No matter what you call them, shock collars cause pain, injuries, and intimidate dogs, leading to anxiety and stress related behavioral issues. They should be avoided.
There are a few types of collars you should never use on your dog and at the very top of that list is a shock or electronic collar. Many dog guardians don’t understand the physical and behavioral issues these collars can create, and outdated or aversive trainers still recommend them. This is unfortunate, as dogs continue to suffer pain in the name of training, and their guardians are often unaware of the consequences.
Shock collars have been deemed illegal as abusive tools by many countries such as Finland, parts of Canada, and parts of the United Kingdom. Hopefully, other countries will follow.
What are shock collars?
Shock collars, electric collars, or e-collars have a device attached to the collar that keeps it in constant contact with the dog’s neck. This is connected to a handheld transmitter which allows the handler to remotely deliver varying levels of electric shocks to the dog's neck. Shock collars are designed to provide an aversive stimulus, which is painful, to a dog as a punishment or 'correction' from its trainer or owner.
Why you should say NO! to shock collars
There are many reasons you should not use a shock collar and there are more effective and risk-free alternatives.
Shock collar training can impair learning
- Using shock in dog training aims to teach a dog to avoid something or to stop a behavior that ‘caused’ the shock. But just because the behavior has stopped in that moment does not necessarily mean the behavior has improved or will improve long-term.
- Shock controls a dog without allowing that dog to make choices and solve problems, which often results in "learned helplessness" – the dog effectively learns to give up. E-collar training essentially impairs an animal’s true learning ability.
- Shocking a dog doesn’t teach the dog what to do; they rely instead on causing discomfort and pain. While this type of training may stop the pulling or suppress a certain behavior at that particular moment, it does nothing to address the root of the dog’s issue, which means the behavior issue still exists.
Shock collars carry behavioral risks
Using pain and shock in training can actually exacerbate behavior issues and lead to more aggressive and fearful behaviors.
- Training dogs using pain and intimidation increases the likelihood of stress behaviors, mistrust, fear, and future aggression. Shock collars may force a dog to stop a behavior at that very second, but the severe stress and anxiety they cause can lead to more aggression in the future and can create entirely new behavioral problems.
- Using shock to train a dog runs the risk of creating unintended associations. The dog might not even realize what behavior caused the pain from the shock and might associate that pain with something else in the environment that was present when the shock occurred. The dog can then become fearful, defensive, or reactive to that item in the environment, even though it might be unrelated to the behavior the handler was trying to stop. These side effects can be serious and long-lasting. The pain of a shock aims to force a dog to ‘behave’ with little concern for the root cause of the negative behavior, which is often already fear or anxiety. This means the underlying issue remains and that behavior, usually unwanted behavior, is still likely to occur at another time.
- Even though supporters of electronic training might praise the effectiveness of the method, dogs trained using these tools only comply or cooperate with the training out of fear of what will happen if they do not comply – the dog is not being obedient.
Shock collars can physically harm your dog
Shock collars can physically injure your dog as well. Shock collars have two prongs that must be in constant contact with your dog’s skin. These prongs, even when they’re not activated, can cause pressure sores on your dog’s neck and skin.
A dog can also experience burns from the shock collar through extended use at high settings. In these situations, the dog experiences pain not just from the shock itself but also from the burns.
The risk of burns and pressure sores is yet one more reason not to use a shock or e-collar on your dog.
Scientific studies about the effects of shock collars
- Blackwell, Emily J., Caroline Twells, Anne Seawright, and Rachel A. Casey. 2008. “The Relationship between Training Methods and the Occurrence of Behavior Problems, as Reported by Owners, in a Population of Domestic Dogs.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior 3 (5): 207–17.
- Herron, M. E., F. S. Shofer, and I. R. Reisner. 2009. “Survey of the Use and Outcome of Confrontational and Non-Confrontational Training Methods in Client-Owned Dogs Showing Undesired Behaviors.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117 (1/2): 47–54.
- Casey, Rachel A., Bethany Loftus, Christine Bolster, Gemma J. Richards, and Emily J. Blackwell. 2014. “Human Directed Aggression in Domestic Dogs (Canis Familiaris): Occurrence in Different Contexts and Risk Factors.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 152 (March): 52–63.
- Overall, Karen L. 2007. “Considerations for Shock and ‘Training’ Collars: Concerns from and for the Working Dog Community.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior 2 (4): 103–7.
- Schilder, Matthijs B. H., and Joanne A. M. van der Borg. 2004. “Training Dogs with Help of the Shock Collar: Short and Long Term Behavioural Effects.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 85 (3–4): 319–34.
- Polsky, Richard. 2000. “Can Aggression in Dogs Be Elicited Through the Use of Electronic Pet Containment Systems?” Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 3 (4): 345–57.
- Blackwell, E., and R. Casey. 2009. “The Use of Shock Collars and Their Impact on the Welfare of Dogs : A Review of the Current Literature.”
Effective and humane alternatives to shock collars
Shock collars are yet another example of wanting a quick fix, but positive training offers a wealth of methods that can dramatically change even the most severe behavioral problems in dogs. Rather than resort to using equipment that causes your dog fear and pain, use humane, force-free alternatives that are more effective long-term and that will help change the way your dog thinks and learns.
- Find a positive reinforcement trainer to help you teach your dog to walk on a loose leash.
- Use a body harness to walk your dog, such as the Positively No-Pull Harness. This avoids the risk of physical or behavioral issues.
There are still people and trainers who vehemently defend shock collar training, saying that used correctly shock collars do not cause pain, but rather just a minor irritation that the dog learns to avoid if it behaves in a desirable manner. That’s not the case - and even if it were, why resort to shock when you can get much better results with methods that motivate a dog without any possibility of physical or emotional damage?
Bottom line
We are against the use of shock collars in animal training. Just don’t use them.
It is impossible to defend a method that has the potential to cause real harm. Even trainers that claim to be able to use the collar "effectively" are still inflicting some level of pain or irritation on the dog.
