Quote Originally Posted by mruffruff
When every other path has been followed and the dog is still not responding, a static shock to get their attention is not cruel, nor is it abuse. Continuous use would be.

The dog I used the collar on was a 10 year old stray that the shelter felt would never find a home. He was in poor shape when I got him and had a bad habit of jumping 6 foot fences. I finally got him healthy, housetrained, contained and accepting of people. I was his last hope and the neighbor next door was threatening his existence. This was a last ditch effort. And I don't feel guilty about using it in this instance. I have not needed it on the other three dogs I have had.

In a perfect world, the shock collar would never be necessary. Unfortunately I live in the real world. I've learned to be less judgmental as I've gotten older. And I never say "Never".

Well said. Sometimes when you adopt an older dog from the shelter, you don't have the option of 'not letting them get away with their behavior.' When you have an older dog that misbehaves, and you try every possible route, then what? Some people take them back to the shelters. That is what happened with my Roscoe, he has behavioral problems and was taken back to the shelter by his last owner because they didn't want to have to deal with it. I tell you right now, we are going through the process of trying everything we can to get him to behave, but if worst comes to worst I would consider a shock collar. I would never take him back. I use a prong collar on him now for training (recommended by my trainer). I don't think that it's cruel at all, and it has helped more than you can imagine. When we first got him, I couldn't take him for walks along because he pulled me so hard he would drag me along (and yes, I did fall once or twice and he kept going, dragging me literally). Now, after basic training and the use of the prong, he heels by my side and is a pleasure to walk. Had that collar not been recommended to me by a trainer, I would have never bought it. It looks cruel. But now he can get the exercise he needs. Is that cruel?