Shock Collar For Howling

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DogNut
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:07 pm

Re: Shock Collar For Howling

Post by DogNut »

I think howling is an instinctual behavior which is stronger in some dogs than others. Sometimes you can teach a dog to howl by doing so yourself, and it may be a form of bonding as well as communication which is also used by wolves. Howling and barking are really normal "dog behaviors" and are only inappropriate because we have put them into an environment where this is unacceptable. This is often because others will complain and may even take legal action which may cause the authorities to seize the dog or demand that the dog's vocal chords be surgically altered to reduce the sound.

The vibration collar seems to have worked, and if your dog is still happy and willing to communicate in other ways, then I think no harm has been done, and you may want to try removing the collar and reverting to the usual one. If you can supply a video of your dog interacting with you and others, perhaps we can see if there is any apparent ill effect that may need work with positive reinforcement. One "trick" I have heard about is to train the dog to bark or howl on command, coupled with treats or clicker, and combine that with a command to "hush". Once this behavior is established, you can just use the "hush" command and reward the dog when he stops howling.

I hope this is the right approach. I'm rather a beginner with exclusive +R training and this is just my opinion/idea and not founded on experience.
runlikethewind
Posts: 1166
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 12:48 pm

Re: Shock Collar For Howling

Post by runlikethewind »

I have spent some time reading and re-reading the posts. And I think...... I have possibly seen the pattern of when he howls and when he does not howl. I don't think it is SA. It appears to me to be when he knows you are with someone else and he is locked away - and you said yourself he likes people. When you leave him in the car, and go to see your brother, he howls. But you leave him the car at the shops and you don't go to see anyone. He does not howl. You leave him alone in the house and he does not howl (so you tested and your neighours confirmed) YET when you are in the next room, with a friend, he howls AND when you are having dinner and he is put away, you are with people - he howls. He was in the garden playing with your neighbour's dog until he noticed you were inside with your neighbour and he had been locked out. He wants to be with people - that is what I am thinking.

So, in the spirit of a developing a nice relationship with him, why not let him join you when friends are around, or have him lie with you when you are having dinner. Give him a Kong. Allow him to be part of your social scene. What's the reason for him being shut away when you have friends over or you are eating? He is part of you family and he is a social dog. Give him that freedom.

The shock collar, even on its lowest setting for hearing dogs) is an aversive. It is designed to interrupt an unwanted behaviour but replace it with what and you are not getting to the root of the issue. It's all been said. They don't have any place in modern training.
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