who have emailed me and asked, no. I do not use a shock collar on my own dogs but, then, they aren’t problem dogs.