Has anyone used shock collars??

Oh Donna!

Oh Donna!

Member
Sep 8, 2006
4,044
3
#1
Now, now, now, calm down. I am just asking. My 6 month old Cockapoo Chloe is not training as well as I would like, it could be that its me the trainer. Tonight she peed on my big comfy chair, and the other night she peed on my couch. First I thought it was the surgery from her being spayed. Not thinking that now.

I have been frustrated.

My ex husband has 2 beautifully trained black labs. He has trained them to respond to hand signals. He did this by using shock collars on them. I dont know enough about them, but at first mention the word cruel comes to mind.

He offered to take Chloe for 2 weeks and train her. I know he has trained some friends dogs as well with great results.

He told me he will use the collar on her.

I need help with her, but not if it will hurt her in any way.

Need your feedback please!
 
#2
I have never used them, but Ive never had any problems with training either. I think the rule of thumb is, put it on yourself...if it doesnt hurt you, it wont hurt them. Like I said, I've never used them...but thats what I've heard.
 
#3
Re the collars---Many of them make a sound that precedes the shock...dogs generally learn this pretty quickly!

If you have exhausted all other methods in your potty training (it is odd that the dog would urinate on furniture rather than the floor...so perhaps something else is at play here???), this is an option....for many not the greatest one, but it is effective and while uncomfortable, a short lived discomfort.

I liken it to hot wired fencing for horses....if I use a hot wire and the horse gets one or two shocks to learn what the wire means----and thus can live in a 10 acre pasture, isnt that better than making them stay in a 12x12 ft stall and small paddock. For me, the answer is yes. For others it is no... In my case case, I would choose the wire....KWIM???

You could also try clicker training, which is when you click/reward(treat) on the desired behavior....In either case, do make sure there isnt some nervous or physical condition causing the dogs urinary mishaps.

all that aside....IMHO, the best outcome is for the dog to be a happy member of the pack, that means in the house as well, if possible. If you ultimately MUST resort to the collar to accomplish this, then do so, they will learn quickly and their discomfort will be short-lived compared with the lifetime of happiness they will have being with you, their pack, in the home....
 
#4
We used to have an underground fence at my parents house. Those use the 'shock' collars to train. There is a beeping before that warns them. You may want to ask if there is something similar with the type of collar your ex uses. The dogs were only shocked twice before they got the hang of it real fast. My Aunt-in-law trains dogs with a choke collar. That seems more inhumane to me, personally. Have you tried crate training?
 
#5
Electronic collars can work very well for training hunting dogs and teaching obedience, but I'm not sure it's the best approach for housebreaking issues.

Is she giving you any problems other than not being fully housebroken? If not, it may be as simple as adjusting her potty break schedule and taking her outside more often. She's still young, so don't rely on her to let you know when she needs to go. Take her out at regular scheduled intervals and make sure she understands that she has to "go" before she comes back in. You might want to get a product like Nature's Miracle to clean the areas where she's had accidents so she won't be tempted to use them again. Good luck with the training!
 
#6
My neighbor used a shock collat on her golden because he was always jumping. It worked. They usually work so well you don't need to use the "shock" part of it...usually just the warning beep works. I am not really an advocate for using them though....but sometimes you have no choice. Good luck.
 
#7
Thanks girls, I should have ellaborated better, he is wanting to take her to train her to be better behaved, not jumping on people, pulling on the leash, jumping on furniture, normal stuff.

Chloe really does well during the day. I come home for lunch and walk her so I know that helps.

At night, its a different story. I walk her EVERY hour on the hour, she will pee at least once each time, then a half hour later she will pee on the floor next to the wee wee pad. Very frustrating.

My downfall is that we have a 3 story townhome. When I am on the 1st floor she will run to the door when wanting out. When in the living room on the 2nd floor, there is no door to run to go to, just stairs down to the 1st floor so she gets confused.

I swear my house smells and reeks of dog pee. This weekend I mopped and scrubbed floors like crazy and cleaned the carpets on the stairs and landings 3 times! I literally went through $75 worth of cleaning products. Still smells like dog pee. No one else smells it but me.

She goes to puppy training classes at Petsmart every Saturday, they are a WASTE of money and time. People bring their babies and kids and the dogs get distracted and the instructor wont do anything about it. The other dogs are younger and doing way better than Chloe is.

