Illegal shock collar dog owner gets £2,000 fine

We have one for our dog. It's not the fence type, it has a hand held remote control which we can buzz or zap her with (variable strength).

I'd say it's definitely been of benefit (main thing being I can't walk her using a normal leash) but are these things really cruel?? Is she accumulating pent-up anger which she will retaliate with one day?

I'm sat here, writing this, with the TENS machine zapping the crap out of my shoulder and arm (which feels great) so the collar must be ok, right?

Have you tried turning it up and putting it on yourself? They hurt like hell, and as somebody that has been involved in dog rescue for years, I've seen way too many dogs end up burnt/scarred and emotionally damaged from those bloody awful things.

As you may have guessed, I'm not a fan of them! I'm in favour of that old fashioned thing called 'training your dog'.

Put it this way, would you use an electric shock on your child for discipline?

Of course they are cruel, using pain to train a dog?!?!?

I've used mine on myself.

I rescued an abused border collie 12 years ago and lived in a rural area with lots of sheep and livestock around. 12 months of diligent back yard training got nowhere when it came to off-leash time on footpaths. The sight of anything moving sent her on a mission that no amount of persuasion, coercion or training seemed to solve.

2 weeks with a training collar and she had her freedom back. After an initial couple of zaps all I've ever needed is the buzzer. What's better for a high energy dog like a collie? - it's life spent on a lead because you can't trust it to be safe, recall or not chase everything in sight, or some discipline that gives them an understanding about what's required of them, and the freedom to run their legs off and not get into trouble?

Best thing I ever did for her. She's 15 now and still runs alongside the ATV for a 5km walk every day.

My OH did this before we put it on the dog. She tried it a few times and thought it wasn't too bad, in fact each time she shocked herself her reaction was to laugh out loud.

Similarly, I've had a couple of EMG tests this year, where the neurologist inflicted many electric shocks on my arms. My reaction also was to laugh out loud each time. Some of the low amplitude shocks were barely noticeable. For the big shocks, though, I neither thought they were painful or that he was being cruel to me.

Yep, tried it too. Doesn't hurt, just a deterrant. I'm certain it doesn't hurt as much as running into the road and getting run over for example.

Electric fences, they hurt, especially if you're climbing over one when it get's you.

We got one for our dog.
The shock has a scale of 1-10, and we've never used more than 3. To be honest, the sound is usually enough to stop the behaviour. I tested up to 3 on my arm to see how it felt, and it's definitely uncomfortable.

We got it because he would bark and go crazy whenever anyone walked past the house (we lived on a corner lot). It was always excitement rather than aggression (and he gets plenty of exercise, before anyone comments).

I can see why people would think they are cruel, but IMO, it depends on the owners intent. It broke my heart to shock him, but at times, there's simply no stopping him. We stopped using it after a week because it was no longer needed.
We plan to start using it again to enforce safe boundaries around the new house we're moving to, but we'll eventually get an invisible fence.

People need to accept that in the wild, dogs control each other with bites and nips. The shock collar, if used properly, works on the same basis.

I tested ours on my arm just now. I couldn't feel anything at settings 0.5 or 1. Setting 2 was a very mild shock, barely noticeable.

I could feel setting 3 a little more but still a very mild shock. Certainly weaker than the shocks I get from the TENS machine when an electrode is not stuck on properly (and a tiny fraction of the shocks the neurologist gave me that made me laugh).

I normally have it set to 2.5 when the dog is wearing the collar. If she doesn't respond to the buzzer, which is rare, she will respond to a zap at that setting which I can honestly declare is nothing more than a gentle stimulation that is instant in duration.

If you feel you must resort to such a device, I would have a re-think as to why you want a dog in the first place..... There is no short cuts to training a dog....just a lot of time, patience and resolve....and kindness.

Away and wire yourself up to the mains........and give your dog a grand stand view.....

Oh, but dogs are people with 4 legs, they're members of the family, you should never raise your voice to one, or, heaven forbid give one a good kick up the arse.

My dog is stupid. Seriously.

I don't think even a collar would work, but I would maybe try it. It took a year to stop barking at the vacuum hose, another to stop barking at black bin bags and a coat.

I don't think she will ever stop barking at passers-by, or chasing things. She has little-to-no recall.

Love her bits, she is so affectionate. She is a bundle of instinct and we can't seem to train or over-ride it, no matter how many hours of training or kindness we put in.

She is better than two years ago but I reckon she'll be 12 before she walks on a lead properly, and that's only 'cos she'll be too old and fat to do anything else!

Our other dog is good (so I know we can achieve results!) - well behaved, super intelligent, pretty good recall and still likes to bark at the doorbell but you can't have everything. He is a grumpy Victor Meldrew with the daft dog though.

The article at the beginning stated the collars were illegal in the guys area, so that is his issue, not whether he or us agree in that fact.

I got the dog I mentioned above in a malnourished state, with behavioural issues and at 3yrs old not even knowing her own name or what a toy was for. She'd been kept in a high rise and scavenged for food. Are you suggesting her life hasn't improved, despite needing to resort to a training collar to remove years of ingrained bad behaviour? You've obviously never had to deal with similar issues. Far easier to go to a pet store or breeder and start from scratch with a puppy, eh?

Watching your dog run down a road, oblivious to traffic, chase sheep or just run away because like she feels it's ok doesn't induce warm and fuzzy feelings. Sometimes, for their own wellbeing the means justify the method. The decision wasn't taken lightly without research and consultation.

It's not the device that's barbaric, it's some of the people that use them. Yes your going to get idiots that set it to the highest setting and shock the dog, my daughters friend's mum used to let her kids shock the dog for any reason, they wondered why the dog kept running away.

What your supposed to do is set it on the lowest setting, and turn it up until you get a reaction - that reaction could be as little as an ear twitch.

I would use one on a particularly hyper/non listening animal if I had already tried everything else - complete last resort only.

I've just got two rescue dogs. One of them is a husky/mal and will probably never have recall, but otherwise he's a great dog. I've no intention of using an e-collar on him cos running off is in the breed - his life is on leash except at fenced dog parks and in the house.

The other is an aussie shepherd which is anxious and insecure - I wouldn't use an e-collar on him either. Not cos I'm necessarily opposed to them, but cos it would only make him worse atm.

I have to say though, I'm don't understand why you'd get a dog from a breeder when there are so many dogs that need homes at the city pounds or with the SPCA.

I agree, but it's a different topic. If you have young kids, you cannot take the risk of adopting a dog from the pound without knowing its history.