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Health & Fitness

It's Shocking! Why Training Your Dog with an E Collar is a Bad Idea

Relationships are built on many things and pain shouldn't be one of them...

The Wheaten Terrier puppy arrived home after a month of "training" and the owner couldn't have been more upset. When she sent the dog away she had been told the gentle "nicks" or stimulus from the E collar would not harm her Wheaten but teach it manners. As a puppy it had been mouthing and biting. And it was soiling its crate too. And on an unexpected visit to see her puppy she saw first-hand what this style of training involved, and she was literally shocked. She immediately brought the puppy home and to her utter remorse he was not the same, a robot. And since this breed does remember quite a lot, whenever he saw someone on the street that resembled his trainer he would lunge and try to bite them. Typically Wheatens are known for their friendly and exuberant greeting.  He now were his muzzle daily and takes Prozac. 

Training a puppy or dog should be positive and fun for the entire family. After all most people buy a dog for companionship. There are so many positive training resources to get owners off on the right paw. Training a dog takes, patience, limit setting, reinforcement and proofing to make sure the lesson has been taught, understood and reinforced in multiple settings. All family members need to be consistent. And rewards like praise, petting and the occasional treat make good things happen. Dogs are a mirror of their owners and whatever goes into their training will be evident in the resulting behavior. Punishment style training often leads to aggression or robot- like submission as the fear-based relationship fosters these results.  Veterinarians and animal behaviorists like Dr. Ian Dunbar and Dr. Sophia Yin have free training videos and resources on their respective websites that help new owners to train positively. Owners should think about their own learning experiences. Imagine being hurt for not knowing a right answer. Education and experience through patient humane and vet approved methods helps to create loving family dogs.

Copyright 2013 (c) Dorice Stancher All rights reserved.





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