I’ve been reading the comments again, and I should know better. I’m still astounded at the total bull excrement that’s deep in the online advertising copy for products and services for dogs.
I will keep warning you because it’s important for you to know the truth.
I asked a simple question about the photo of a dog in an ad for training services.
I said, “What is the function of the collar on the dog?”
The business answered: “We use e-collars for our training, it is not a ‘shock’ collar, it only contracts muscles to get attention. “
Then I asked dog professionals online what they thought of that answer. Here are some of their responses:
Carol Duncan (Texas) Lies, lies, and more lies …
Donna Weidert (Washington) What is a shock collar, except to “contract muscles to get attention”? Word salad, and, as noted, lies.
Jessica Stinson Hudson (Alabama) When a whistle, positive interrupter, leash, long line, dog’s name, etc., etc., aren’t good enough.
Ben Bennink (New York) For when you’ve failed as a teacher, shock ’em.
Jennifer Grant (New Mexico) BS answer, like a politician.
Kelly Fahey (New Jersey) How shock-collar users use various ways to avoid admitting that these collars shock.
Micha Michlewicz (Maryland) I guess this is some of that correct and ethical training I’ve heard so much about. Lying about a shock collar shocking. I point out that TENS hurts at noticeable levels and has such an alien freaky sensation that just that alone is more than enough to significantly stress a dog out. And contracting the muscles leads to lasting soreness. Maybe it’s not such a great comparison after all?
Miriam Fields-Babineau (Virginia) What’s the word for contracting muscles … um … would that be shock? Or a “nicer” phrase of ‘electric stimulation’? Ugh!
Laura Nott (California) Is putting it on a human equivalent to putting on an animal that does not recognize what the collar device is? I wonder. A human is not being held captive. A human can be told what it is and what it does, and has agency to remove it or refuse its being put on.
Flacortia Rosiea (British Columbia) Contracts neck muscles? Obey or suffocate! Just the kind of relationship I want with my dogs.
Jessica Stinson Hudson I use a TENS unit at home and at the chiropractor. More than multiple times as the intensity was increased, it felt like a sharp, painful shock. Once it happened over and over in the office until the tech changed the leads. At home, I had accidentally placed the pads too close together and once my necklace was touching a pad. It was PAINFUL each time, but fortunately I could communicate that and stop it. Dogs cannot. Even with the most experienced TENS unit, I mean, e-collar, I mean, shock-collar trainer, they have NO idea the sensation the dog is feeling.
Em E Wolf (Vermont) Horrible.
Bex Dot Smith (Colorado) Funny how I don’t need any equipment at all and my dog comes back to me and does everything I ask. The more equipment a dog has on, the less skill the dog trainer has.
Here is what another company says about the bark-deterrent device they are advertising:
“Quickly and gently get your dog’s attention, so they hear and obey commands the first time!
“Reaches up to 50 feet to get your Dogs & Pup’s attention or deter unfriendly dogs
“Able to be used as a dog training tool to stop barking and correct unwanted behaviors”
I asked: “How does getting your dog’s attention result in their obeying commands?”
The business answered: “Thank you for your question. So as soon as you have distracted your dog with the pinger and he have stopped barking, Immediately praise your dog for not barking. As this continues to happen, keep praising your dog when he stops barking. This way your dog will associate ‘not barking’ with getting praised. Thank you.”
One dog professionals posted her response to that misleading answer:
Rebekah Piedad (California) I have many thoughts. My very first one, though, is that something that deters other dogs probably isn’t the thing that I want to use to get my dog’s attention.
An ad for an “ultrasonic bark training device” says, “It also serves as a protection medium against wild stray animals.”
I asked, “Could you please explain how that works? ‘Wild stray animals’? Any animal? Cats?”
The business answered, “Aside from its behavioral training functionalities, the Ultrasonic Dog Bark Training Device – Rechargeable also doubles as a form of protection against aggressive strays you encounter outdoors. It supports three different modes (Flashlight + Ultrasonic, Ultrasonic & Beep) with each of them serving a different purpose. Whether you go out for a jog or walk your dog in the park, this amazing device lets you keep unfriendly dogs away in an instant. This training device works at up to an approximate distance of 5 feet away (effective up to approx. 32 feet).”
I inquired: “Does the ‘unfriendly dog’ receive the same effect as your own dog does? Do all dogs within the distance you’ve mentioned also receive the same effect?”
The business replied: “Yes, as you understand.”
I would like to point out that the device in question is, of course, not able to distinguish “unfriendly” from “friendly.” That would be entirely up to the human holding the device.
I asked dog professionals online: “Your dog in your yard gets the effect of an ultrasonic deterrent device used nearby. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? Someone nearby (within 50 feet), a neighbor or a stranger walking by, is using a device meant to deter dog barking and “unfriendly” dogs, and your dog, in your yard, gets the ‘deterrent’ aversive effect. WHAT’S YOUR REACTION? WHAT DO YOU DO?
“Imagine other situations in which the dog that gets the aversive effect is, for example, a dog being walked by its owner, on leash, not barking, not ‘unfriendly.’ Or, as I keep wondering, what if the dog that gets the aversive effect is a police K9, with its handler, on the job—is that ‘interfering with an officer on duty’? Would it be considered against the law? I’m hoping you will share any incidents that have happened to you or someone you know, to illustrate the danger in the use of such a device that could affect an ‘innocent bystander’ dog.
Here are several of the dog professionals’ responses:
Shelly Keel (Idaho) Oh, my heavens, Dakota and I ran into issues with one of those things in the neighbor’s yard about 15 years ago. The neighbor had two very small and barky dogs and I assume he got complaints or was tired of the noise. Dakota’s potty area was in the part of our yard with a shared fence with the neighbor. For well over a year she would use that area exclusively to eliminate. One day I noticed she was pacing at the patio containment fence trying to go to the main yard. When I tried to get her to use her area, she refused. Of course when we were in the yard, the neighbor dogs would bark so the at the time unknown sonic device was activated. Dakota would circle, go inside and try to go to the main part of the yard. I eventually took her out there with the goal of playing and it was apparent she hadn’t eliminated for a while because she did big time then. That is when I noticed her looking in the direction of the shared fence and her body language clearly showed distress. I went to the area and was trying to see what she was bothered about. Nothing obvious until I used a step stool to look in the neighbor’s back yard and found the device nailed to the fence post. I wasn’t sure what it was—those things were pretty new then—so I went to the neighbor and asked him about it. He was a nice fellow but communication was challenging as he didn’t speak much English, but we went together to the yard and I pointed at it and he indicated it was to stop his dog’s barking. I told him it was affecting my dog and we took it down. It took several weeks and lots and lots of treats to Dakota to get her to get close to and eventually enter and use her potty area. From then on, any time we were in the back yard or patio I tossed treats to the neighbor dogs too. The barking didn’t stop but did decrease and, more importantly, Dakota recovered from the effects of the device and never associated barking dogs with the discomfort she felt, at least in the evidence that she never became concerned or reactive toward barking dogs. Bullet dodged!
Photo of Dakota just because …
Photo by Shelly Keel
Jill Gibbs (Montana) I don’t think you can publish what my response would be.
Sodonnia Wolfrom (Arkansas) I would politely inform them that their device is interfering with my service dog and to please take it down/stop. If they do not, I will request in writing, then engage with a lawyer on what my options are regarding stopping them, should they continue after the written request.
Read the comments, ask the questions, think about what the answers really mean—to you, to your dog, and to all the other dogs around you who may be “innocent bystanders” affected by a device.
Don’t be suckered into a quick fix that could make a problem even worse!