I am just very frustrated and regretting my decision to get a dog a little. Maybe it wasnt meant to be. ~sigh~
 
#8
I would definitely take your ex up on it if you're starting to feel THAT frustrated. The worst that could happen is you'll end up exactly where you are now. The best is that you would have a well trained house dog.
 
#9
hmm, do I understand it right that we are talking a collar that will teach the dog by emitting elektroshocks? :sad:

If you want to use something like that, there's also a thing that shocks the dog by emitting air. I'm not quite sure how that's called in the US though. It's not as cruel IMHO. A friend of mine had it for her dog who was an excessive "barker" and it worked very well. There are 2 types of those, one you can trigger, the other one is triggered by the dog's bark. :yes:
 
#10
Hmmmm...

For the issues you are talking about, jumping and such, there are other things to try before resorting to the shock collar. I really only used it during a brief interval before we fenced the property, in conjunction with electronic fencing....

Is your NO very sharp and definitive, when it comes to the jumping? and pulling. Sometimes we cajole little dogs, since we dont want to hurt their feelings. It seems the behavior issues are really separate, and in fact I am not sure that any of these things are best addressed with a shock collar.

My friend has done agility training, as well as house behavior training on two labs, and only used positive reinforcement and clicker training. I have not done much with the clicker, but all the other training has been without the collars as well.

As I said, I only used it as part of an invisible fence until our wire fencing was up....


As for the pee...
Have you used the enzyme products to treat the urine odor? They really do work, you can buy the concentrate and then mix it in a stronger solution....

Does she know the words PEE and OUTSIDE???? Teaching those words really helps...Also, have you spoken to the vet about this? There could be a physical issue.

The vet may also have a contact with a dog trainer that is more experienced than what you are finding at petsmart.

Best of luck...


By the way, what works with Labs may not work with your small cockapoo, and should you resort to the shock colar after all, I think it needs to be a very tiny one.
 
#11
Okay, your update gives us a better idea of your situation. As far as the PetSmart classes are concerned, you probably won't get the best results while you are there, there's too much activity going on. Try to practice what they show you somewhere quiet where there won't be so many distractions. Even dogs with short attention spans can usually handle 15-30 minute training sessions every day. If you let your ex train her with the electronic collar, please make sure he starts with the mildest setting. Like Cobaltblu said, a cockapoo won't need as strong a correction as a big dog.

As far as her peeing indoors, you might try putting her on a leash in the evenings and keeping her right at your side for a couple weeks. You can tie the leash to your belt loop. I know a few people who tried this and it worked. It's an inconvenience but hopefully she will learn she can't sneak away to another room and go wherever she wants.
 
#12
How about instead of a shock collar, you might want to consider a citronella collar. I used one for my dog that would bark. It sprays citronella instead of shocking your dog. I found it to be more humane. It was very quick with the training. I don't know if there are any remote control ones for when you see your doggie jumping up or peeing though. Here is a link to one: http://gentlespray.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3
 
#13
HubbaWubba said:
How about instead of a shock collar, you might want to consider a citronella collar. I used one for my dog that would bark. It sprays citronella instead of shocking your dog. I found it to be more humane. It was very quick with the training. I don't know if there are any remote control ones for when you see your doggie jumping up or peeing though. Here is a link to one: http://gentlespray.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3
Click to expand...


That's exactly what I was talking about :tup:
 
#14
HubbaWubba said:
How about instead of a shock collar, you might want to consider a citronella collar. I used one for my dog that would bark. It sprays citronella instead of shocking your dog. I found it to be more humane. It was very quick with the training. I don't know if there are any remote control ones for when you see your doggie jumping up or peeing though. Here is a link to one: http://gentlespray.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3
Click to expand...


LOL We have the same idea.

I have heard that these work really well.

I also like a squirt bottle filled with water to get my Chis to stop barking when company comes over. Harmless yet irritating:yes:
 
#15
I think that since your ex has trained many dogs that in the end he might not need to resort to the collar at all, it might be that it is the way that you are training her. I am not saying that you don't know what you are doing just that since you are so frustrated that it may be interfering with how she is responding to your training. Since your ex seems to have a reputation of being a good trainer it might be better to see of he can train her without the collar first and then if all else fails try the collar. I think that it will take some of the pressure off of you and in the end might be the best thing for you and the pup. Good luck!!
 
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