Concern over shock collars
Animals in Mind the UK charity are campaigning against the increasing use of shock-collars here in the UK. The collars that deliver an electric shock to the dog are being offered as a "quick-fix" for all sorts of training problems. It's a very profitable business that conveniently ignores that the collars can be counter-productive and worse, can have unpredictable behavioural side-effects. More at www.animalsinmind.org.uk

No doubt there are people who would abuse shock collars BUT, when all else has been tried - and failed, shock collars may be the only alternative to having a dog put down.

As with all things, they have a plus side and a negative side. In the wrong hands they are dangerous but people who would use such a device to torture a dog (voltage set too high for example) would still find a way of torturing a dog even if shock collars had never been invented.

Unfortunately, the people who are against shock collars are more than likely those that think ALL dogs can be "treat trained". As with all things, treat training works with some dogs, for example, Buddy is very easy to train - he'll do absolutely anything for a Schmacko while Max is the opposite. Treat training does not work with him, nor does giving him his favourite toy, dog training classes didn't work and even the specialist training class for difficult dogs I got him into didn't work, so what do you do with a dog like Max?

Would I consider using a shock collar with Max? Yes, I would but ONLY if taught to use one correctly and preferably not at all. What would be the alternative for Max? Being PTS (doesn't bear thinking about), being returned to the rescue centre he came from - and after nearly 4 years with us, another non-starter. Despite his faults, I love Max dearly and he is loyal and very loving. Buddy would miss him so if using a shock collar sorted Max out, it would be the much lesser of the evils.

No matter what method of training is used, there will always be people who are for and against.

thanks for posting i no this is alwas a hot topic

There is a time and place for a shock collar and used correctly they are very effective, but as per its the idiots who use and abuse them that get these collars a bad name. I own a shock collar..... I can hear the gasps BUT my dog is alive and uninjured because I used 1. I have horses and they have always been used to dogs around, so much so they will 'share' their feed with the dogs. Duke was fine to start with then started nipping at their heels which isn't good. Nothing could stop him and it wasn't right that he would have to stay tied up on the yard while he was there or stay at home. We actually set him up to 'fall' with our old pony and Duke now has the utmost respect for them, thinking that it was Nicki that got him with a shock, which is exactly the way it was planned. I can ride with him alongside, he can go out in the field with them and he knows that horse hissyfit time is time to get out QUICK.
So what would have been the outcome without the collar? A dog with its head kicked? broken leg? and possibly a dead dog? The horses are good but even so there is a limit to what they will take. Duke has learnt from the 1 time shock and he can be trusted with any livestock, even when on walks the Horse shout goes up.

I just have to comment here as this thread has been such a refreshing change to the normal response- from UK citizens.

I do not use an electric collar for Logan as i dont feel the need. However, i am not adverse or closed minded in their use by properly trained people who do use one for training purposes when they have had professional training on how to use them properly. They are simply a different method of training. The collar does not have to be used as a last resort either- its simply an alternative method to treat training. My dog has absolutley no interest in treats... give him a toy anyday. However, that doesnt always work if he sees or smells a dog he doesnt like, so he barks his head off. However, if he was trained with a collar i know that the stim not a painful shock would make him think twice about naughty behaviour.

Unfortunately, people like to give opinions based on their uneducated personal band wagon opinion instead of factual, personal experience. You can always tell who they are.

Another good point about remote training collars is that they have a recall buzzer on which, on my collar, has a range of 200m. I know I have a big mouth but even I can't make myself heard over that distance, nor can I whistle that loudly. So, if you are out, and can see something contentious looming and your dog is happily sniffing or whatever you have that recall buzzer. It also works well as a distraction tool ie leaving the dog in the car after a walk and going for a quick cuppa and the dog is raging at other dogs walking past and you can 'buzz' them and they look at you (distraction), collar is actually lying on the back seat.

The sad thing about all this is that the majority are sensible users, and its the minority that will get them banned.

A dog owner has been fined £2,000 after becoming the first to be prosecuted in Britain for using an illegal electric shock collar.

Wales banned the devices last year. Phillip Pook, 48, from Ogmore-by-Sea, Vale of Glamorgan, admitted using the collar, to stop his border collie jumping over a wall.

But he had denied he had been warned the collar was illegal.

It was discovered on his dog, found roaming on a beach in December 2010.

Pook was also ordered to pay £1,000 in costs, when he was sentenced.

He used the collar to try to stop the collie jumping over a high wall surrounding his property, Bridgend magistrates heard.

