Can Electric Pulse Collars Be Used Humanely

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

I think these are a great idea and they do work well to stop dogs from attacking wildlife and thus avoid the snakebite that comes with this behaviour.

I realise everyone should train their dog and spend the time on doing so.

But there are a lot of people who own dogs that haven't trained them.

Do these dogs have to potentially get bitten by a snake because the collars are deemed cruel?

I'm having a FB argument so I thought Id make a thread here and get some more varied opinions.

So the main question is, are they ok to use when used properly as the potential for cruelty is certainly there.

 

[butters]

As the alternative is a dead dog then I would say yes. I know if I was a dog I'd rather a few zaps than be dead.

There are certainly other training methods but they all have their limitations.

 

[Hamalicious]

I think it's a bit rediculous to start electrocuting every dog to avoid the absolutely minuscule chance of them getting bitten by a snake venomous enough to kill them.

Pre-emptive solutions should only be used for some problems, but most it is just unnecessary

 

[hunterschamps]

I have used this method, and it was a last resort. Did it work? - Yes. Did i consider it cruel? - No, it was better than a kick in the guts for a dog. Id rather a shock any day over a kick in the guts, shock collars only do what they are supposed to do, shock the animal, not electrocute.

 

[Justdragons]

we used one for our old red-setter, worked a charm.. dogs have thick skinned necks.. you ever watch a puppy hang off the neck of a bigger dog.. they tend to not even notice.. I think it as a last resort but definitely a viable option..

 

[imported_Varanus]

I feel if an owner needs a shock collar to stop a dog's undesirable behaviour (like snake killing) then they likely haven't put the time into training...JMO. Many people shouldn't own pets of any kind, and there's little that can be done in reality.

 

[hunterschamps]

I feel if an owner needs a shock collar to stop a dog's undesirable behaviour (like snake killing) then they likely haven't put the time into training...JMO. Many people shouldn't own pets of any kind, and there's little that can be done in reality.

To come back to that, have you ever adopted a dog that was given away by its previous owner for its behaviour? We used a shock collar on a sheep dog that used to get underneath the shearing shed and bark constantly, making it hard to actually work. It was the last resort and it worked. Its only a shock and it was better than what the shearers wanted to do to the dog, which was a bit of lead.

 

[Planky]

the absolutely minuscule chance of them getting bitten by a snake venomous enough to kill them.

you obviously have never been to the mornington peninsula

 

[Newhere]

How does the collar stop the dog from attacking snakes? Just wondering.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Every year snakes bite dogs here on the peninsula. There is a huge chance of an untrained dog finding a snake while its owners are at work.. They come home and its usually to late, the dog is dead or close to it. Its the misuse of them that can be a problem and the people that use them need a fairly intensive training lesson themselves

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Training the dog requires the collar and a snake.. separated by a cage of some sort, and when the dog shows interest it is given a small zap to basicly take its mind off the snake.. This is proven to work and when you absolutely have to keep your dog safe this is very reliable

 

[Newhere]

Oh you could do that without the collar just as easy as if you had the collar.

 

[RSPcrazy]

A family member of mine has a farm, she was telling me, she trained her dogs to avoid snakes, by using a live peace of electric fence. She would wiggle it in the grass to imitate a snake and when the dog got to exited and bit the wire, they would get a shock.

She only needed to do this a couple of times before they got the idea, that biting moving things in the grass = pain.

She has watched her dogs, watch snakes go past them, without the dogs getting to close. So I'm pretty sold that this method works. No need for a collar then.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Yes, everydog owner "SHOULD" take the time to train their dog,but in the real world, some people have dogs and don't train them. For these people, a half day with a pulse collar will save the dog. What do we deny the lazy dog owners dogs a safe go, just because the collars are not PC? The potential for cruelty goes for any item. A stick can be cruel if you whack the dog with it repeatedly, a flat collar can be cruel if you wrench it or hang a dog by it.

