Are Electric Dog Collars Humane?

September 30, 2008 by Richard Cross

I’ve heard that electric dog collars are very effective when training a dog, but are they humane? Do they hurt the dog, or just shock it? Should I use them?
Alex

This is one question that is sure to cause much debate amongst dog owners, so I’ll try to give both sides of the story.

The benefits of the electric collar is that you can administer punishment for bad behaviour to a dog from a large distance. I’m usually an advocate of the positive training method so I don’t think this is the best way to go about training a dog, but there is no doubt that it can work in some cases.

On the downside, it is difficult to tell how painful the electric shock is to a dog. This is why some people think it is inhumane. The shock can also have the effect of the confusing your dog and disorientating it which isn’t going to help your training at all.

In some cases the electric collar is used by owners who’ve tried everything else and still can’t get their dog to be obedient. If the bad behaviour is putting the dog at risk, then it could be considered much more humane to use the electric collar than to not. An electric shock is much better than being run over for example.

I think that electric collars aren’t necessarily inhumane, but aren’t the most efficient way to train your dog. Ultimately it is the owners decision though.

All the best,

Richard Cross