The Truth Behind Aversive Tools
Have you ever been in a conversation about training with someone who recommended using a prong or e-collar to correct your dog’s behaviour? If so, you may have also heard the common statement, “It doesn’t hurt them, I’ve tried it on myself.” Unfortunately, this statement lacks any truth. It is crucial to understand that these tools rely on inflicting pain or fear to work effectively. They do not aim to teach new desired behaviours but rather suppress existing ones.
Here are two key reasons why the claim “It doesn’t hurt them, I’ve tried it on myself” is false:
1. Human skin is significantly thicker than dog skin. The epidermis of a dog is only 3-5 cells thick, whereas in humans, it is at least 10-15 cells thick. Therefore, testing the e-collar on your skin is not a valid comparison.
2. Dogs do not have the luxury of choosing when to activate or deactivate the collar. When you test it on yourself, you are aware of when a shock or vibration is coming and that you can remove the collar at any time. Dogs do not have this control.
It is essential to address rather than suppress behaviour.
Corrections do not address the root cause of the behaviour but only temporarily suppress it. For instance, when your dog barks and lunges at another dog or jumps on people, a correction like a leash pop or zap will only suppress the behaviour without addressing why the dog is behaving that way. This can lead to escalation in the unwanted behaviours because the dog has paired the undesirable pain of a leash correction or shock from e collar with the sight of others dogs. You’re goal with your dogs training, should be to teach your dog what TO DO the next time.
“You’re Just Using Them Incorrectly”
Trainers who use shock collars to train puppies/dogs will tell you that shock collars don’t cause pain when used ‘correctly’. This is absolutely FALSE. A shock collar delivers an uncomfortable/painful corrective zap or shock when the dog is doing something undesirable or ignoring a cue. Shock collars are used to ‘force’ dogs to perform behaviours by continuously zapping until the dog complies. Some people will even turn up the power of the shock after the first few zaps because the dog “isn’t listening” or “doesn’t feel it”. These trainers do not take into account what the dog is going through; whether that be a tricky environment (lots of distractions), fear, excitement etc, and they just want their dog to “obey” them instantly. Some dogs that are used to being corrected with these devices, can sometimes show little concern for the correction on the surface but will signal their discomfort in other ways that may go unseen, or be misunderstood/ ignored by the trainer or owner.
If you are interested in learning more about Positive Reinforcement (R+), we are here to help. We meet you where you are without judgment of your past training methods and work together to create a plan that supports both you and your dog in moving forward pawsitively.
Please reach out to contactwagwithme@gmail.com.