Shock collar or not?

Question

My 8 month old dog is running out on the highway,tearing up things that cost more than he costs,and just being bad.He won't come when we call him and escapes from his collar.Do i buy him a shock collar?Thanx!

Answer 1

I would consult a professional dog trainer before using any training techniques, you could end up doing more harm than good if the collar is used incorrectly.

Answer 2

Be a responsible pet owner my friend. It's still a baby. Go to a professional pet trainer. Take the baby step training course, and when it's master it than go to the next level.
I used a schock collar on my poodle when I had troubles with him running after folks in the park. Never will I use such a horrible tool again. its cruelity to the animal. The animal suffers from small electrical shocks as there nerve system is very highly sensetive. It s up to you the owner to provide your puppy with enough play full chewey toys, treat toys where you can keep it busy. Keep it gated in the kitchen in a big enough play pen. Or inside where the washer and dryer area is. You can keep it there. For potty training, if you gone the whole day, I would recommend getting a kitty litter box. Our Chihuahua is going to be trained like that. And it takes a lot ofpatients and love. You did not obey your parents right away either when you were a baby. So why would a puppy do just that? LOL

Answer 3

There are some studies that have shown shock collars work by repressing the behavior. This repression extends beyond the behavior you want to remove to other areas of the dog's life. Try training the dog and getting a fence. If he isn't neutered get it done. I'll post the link to one of those articles as soon as I find it.

add: Some are more helpful than others but I posted a few. As for invisible fencing, it's worthless. That "insignificant" shock can actually create problems that weren't there before. Try something else.

add: If you can't put a real fence up try a trolley line. Trolley lines are NOT for 24/7 use, they are very useful for dogs who don't understand boundaries yet. I repeat OBEDIENCE TRAINING.

Answer 4

Buying a shock collar will not help your dog at this stage. He needs some basic obedience work first. Example, if your dog won't come to you and you shock him - do you really think he's going to come to you? No, it's going to scare him and he's going to take off and run even further. You need to start obedience training asap and confine him to somewhere where he can not rip stuff up, i.e. a crate or a run.

A shock collar is only good when used on an obedient dog. The shock is then given as a "correction" when the dog is off lead. The dog, being trained, also knows how to avoid the correction.

Answer 5

Those other people answering no obviously do not have a dog like this. I had a huge problem also, but I did research and asked around and am happy I got the collar. Try it yourself, much like getting a shock when you walk across the carpet in your slippers. My dog learned in 2 days what I had been trying to teach him the "right" way for months. It does not hurt him. he does not fear me. Now, when he gets bratty I just put the collar on and I do not even turn it on! He does not go in the street, he stays right by me. I got it because he is a nipper, playfully. He would grab ahold of my 7 year old (this dog is 75 pounds) and would try to pull him down. I would say NO and he would continue to pull until I walked across the entire house to get to him, release and run. He was smart enough to know. I think it is a great product and not cruel at all. Letting him get run over in the street is cruel and a fence costs thousands of $$$!

Answer 6

Well, you don't give much information. Try a better collar, try crate training, etc. If by shock collar, you mean invisible fence, then it depends a lot on the type of dog you have. But I would never trust an invisible fence by itself (may inconjunction with a regular fence that my dog is climbing over).

Answer 7

Your 8 month old PUPPY doesn't yet know better and you haven't yet trained him better. Start with taking him to obedience training. He doesn't know to come when called because you haven't trained him to come when called. One helpful tip for any dog - if he's headed for the road, call his name and run in the opposite direction. It's in a dog's instinct to chase. Give him something to chase, like yourself to get him back.

If he's slipping out of his collar, get one for him that's the correct size. If that doesn't work, try getting him a harness.

Also consider fencing in a space in your yard. In the house, give him one room only where he can be. Take away anything he could otherwise ruin. Give him appropriate chew objects like rawhides, chew bones, Kong's stuffed with peanut butter, etc. He's got to strengthen his jaw muscles now that he's got new, bigger (but less sharp) teeth. His chewiness is partly that and partly separation anxiety. Chewing, according to the dog trainer I work with (with a 10 month old PUP), helps to release endorphins in a dog's brain calming them down. So giving a dog something ok to chew on relieves the anxiety of not having his family around.

But NO SHOCK COLLARS on a MERE PUPPY!!! That's just plain cruel. Put some time into this baby.

Answer 8

Find a reputable dog trainer that has group classes and GO. You got a dog for a companion, yes? Then be his and he will reward you for years to come, but just like ahuman child he needs to be taught boundaries and a bit about tough love.

You will meet some people and have fun, too!

Go for it! Good luck.

Answer 9

Not, absolutely not, horrible things - don't work either.

Take your dog for group obedience training, that does help enormously. Ask your vet for a trainer who give group lessons or sign up at a large pet strore like Petco when they schedule them.

Answer 10

No try taking him to some classes all he needs is to be trained the right way