Shock collars

[4theloveofzoe]

I posted this in the behavior section also...

But...

My XBF, Isabel's father suggests that I invest in a shock collar for Zoe, because of her rambuctous (sp?) behavior. I say that it's just puppy behavior... SOmething that she'll outgrow, but everytime he comes over, he'll grab her by the scruff of the neck, until she cries out.

What do you personally think of them? Are they cruel? What experiences have you had with them, if any.

[luvofallhorses]

I think they are cruel!! this is a very heated topic. I would never ever use them on a dog. I don't know why the heck people think they are doing selling them!
I personally hope you don't get one. Do you take her to puppy classes? Do you have any dog parks near you that you can take her to run off her energy?

The reason I am saying for you to not get one is because my grandfather had a chesapeake bay retriever he used for hunting. She lived outside in a kennel. He used a shock collar on her because of her barking and you know what? It made her worse. I don't think anyone would want to be shocked when they do something bad. especially not an animal. They won't understand it IMO. Anyways, he misused it with her and not my grandma (she passed away when I was 5) his wife now gave her away to a family with kids who treated her right.

I certainly wouldn't get one EVER or recommend one.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

I absolutely hate them. Tried one on myself once when a friend bought one for her dog just to see what the dog would feel, and it hurt a lot. I'd never get one for any of my dogs. There are so many better ways out there to train your dog in my opinion.

[luvofallhorses]

There are so many better ways out there to train your dog in my opinion.

that's how I feel, too.

[CathyBogart]

I put one on and it hurt like heck, personally I wouldn't put it on my dogs.

[Lady's Human]

but everytime he comes over, he'll grab her by the scruff of the neck, until she cries out.

For starters, anyone coming in and grabbing Lady like that would be out the door so quickly their head would be spinning.

That isn't helping the poor pup at all. there should be ONE person handling discipline. Additional people, especially someone who isn't there all the time, trying to "help" is just going to confuse her.

What you have been describing is normal behavior for a puppy. Zoe looks like she has lab in her, and labs have a LONG puppyhood.

[4theloveofzoe]

That isn't helping the poor pup at all. there should be ONE person handling discipline. Additional people, especially someone who isn't there all the time, trying to "help" is just going to confuse her.

I agree.

Isn't that kind of mean anyways? Grabbing her by the scruff of the neck and hurting her?

I mean, yeah, it gets her attention and supposedly it's supposed to mimic mothers' actions... But I'm thinking the next time that he comes, I'm going to lock her up in the bathroom until he leaves. He's here... 2 minutes tops when he picks up our daughter.

[Tralee]

You should never punish bad behavior, by scruffing or what ever. Instead redirect her energy into somthing positive. I would look into clicker training

[Giselle]

What about pure, simple exercise? Labs have energy. Like BCs, they need an outlet to get rid of all that pent up energy. A jog around the block, a quick game of fetch in the park, participation in agility, flyball, dock jumping lessons, a trip to the dog park will all help calm Zoe down. What she needs is some disciplinary training and exercise. A tired dog is a good dog. You need to exercise Zoe both physically and mentally because she's taking out her boredom through annoying puppy behaviors.

Get Zoe into obedience classes. If she knows her basic 5 (come, sit, stay, down, heel), let a trainer evaluate her so that you can participate in Advanced Ob. If you feel like Obedience is too basic or boring, you can enroll Zoe into agility, flyball, tricks for fun, Rally-O, etc. Heck, you can even earn your CGC! I agree that your pup is still just going through some normal Lab puppy/young adolescent behavior, but you should also remember that the nature of a Lab is naturally happy-go-lucky and Zoe will ALWAYS overreact with the arrival of a guest. My neighbor's 8 year old Golden Retriever is walking on arthritic legs, but he *still* attempts to jump up on guests. I definitely would not use a shock collar on her.

[Misty_Pearl]

Shock collars are the lazy way out of training a dog. Not to mention downright cruel because you are shocking a behavior that you don't like not a behavior that is bad. A dog is never bad they just don't know the behavior that you want to see.

[chocolatepuppy]

he'll grab her by the scruff of the neck, until she cries out.

Not in my house he wouldn't....I'm sorry I don't know much about shock collars but from what I do know, I would never use them. Zoe wants to please you, you just have to take the time to train her.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I think it sounds like a good idea if you put Zoe away when he comes over. Personally I don't like shock collars, I would never want to hurt my dogs, ever. I have never even used "choke" collars before, but that is just my opinion.

If your ex mentions shock collars again maybe you could tell him that they can cause a myriad of other behavioral problems, and using positive reinforcement is probably easier in the long run! Using shocks too liberally can cause learned helplessness, and I know if I used something like that on Adele (who is a very soft, in some ways timid dog) she would probably skulk around the house fearing a shock from somewhere. Also, probably shock collars are expensive, so if your ex is willing to pay for that, maybe he can put the money towards a good class instead!

[IRescue452]

I think if he continues to grab her by the scruff like this he is going to create more problems. She might develope psychological problems if this continues and that will lead to worse behavior. Shock collars probably won't help in this situation. My Autumn has one but we don't use it anymore. My stepdad made me get one but now he's learned that since Autumn only barks when people come inside, the collar isn't going to help. She not a consistant barker so the shock punishment isn't going to train her.

[buttercup132]

Ick I had 2 people come in today saying that they wanted them!

Wel duh it's a dog they DO bark!! Dumb people. And ya it can get annoying and if they do it alot then maybe get a spray collar instead of shock. If your ex or who ever he is then I would kick him out! Maybe you guys can wait for him outside? And have all Isabelles stuff ready(if she takes anything) then he wont have to see Zoey. She seems to be a good dog and I have faith she will turn out.

[anna_66]

Read THIS. It will give you an idea of what most of the people here think about shock collars (myself included).
I agree that you should get her enrolled in some sort of an obedience class asap. This is one of the first things I do whenever I get a new dog.
So many of my friends ask me how come my dogs behave so well....I take them all to school. Can't expect them to do what you want unless you teach them

Good luck!

P.S. As for the long puppy hood of labs, they're right up there with the long puppy hoods of mastiff's. Bon's almost 2 and he's still a big puppy, but he probably weighs in at 150-160 pounds