The dog needs to learn snakes are off limits, no iffs, buts or hows. If you want to risk your dog with other methods that dont leave a lasting impression, good luck. I know trainers who have very expensive and well trained working dogs, it's the only thing they will use and have found effective. Especially in a working dog that can be so focussed on it's job you need something that immediately brings up a warning if it detects a hint of it. It's not hard to teach someone start too low and creep up until you just notice the dog realises a sensation. Most dogs that get an accidental whack which is too high can bounce back fine. my own dogs have been zapped by electric fences and are not affected

If anyone's stupid enough to crank up the collar and stand there watching their dog peak out, well you shouldn't own a dog. I think usually when people bash something like this, it stems from a lack of knowledge and a tendency to humanize dogs.... The general public often gobble up the crap that the media feeds them without a second thought, which is how we ended up with most of our terrible legislation, like banned e-collars in NSW and BSL and why the RSPCA has as many powers as they do and now accountability and people continue to support them

 

[Newhere]

Mate if you can spend the time training the dog with the collar then you can spend the time doing it properly and it shouldn't take any longer than a collar, dogs aren't humans they are dog and if the pack leader aka the owner shows them snakes are off limits they should understand it the same way as the collar works. Watch that dog whisperer show and you will understand what I mean. I dunno if its different for working dogs but I don't see why it should be unless the dog doesn't respect you as its leader.

 

[RSPcrazy]

Just for the record, I'm not against these collars. There are people out there that abuse them, and I'm against those people, not the collars.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

We have 2 Jack Russells, and I defy anyone to teach them to reliably not interfere with reptiles if no one's looking - they certainly behave when we're around, but if they think they can get away with hunting and killing without being seen, they sure will. The only thing we can do is to supervise them all the time when they're outside, or put them in the shed where there may be a few mice - it will keep them occupied for hours.

It isn't just a miniscule chance that they'll encounter snakes up here - we see many around the house & in the garden every warm season. I guess the electrified snake using electric fence wire sounds like a potentially very good idea - I could get a road-killed snake and run a wire through it - could work very well...

Jamie

 

[reaver]

Let me start out and I'm don't like causing pain or discomfort in my dogs.

We have a husky and a shiba inu, they are some of the most stubborn breeds around. Training is sometimes hard and takes a long time simply because the dogs like to test us and try to be in charge. I'm very strict with them and actively practise nilif(nothing in life is free) so they know they have to listen to me if they want something.

It's not been a problem because I can usually go at their pace but recently the husky has shown interest in the other side of the fence. If I wait till I spot that behaviour to correct it he'll be over the fence and under a car so I've been looking into invisible fences. I don't like the idea of shocking my dog to teach him to stay away from something but it's basically the only way to teach him since even one mistake could cause serious injury or death. Many husky owners do this and it does not have to be permanent, only until he has learnt to stay away and not show interest in the fence.

Mate if you can spend the time training the dog with the collar then you can spend the time doing it properly and it shouldn't take any longer than a collar, dogs aren't humans they are dog and if the pack leader aka the owner shows them snakes are off limits they should understand it the same way as the collar works. Watch that dog whisperer show and you will understand what I mean. I dunno if its different for working dogs but I don't see why it should be unless the dog doesn't respect you as its leader.

Be careful imitating Cesar Millan, many professional dog trainers believe he has personally set back dog training by at least 10 years. Also a lot of advice given in these shows is general. You sometimes have to look at breed specific advice since what works on one breed may not work for another due to inherit temperament and instincts bred into them. If you wanna try an alpha roll or any of those other tricks on my dogs your welcome but they'll just think your playing rough and push back twice as hard and that's coming from personal experience.

 

[Cypher69]

A family member of mine has a farm, she was telling me, she trained her dogs to avoid snakes, by using a live peace of electric fence. She would wiggle it in the grass to imitate a snake and when the dog got to exited and bit the wire, they would get a shock.

I recently saw a wildlife doc where the same tactic was used when relocating captive lions back into the wild. From the footage it only took one shock before the lions lost interest & avoided anything that looked like a snake.

 

[Newhere]

Fair enough maybe I've got the only smart dog lol I just click my fingers or make a sound and she knows shes doing something wrong, you don't have to be rough at all and my dog loves playfighting with me she can tell the difference. My dog is a kelpie cross staffy so she should be similar to some of these working dogs that have been spoken about. I'm more worried about when I'm not around as stated in one of the above comments. I'm sure it is breed specific as all dogs are different but if you're going to take time to use a real snake and a collar then you can spend the time to train them properly.