I'd never use a shock collar on Gemma or any dog- I just don't like the idea of training a dog with pain and fear. Also, leaving one on an unsupervised dog could have tragic consequences. A young couple I know were relaxing at home with their American Eskimo dogs, one of whom was wearing a shock collar. All of a sudden, the dog wearing the collar jumped up and began running around the room, barking hysterically. It took both of them to wrestle the frantic dog to the floor so that they could cut off the collar, which had activated itself spontaneously. One can only imagine what the outcome might have been if the dogs had been alone when this happened.