Dogs that act aggressively when they’re in the presence of strangers should not be trusted on only electronic collars. The owner can select either a tone, vibration or patented “blunt pulse stimulation,” which uses the same technology em… I’m on a bit of a crusade against the use of e-collars – also knows as shock collars. I was not able to find so much as an abstract to this article on line. This is largely because, as Steven Lindsay writes: Haverbeke, Laporte, Depiereux, Giffroy, Diederich 2008, Training methods of military dog handlers and their effects on the teams’ performances, Applied Animal Behavior Science 113: 110-122. When I say “e-collar” I’m referring to electronic collars not “Elizabethan” … While the dogs developed an initial conditioned anticipatory fear reaction during the escape training portion of Tortora’s program, their fear was extinguished during the subsequent avoidance and proofing stages. I was shocked by what I discovered and that’s what inspired the above post. He might even refuse to come back to the yard! During the study, researchers introduced rats to a sound that was accompanied by an electric shock to the foot. Stubborn canines should use systems designed specifically for them – there are a couple of such systems in today’s market. This causes pain and discomfort to the pooch – otherwise, it would be entirely ineffective for the training. The studies I found are presented below in chronological order. And it is crucial that we do all we can to it in a world where science has an increasingly important effect on the personal and regulatory decisions we make. An industry white paper on the types of electronic training devices available. Most models manufactured by these companies come with the following features: As we already mentioned, the old shock collars from the 1960s had just one level of static correction – painfully high. When a dog is infirm or in later stages of pregnancy, an owner should avoid using an e-collar and wait for the pooch to get back into the normal state. The day after the rats were trained this way, they were exposed to the sound but were not shocked. Can Dogs Get and Transmit Coronavirus Covid-19. Daniel F. Tortora’s study, titled “Safety Training: The Elimination of Avoidance-Motivated Aggression in Dogs,” was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General in 1983. Marschark and Baenninger 2002, Modification of instinctive herding dog behavior using reinforcement and punishment, Anthrozoos 15 (1): 51-68. All rights reserved. Here's a look at these "e-collars" and why some people question whether they're humane. The abstract states that acral lick dermatitis was successfully treated in four dogs studied, and while two of the dogs relapsed in the six to twelve months following the study, a brief retraining period eliminated the behavior. Meslow 2006, Barks or Bites? 952 641 6576 I didn’t have any luck. The article is only available by purchase but is well worth $11.95 if you have an interest in this area. Unlike those commonly in use today, early electronic training collars could only  be used in a harshly punitive way – and much of the laboratory research that has been done on shock, aversion, escape and avoidance was horrifyingly cruel. The authors note that the use of aversives, including as employed in negative reinforcement, not only causes suffering but may also result in aggressive behavior. Some professional installation companies claim that it’s entirely ok to introduce your puppy to an e-collar when he’s only three months old. The question “Are prong collars humane” is a complex one, and depends on a number of factors… The answer is one of the most debated in the dog world and often comes as a big point of confusion for new dog owners looking for an effective way to train their new best friend. Polsky 2000 published in: Having just one high level of correction is a thing of the past – currently-produced models of e-collars come with multiple levels of correction, allowing the owner to find the right setting for his four-legged friend. The same could be said for the modern containment-system collars – they do the same thing if the pooch gets stuck in the correction zone. The prong collar… Furthermore, this study will examine the learning effects of the above mentioned training methods, i.e., electronic training collar, the pinch collar and the quitting signal. It rapidly expanded to cover all applied aspects of Ethology and other Behavioural Sciences, which are relevant to many human-animal interactions, such as farming, wildlife management, the keeping of companion and laboratory animals, and the control of pests. Upon reviewing these results, Tortora stated “It seems that the impact of safety reinforcement is to make the dog less fearful generally and better able to withstand trauma.” 2009 were published in: My goal was to get an idea for how widely cited his article was. … the word shock is loaded with biased connotations, images of convulsive spasms and burns, and implications associated with extreme physical pain, emotional trauma, physiological collapse, and laboratory abuses. In this study, the authors observed the physiological effects of human contact on the dog. They reported mixed results with e-collars and determined that they were not applicable for this use. I was not able to find so much as an abstract to this article on line. Animal Behavior Consulting Newsletter, 15(2). Once the dogs were able to consistently perform the exercises under distraction without the e-collar, training was transferred to their owners, who used the e-collar only as needed to proof exercises. Urban Animal Management Conference Proceedings, Hobart, Australia. Tortora took an elegantly simple approach to treating what he referred to as “avoidance-motivated aggression”. Vet. I could not find this online. Whenever the dog starts barking, the collar will automatically deliver a correction. The research found that the dogs’ heart rate increased when a tone was followed by an electric
