Shock Collars Can’t Train Your Dog
Who would pick a fight with that sweet dog in the picture?
Years ago, when we first adopted Jewels, we noticed a few behavioral problems. When on a leash, she had a habit of barking at people and cars on the road. She loved other dogs and tried to lunge at them to play every chance she got. It took me months of training, but she finally figured it out. Click Here
There is a lovely house on a corner in our neighborhood opposite the creek that we walk by nearly every day. The couple that lives there owns a Labradoodle named Petey. Petey is a handsome boy, incredibly tall, with fluffy caramel and white fur. Petey loves people but hates other dogs.
When Jewels was in her training phase, we walked past the house that Petey lives in while Petey was outside with his owner. Jewels wanted to play and started tugging on the leash. She’s strong and I’m not that big, so although I could contain her, we struggled a bit.
Petey’s owner couldn’t help but tell me that I should probably get a shock collar for Jewels because it would solve all my problems. Case in point, he said, and pointed at Petey sitting perfectly still beside him.
Don’t you just love it when people think they can solve all your problems by giving you their oh-so-expert advice? I despise shock collars and would never use one of those torture devices on my dogs. I’d rather take a few months working with my babies until we understood each other.
I told him that I didn’t believe in shock collars as a training tool, and walked on.
Fast forward to this morning. We walk a little slower now since Jewels is a senior citizen. Petey must be seven or so but doesn’t show it. He still barks at other dogs but stays obediently by his owner’s side.
However, this morning, Petey was outside his house without his owner. I don’t know if he escaped his backyard, but I didn’t see him until I rounded the corner with Jewels, and by then, he was on top of us.
He went after Jewels, snarling with bared teeth, hair raised on the back of his neck, in full fight mode. Jewels, my lover who doesn’t know how to fight, responded by circling behind me with her tail buried between her legs.
Petey kept coming and Jewels kept circling until the leash was wrapped around my legs. Of course, I was shouting at Petey, making a scene, hoping that Petey’s owner would stop him.
At the moment that I fell to the grass, Petey startled and backed off. I saw his owner casually walking toward us, apologizing profusely and asking if I was OK. It turns out he’d been in his open garage with Petey, but didn’t bother to keep tabs on the dog.
As he helped me up and we looked Jewels over, it occurred to me that he simply shocked his dog into retreating. The dog’s behavior hadn’t changed. That collar controlled him.
After I made sure Jewels was OK, I lit into the guy. Shock collars don’t work to train dogs to behave well, they only control bad impulses. Owners have to work with their dogs for weeks or months to change a dog’s behavior. It takes patience and doesn’t happen overnight. Obviously, that stupid collar has done nothing for Petey. He still behaves the same way he did when we first met him years ago.
We will avoid walking past that house in the future. I can’t trust that we’ll get by it unscathed. It’s a shame, too, because it faces the creek in one of the most scenic areas of our neighborhood.
