Shock collars

[seabass]

I have never used a shock collar and am not sure if they are beneficial. My dogs are wonderful pets and decent hunters. My Golden retriever has become a wonderful dog over several years of experience and my (15 yr old sons) Brittany is on her first year. The Golden is about to retire and the Brittany is acting like the puppy that she is. Last weekend we were pheasant hunting where there were no birds and the Brittany was having a great time just running (like id.painter said), when my son (responsible for training the Brittany) blew the whistle for her to come, she kept pretty close to him but continued to run circles around him. When I finally gave in and yelled at his dog, she came to me. I see this as a dominance issue between my son and his dog but my son wants a shock collar. My question is... Are shock collars a good method of training? If so, what brands and price ranges am I looking at. Is patience and experience a better method. I do teach high school students and know that I can't use the collars in class , but the dogs are easier to train and I think that I can do without the collars.

I love my dogs!

id.painter, what do you do with your brits.

Thanks for any help

[Chukrchaser]

IF you have experience with collars and IF the Brit is able to handle that much correction it MIGHT be OK -- BUT -- Having trained a lot of Brits I have found they rarely need a collar.

Have your son go back to his Basic Obedience 101 and spend a little more time -- also have him put the dog in distracting situations ( a park or something)while doing so -- that way pup will learn that he must respond even when he is having too much fun. It sounds like your son's pup doesn't have a "complete" understanding of his commands. (complete = unfailing, usually immediate response every time -- unless it's on a bird)

Brits are usually a "soft" dog that responds best to training that is not too harsh. That usually means you can melt them with your voice -- not necessarily with volume (sometimes helps) but with tone --

Generally, if you put too much pressure on too soon you run the risk of turning the dog into a "mechanical" hunter -- does the job -- but no joy -- or worse yet -- shut it down to a walk at heel never leave your side dog.

And as you mention, it is pup's first year -- certain sins are forgiveable --

[Tilla]

I'll just say it. Do not use one unless you have been trained to use it. Just the words "Shock Collar" are rarely used by professionals and already give the implication that it will be mis used.
They are not intended to be used to punished the dog!
Every time you use it you have the potential to create more problems.
I would say that many adults don't have the sense or maturity to use this tool correctly.
It sounds like the command "come" or "here" was not properly taught to the dog. What makes him think a collar is going to teach that?!
Basics Basics Basics!

[seabass]

My feelings exactly. I seem to have forgotten what my golden was like 9 years ago. This is my first Brittany and I am very impressed with her. What a sweet and smart little dog. I never liked the thought of putting a shock collar on her. Thank you for the suggestions, :smile: if you have any more I would like to read them. Thanks in advance.

[BigFish]

The dog needs to know what you want it to do before you use a collar. Therefore, much training needs to be done before collars. The collars are a great aid and allow for instant correction from just about any distance. However, they will only damage a dog if you correct and they don't know what they have been corrected for.

[Mello-Yello]

While I'm quite certain you aren't inquiring about such, I personally have first-hand experience with shock collars...

Years ago, when living in WA, I had a black lab that apparently barked all day when I was at work. My neighbor lady worked nights. She kindly requested that I do something about the dog's barking...or someone was going to die. :shocked:

I first rented a 'clicker' as the local petstore owner said it was most humane. The dog loved it! Woof! Click....Woof! Click....Woof! Click...It was like he had a partner in crime. It was obvious this dog would need something less friendly.

I rented a shock collar. On my way home with it, I got caught up in the infamous ferry boat traffic. While waiting for traffic to move, I opened the box and checked this new contraption out. It had two long metallic probes protuding from the inside of the collar, which were connected to a plain black box on the outside of the collar. Looked sorta medievel.

Out of boredom, I placed this device up to my neck just to see what the probes felt like. Narly I thought. Then, for some unexplainable reason, I decided to see just what kind of sensation the dog might experience from this device.

"woof"...nothing. Hmmm, maybe it doesn't work, or maybe I need to bark louder. Maybe I should just stop here. "Woof"...still nothing. I dunno...maybe the batteries are dead. Let's try this..."WOOF!"........AAAAAAHHHHHRRRRGGGGG!!!!! PANT, PANT, PANT! Where am I? What happened? :shocked:

As I would later learn, the device had 8 different settings. Setting one, was a very slight, short jolt. Hardly noticable. Each setting increased both the amount of shock, and also the length of the jolt. As it turned out, the device was set on 8! :grin:

I am a firm believer in shock collars, as not only have I not barked since that day, but just spelling "woof" makes my lower extremeties pucker up.
:grin:

PS...it worked on the dog too.

[RogueFishr]

Mello-Yellow I am glad that I am not the only one that has ever put the barking shock collar on to try it out :blush: . I didn't know about the power settings either, but mine was only on 6. Even at that, the 'bark' then subsequent SHOCK, caused me to yell (ok - scream) and get shocked again. My dog saw me do it too. After a couple minutes, when my eyesight returned to normal, I swear the dog was still laughing.

RF