shock of a medium level. I’ve included a very brief summary of each article as it relates to this post. Jacques and Myers 2007 published in: Sci. Some puppies are scared of everything – they hide if someone wants to pet them. that they are a safe, effective and humane dog training tool. Lindsay’s work is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how electronic training collars work – and how they don’t work.He discusses the history, physics, psychology, physiology and use of e-collars in detail including a discussion of Tortora’s 1983 study. One of the most commonly cited studies on e-collar use. Shock collars can cause dogs physical pain, injury (ranging from … About the journals The authors note that the ‘trainers’ used both rewards and punishments on an intermittent schedule. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Tortora is not mentioned. One of the very first things that you need to do when you get your new e-collaris to find the lowest level your dog responds to. No matter which of the previously mentioned terms one decides to use, we’ll all be talking about the same thing. Approved training collars can malfunction, and any claims that such collars will not harm the dog are unreliable. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Assocation 32: 225-229. Heck, I bet he’d even have his own television show – and (unlike another popular television dog trainer) there wouldn’t be a torch and pitchfork mob out to lynch him. I find it interesting that Herron et al. However, introducing the puppy to an electric collar before he’s six months of age can have serious repercussions – it could leave the pup very scared. Let me know if you can find a copy of this. The only pro-ecollar pieces she cites come from  websites of dog trainers who use e-collars. 89 ($49.89/Count) Anthrozoos is the official journal of the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ). present a somewhat detailed literature survey of dog training methods and effectiveness, specifically discuss the use of e-collars and reference other studies related to the use of e-collars in dog training, they make absolutely no mention of Tortora’s 1983 study. Woofdog.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In fact, he specifically (and erroneously) writes that “The only technical publications that exist are brief overviews.” Just like the beep mode, it can be used as an interruption or as a marker, and it also doesn’t deliver an electric shock to your dog. Let me know if you can find a copy of this. 2008 and
Herron et al. Only the abstract of this article was available (let me know if you find the full version). ( Log Out /  Apparently fairly green dogs were used in the study. The goal of the study was to assess prey drive and attack severity on domestic sheep by three breeds of dogs. These included: stand, down, come, go, hold, drop, sit, off, place, fetch, in, stay, play, no, heel, and hup. ( Log Out /  All the articles discussed in this post that were published in Applied Animal Behavior Science studied only harsh, punitive use of aversives and – not surprisingly – they all came to the conclusion that the use of aversives and/or e-collars is inhumane and/or ineffective. This is another pro-e-collar article that is ignored by most researchers. In these kinds of situations, an owner should consider combining the electronic fence with a physical fence, and thus make sure that the pooch is securely contained. When used correctly, the e-collar is bound to keep your dog safe from getting out on the road – just be committed to teaching him how to respond to it properly. These cause no discomfort to the dog and are an excellent way to start the training process. Disclosure: Woof Dog is a small blog that sustains itself through commissions we receive from brands that appear on this site. Tortora was not referenced. If you can find a copy of this I’d like to see it but since random shocks with no training or guidance were used, shocks were applied to the feet and fear conditioning appeared to be the goal of the experiment – I don’t see any relevance to modern e-collar training. Haverbeke et al. The literature is full of references to studies by Schalke et al., Schilder and van der Borg and more recently, Herron et al. Researchers done by experts throughout the last decades have shown that dogs respond quite well to lower levels of static correction. Thus, the compatibility of the learning effect of the quitting signal with the learning effect of the pinch and the electronic training-collar, namely the compatibility of effectiveness of ‘’negative