Dog Barking Problem

[Fishlover1N]

Totally disagree. First off as mentioned previously I don't use the shock function, but I would if I had to. I want and currently have a dog that I can walk off lead, he is a herding dog "smart as a whip", and having a remote messaging system lets him know I need his attention without yelling my fool head off. I would rather use an e collar than have him always confined to being on leash walked around like the majority of the dogs around here do (to me that is cruel). He has so much energy that I cannot walk him enough, with the e collar I can take him on a walk out behind our yard or in the bush and let him run, usually giant circles, where he can go flat out for 15min or so, before we go for the proper walk. I can also let him know that chasing deer or bears is not an acceptable activity. Additionally, it makes it easier to communicate with the dog when we are in noisy environments such as near rivers, one beep or a clap lets him know that I want his attention (Look at me for hand signal) or two beeps or double clap means return to me. Finally, the vibrate mode tells him that he has to stop whatever behavior he is currently doing, or the activity will stop altogether, this is where I would use the shock function if needed.

I could do much the same with a long line, and have done so with past dogs, but it would be much more difficult to maintain and monitor in bushy areas. I try to be fair, consistent, and compassionate, but I am also giving a powerful dog freedom to choose and make decisions and the e-collar provides a level of communication, not control, without a lead, it doesn't supplant more traditional training but is a tool I now use.

If you cannot control your dog without a device, they shouldn't be off lead in public. You need to work on your training skills if you can't teach recall without pain. Your dog shouldn't be that far away that they can't hear your recall or just not respond to a voice recall.

Dog training is much easier if you have a good bond with your dog. Pain and fear destroys the bond and creates an unhealthy relationship with the dog.

 

[Myrkk]

Shock collars can cause severe behavioural issues in dogs. For a dog that’s already experiencing anxiety I would not go down that route. Colin raised some very valid training points, go down that route.

 

[gilltyascharged]

Shock collars can cause severe behavioural issues in dogs. For a dog that’s already experiencing anxiety I would not go down that route. Colin raised some very valid training points, go down that route.

I know there's an animal behaviorist who uses similar techniques—Matt Beisner. Instead of relying on fear or physically "asserting dominance" to get a point across, ignoring the dog until it settles is a great way to create boundaries. A dog and a human should be a team, rather than codependent on each other. While I admit that I'm still working on this with my standard poodle (my family can't work up the heart to kick him out of our beds yet...), it's definitely shown some improvement, especially when trying to get him off various surfaces (yes, he is allowed on the couch; but if we want on and he's in the way, he knows to get off until we say otherwise)

 

[Myrkk]

I’m not above a wee pat across the bum or grabbing my collie’s nose to get him to listen to me (being blind he has a tendency to get overwhelmed by sounds), but these are usually to get my dogs attention back on me rather than whatever has caught their attention. But I’ve seen shock collar dogs get euthanised due to severe behavioural issues. For me, even with a lot of experience around animals, I always go back to the dog training for dummies book every time I get a puppy. Also, think of the breed you have, a chihuahua is not going to train up as quickly as a Labrador.
Our collie gets some leeway due to his deafness and it has caused us issues, our older dog now thinks if it’s sauce for the collie then it’s sauce for him too. Sofa and in some cases bed have become in bounds (but generally when we’re not around as they do know they shouldn’t).
We put a camera up in the house and watched our lab go to the window to watch for us, then go to the door to listen for us, walk to the sofa, think about it, then recheck the window and then the door before getting on the sofa. It was hilarious. Don’t tell me dogs aren’t clever and aware.

 

[gilltyascharged]

I’m not above a wee pat across the bum or grabbing my collie’s nose to get him to listen to me (being blind he has a tendency to get overwhelmed by sounds), but these are usually to get my dogs attention back on me rather than whatever has caught their attention. But I’ve seen shock collar dogs get euthanised due to severe behavioural issues. For me, even with a lot of experience around animals, I always go back to the dog training for dummies book every time I get a puppy. Also, think of the breed you have, a chihuahua is not going to train up as quickly as a Labrador.
Our collie gets some leeway due to his deafness and it has caused us issues, our older dog now thinks if it’s sauce for the collie then it’s sauce for him too. Sofa and in some cases bed have become in bounds (but generally when we’re not around as they do know they shouldn’t).
We put a camera up in the house and watched our lab go to the window to watch for us, then go to the door to listen for us, walk to the sofa, think about it, then recheck the window and then the door before getting on the sofa. It was hilarious. Don’t tell me dogs aren’t clever and aware.

You definitely have to consider what breed you're dealing with when training...a stubborn shepherd is less likely to be affected by a swat on the bum than a sensitive poodle or labrador.
But no, dogs (especially some of the more intuitive breeds) are hands down more than sentient enough to manipulate a situation or problem solve their way through a scenario.

 

[Myrkk]

Funnily enough the dog I’m thinking of was a GSD. The shock collar exacerbated an already troubled dog to a point it became dangerous.

The collie is hands down the hardest dog I’ve had to train, mainly due to his sight issues. It’s not his eyes that are the issue but a central brain issue (we think due to an inexperienced breeder pulling too hard, he was breech, or anoxia), so he doesn’t retain his training but is clever enough to bend the rules to suit him when he remembers.