The court was told the collar emitted its electric shock when the dog wearing it went near a specific fence.

They also heard that the dog, which kept escaping, was known at a local kennels as "the dog with the shock collar".


Prosecutor David Prosser said: "This is the first prosecution under the regulations for this type of collar.

"It operates like an electric fence, and if the dog approaches the boundaries or tries to escape it sends a shock to the dog.

"He didn't accept that it was illegal because it's legal in England. But this is the law as far as Wales is concerned."

The prosecution told magistrates that Mr Pook had been warned in April 2010 that these sorts of collars were illegal in Wales, although they are allowed in England.

Mr Pook bought the collar online six months before the ban came into effect.

'Outdated and unsuitable'
The 2010 Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (Wales) Regulations prohibit the use on cats or dogs of any electronic collar designed to administer an electric shock.

Chair of magistrates Caroline Naysmith said: "We accept that you attached the collar with good intentions and when you first did so it was not illegal.

"But you knew the law had changed and you continued to attach the collar anyway."


The collar was shown to magistrates Under the regulations, which came into force in March 2010, using such a collar is an offence punishable with up to 51 weeks imprisonment.

Their use is still legal in England and Scotland but the issue is due to be debated by both the UK and Scottish parliaments. They are also legal in Northern Ireland.

RSPCA inspector Nic De Celis said after the case: "It's gratifying to see that this new legislation really works and is making a difference to animal welfare in Wales.

"I hope this case sends a strong message to all animal owners in Wales that the courts will not tolerate the use of these barbaric devices."

The Kennel Club also welcomed the prosecution.

'Ineffective'

A spokeswoman said: "Electric shock collars train dogs through pain and through fear - they are a cruel, outdated and unsuitable method of training dogs. "

The Dogs Trust said the use of such collars was "unacceptable, unnecessary and ineffective" and said it was disappointed the UK and Scottish governments had not yet ruled on a ban of their own.

A spokeswoman said: "The charity believes that every dog should be trained using kind, fair and reward-based methods.

"These are proven to be highly successful in modifying behaviour including aggression, without subjecting dogs to cruelty."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-14181927

The collar was shown to magistrates Under the regulations, which came into force in March 2010, using such a collar is an offence punishable with up to 51 weeks imprisonment.


But beat, torture and kill an animal and the maximum sentence is 2 months in prison, a paltry fine and maybe a ban on keeping animals.

The Dogs Trust said the use of such collars was "unacceptable, unnecessary and ineffective" and said it was disappointed the UK and Scottish governments had not yet ruled on a ban of their own.

A spokeswoman said: "The charity believes that every dog should be trained using kind, fair and reward-based methods.

"These are proven to be highly successful in modifying behaviour including aggression, without subjecting dogs to cruelty."

And often the above methods DO NOT WORK with some dogs; equally a shock collar would not work with all dogs either.

Are we now to assume that farmers in Wales will no longer be able to use electric fencing to keep their livestock in the fields - after all a dog (or other animal) might get shocked - touch an electric wire round a farmer's field and dog/human or whatever animal is going to get zapped.

Crazy laws made by people who probably don't know one end of a dog from the other.

CRUEL dog owner was yesterday fined £2,000 for using an electric shock collar to train his pet.
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Phillip Pook, 48, was also ordered to pay £1,000 in costs after magistrates heard the dog suffered a shock whenever it went near a wire around the perimeter of his home.

He fitted the £100 collar to his Border collie Dougie last year when they were legal in Wales, where they have since been banned. They are allowed in England and Scotland.

Up to 500,000 are thought to be in use in Britain and a Kennel Club spokeswoman said: “Electric shock collars train dogs through pain and fear – they are a cruel, outdated and unsuitable method of training dogs.”
The dog owned by Phillip Pook (Pic: WalesNewsService)

In the first prosecution of its kind, Pook of Ogmore-by-Sea, Vale of Glamorgan, admitted using the illegal collar in breach of animal welfare laws. Despite the collar, Bridgend magistrates heard that the dog escaped so often it was known locally as “the dog with the shock collar”.

Chairman Caroline Naysmith told him: “We accept you attached the collar with good intentions and when you first did so it was not illegal. But you knew the law had changed.”

Governments in England and Scotland are due to debate the use of the collars

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/07/19/dog-owner-fined-for-using-an-electric-shock-collar-on-his-collie-115875-23280247/#ixzz1SX6z0xTq
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