punishment’’ method with the ‘’positive punishment’’ method, in a training with high level of arousal and motivation will be assessed. UFAW believes that good science can inform, motivate and facilitate that change – whether through developments in legislation, professional ‘best practice’ or the actions of other organisations and individuals. Polsky specifically states that “Punishment training with an electronic shock collar is not advisable for aggression stemming from dominance, aggression arising out of fear, or other kinds of misbehaviors that are fear-related. The quitting signal is on the other hand not found effective in police dog training although it causes the “least distress” reactions in dogs when comparing with the electronic training and pinch collar. Oddly Polsky cites Tortora’s 1992 book on the use of e-collars, but not the 1983 article. Animal behavior consultants also respect the client’s right to self-determination and embrace a non-judgmental approach.” Small dogs (not heavier than 10 pounds) on the other hand, should be trained on systems specially made for them. The authors studies the efficacy of several methods, include the use of e-collars, to reduce predation on livestock by wolves. The aim of this group is to provide support to those of us that use or have used a quality E-Collar for no other reason than to... E-Collars - Dog Owners Supporting their Humane Use It is unlikely that an electronic training collar … And you’d be wrong. There are conflicting opinions on e-collars, but much of the opposition to using these devices describes cases where the collars … The amount of pain generated depends on the following factors: The amount of pain that the pet will feel also depends on his or her physical characteristics, such as the breed, skin, size, fur, and similar things. He predicted that the probability of post-training aggressive behavior would be inversely proportional to the number of obedience exercises a dog gained proficiency in. The Citronella Dog Collar. Electronic collars are a form of punishment, and not a gentle one. While they may suppress the unwanted behavior, they don't teach the dog … A detailed and balanced discussion of the pros and cons of an enormous variety of training tools. In addition, it produced extremely extinction-resistant prosocial avoidance responses, significant increases in the dogs’ emotional stability, an avoidance-learning and safety acquisition response set, and improvements in measures of the dogs’ “carriage.” whose authors warn us that e-collar training (and indeed, any use of aversives) is unpleasant, painful, frightening — and pointlessly ineffective. Polsky 1994, Electronic Shock Collars: Are They Worth the Risk?,  Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 30: 463-468. Just like the clickers in the clicker training, this sound can be used as a marker. Below the break: Links and brief summaries of recent literature related to using e-collars to train dogs, and some notes on the journals the articles are published in. It notes that the equipment and methods used to train of police dogs varies greatly. Well, in the abstract Tortora states that the program: It presents a neutral opinion on the use of electronic training collars. Therefore, we set out to investigate the direct behavioral reactions of the dogs upon administration of above mentioned training methods. “If you read the science ( which I have done) and remove the bogus studies, the evidence is irrefutable, electric collar training is the best, most humane and most dog friendly system of dog training on Earth”, says Ami Moore, The Chicago Dog Coach. As a responsible dog owner, you want a dog training collar that won’t harm your dog but will simply help you discourage certain behavior. The internet hosts hundreds of articles warning you about the dangers of electronic training collars (e-collars). The trainers from these companies are highly skilled and know how to teach each puppy to respond well to an electric fence. I reviewed this article in detail in a previous post. Salgirli 2008, Comparison of Stress and Learning Effects of Three Different Training Methods: Electronic Training Collar, Pinch Collar and Quitting Signal, doctoral dissertation University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany. This study is discussed in more detail in Spot Check’s March 2010 blog post. Overall does not cite Tortora’s 1983 study. Without proper training (at least three 15-minute sessions a day), the whole thing is useless. The rehabilitation of “Grace.” Control and Therapy Series, Post-Grad. Because it is the focus of this post, all of these articles were published after Tortora’s. Home » Supplies » Are Shock Collars For Dogs Cruel? The shock, while of a low intensity, did cause the rats to be visibly startled. Money. Avoidance aggression typically starts out as aggressive avoidance responses to things like physical discomfort (such as from grooming), intrusions on areas that the dog views as his territory and commands he doesn’t want to comply with. The e-collars used could emit two different tones, and tones and stimulation could be delivered separately or in conjunction with each other. Meslow noted that the equipment used in training was not correlated to number of bites though breed was strongly correlated.