training collar for dogs?

Does anybody have any experience with "shock"collars for dogs. I thought it was a very inhumane way to teach an animal but the more I read on it, not so much.From what I gather, after a couple times the dog knows and will just respond to a signal noise and theres no need for a shock. We are admittedly cat people,and our main reason in having a dog was to guard the chickens and other critters in the barn. During the day he hangs with us in the greenhouses. The problem comes up when he jumps on customers,(big brown lab) or worse he runs in the road(country road with fast cars) and chases trucks. Sometimes he will listen just fine, but other times he just ignores us. The other day he almost got flattened by a truck. We need to do something quick. I cant leave him tied up all day, and we dont feel right leaving him in the barn area during the day either. Obedience training class would be tough for us to do,time and budget problems. So I have kind of come down to trying one of those collars that I can just push a button and give him a zap. I cant help but think this is somewhat wrong though. Any thoughts?
Do they work?Are they safe for animals? Any brands better than others?

John,

I've gone down the same road as you in this respect, thinking omg, a SHOCK collar, no way. But, after many, many years of patience training (and some close calls) I've come to the realization that some dogs require a little more "convincing" than others.

After wasting a lot of money on several difference training collar systems, I've think this one is the best I've tried:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true

If the link does not work, it's a Dogtra 200 Gold sold at Cabela's. It vibrates, "ticks" & shocks. One of my guys rarely needs a vibrate anymore, and he was a little beast. My other requires a vibrate and an occasional tick shock. Different dogs, different temperaments. My third dog doesn't require a collar at all.

Good luck and remember, patience.

I might not have had the best collar, but it did nothing for my thick-necked boxer/pit. He would bark, then looked ticked off at the shock, shake his head and keep barking.

John,

Sent you a P.M.

Does anybody have any experience with "shock"collars for dogs. I thought it was a very inhumane way to teach an animal but the more I read on it, not so much.From what I gather, after a couple times the dog knows and will just respond to a signal noise and theres no need for a shock. We are admittedly cat people,and our main reason in having a dog was to guard the chickens and other critters in the barn. During the day he hangs with us in the greenhouses. The problem comes up when he jumps on customers,(big brown lab) or worse he runs in the road(country road with fast cars) and chases trucks. Sometimes he will listen just fine, but other times he just ignores us. The other day he almost got flattened by a truck. We need to do something quick. I cant leave him tied up all day, and we dont feel right leaving him in the barn area during the day either. Obedience training class would be tough for us to do,time and budget problems. So I have kind of come down to trying one of those collars that I can just push a button and give him a zap. I cant help but think this is somewhat wrong though. Any thoughts?
Do they work?Are they safe for animals? Any brands better than others?

I love mine and it works like a charm. I use the underground fence to keep my dog in my Crescent Hill shotgun yard. I always thought the remote activated unit you described seemed a little mean as the dog is never sure what the rules, boundries and limitations are. The fence is consistant and gives fair warning. The dog knows that if he goes "there" he's going to get it. FWIW...you train the dog using the beep only and then progress to the shock so theroetically you could have a trained dog that never gets shocked. Not the case with my dog. He actually decided the shock was worth certain "prizes" (like a nice dead animal to roll in just outside th boundary) so I bought a heavy duty collar that looks like he has car battery hanging from his neck...that did the trick. He only crossed the fence line once with that baby. Heh. He doesn't even have to wear the collar any more.

I have been shocked myself and it was not a pleasant experience, but it was quick and once it was over it was over. It's interesting though when I bought mine (Home Depot?) a lady in line scolded me and said that "shocking" animals was inhumane (that's how the Colonel kills his chicken you know). She suggested that if I had to get some sort of corrective device that I opt for the collar that squirts citronella at the dogs face (???)! I looked later and there is such a device, but if I were a dog I would much rather take the equivalent of a rubber band snap to the neck than have someone poor citronella all over my face with no way of rinsing it off. Call me crazy. (These people walk amongst us. Sweet Maria.)

Good luck.

If you get one, make sure it's adjustable.

We bought one for a Jack Russell, and it was NOT adjustable. My 6'3", 275 hubby put that sucker on, shocked himself with it, and took it off and threw it in the trash. It left a welt on his neck! If it was enough to almost take down a large adult male, it was going to be waaaay too much for a small dog.

John,
Sent you a pm.

Thanks for your input. Zeus is 4 almost 5 now. We live on a farm and let him run free in the back field almost everyday.This works because he cant see the road. But we would like to let him go free where we work,the store/greenhouses are more near the road. He is much better when he has got some good run time. We got him as a pup from somebody who was not able to care for him. We only take in animals from shelters or special needs situations. We have him really well trained to work with our birds. Our neighbors laughed at us when we told them we got a lab to guard birds, but it works out for us. Hes not like most labs I have known,example,he hates water. As I said ,most things hes real good with,kids,loves cats,sit,lay down.....the problem comes with the road and jumping on some customers. Both pretty serious infractions. For everything else the slap on the behind worked great. I guess what I wondering is how much worse is the shock than a slap to the behind. It freaks me out to think about shocking an animal,but the thought of him squished on the road isnt good either.
Thanks,I will post when I figure out what to do and how it works.

Zeus in one of the greenhouses.

Your ferns sure look a lot better than those couple I "rescued" from Frank's last fall.

Sweet PUPPY!

Awww....he's a cutie!

We bought one for a Jack Russell, and it was NOT adjustable. My 6'3", 275 hubby put that sucker on, shocked himself with it, and took it off and threw it in the trash. It left a welt on his neck! If it was enough to almost take down a large adult male, it was going to be waaaay too much for a small dog.

Wait, WHAT?

So does your husband stay in the yard now?

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.

So for my non-wiseguy response, let me add that two of our neighbors have trained their dogs (one of them is a chocolate lab) with the collar very successfully. That said, while they were in training one of the dogs got so excited he ran through the electrical field, but they couldn't get him back in the yard until they took the collar off.

Please be aware that you can't just put the collar on, you will have to spend some time training your pooch so he understands what it's for.

Also, as I understand it a dog doesn't feel the same shock as a human would because of the fur on their necks.

Do they work on spouses?

Here is how the hubby came to place said collar on neck...

It was purchased for a very, very barky Jack Russell. We had literally tried everything to stop his barking. One of the people in the pet store we were in recommended a shock collar, so we got one. We followed the directions, and of course, he immediately started barking. He got shocked, yelped (screamed, actually) and shocked himself again, thus starting a pattern. He actually peed all over himself. That was what prompted the hubby to put that sucker on. After feeling how strong the shock was (keep in mind, it was NOT Adjustable) he threw it out. You may have success with one. We did not. If you choose to use one, keep in mind that it IS a shock, and therefore, even with fur, somewhat unpleasant/painful for your dog.