Shock Collar - Criticism

Criticism

In an editorial for the Journal Of Veterinary Behavior, Karen Overall, Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine has criticised the use of shock collars, saying "Absolutely, without exception, I oppose, will not recommend, and generally spend large amounts of time telling people why I oppose the use of shock collars, prong collars, choke collars, and any other type of device that is rooted in an adversarial, confrontational interaction with the dog. Without exception, such devices will make my anxious patients worse and allow the anger level of my clients to reach levels that are not helpful and may be dangerous".

PETA opposes the use of shock collars, stating "Dogs wearing shock collars can suffer from physical pain and injury (ranging from burns to cardiac fibrillation) and psychological stress, including severe anxiety and displaced aggression. Individual animals vary in their temperaments and pain thresholds; a shock that seems mild to one dog may be severe to another. The anxiety and confusion caused by repeated shocks can lead to changes in the heart and respiration rate or gastrointestinal disorders. Electronic collars can also malfunction, either administering nonstop shocks or delivering no shocks at all".

No scientific study supports PETA's position that shock collars can cause "injury (ranging from burns to cardiac fibrillation), and psychological stress..." or that a shock collar can "lead to changes in the heart and respiraton rate or gastrointestinal disorders."

The Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group (CABTSG), an affiliate group of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has produced a policy statement on the use of shock collars, stating "Their effectiveness depends upon the pain and fear experienced by the animal, but to use them correctly requires detailed understanding of behaviour and its motivation, as well as very precise timing. Few operators are able to achieve any reliable success with these devices and the consequences of failure can be a worsening of the problem behaviour.The indiscriminate use of shock collars therefore poses a threat to the safety of the general public, as well as to the welfare of the animal. We believe that sufficient alternative methods of treatment exist that such electronic training devices are redundant. Therefore, as an association affiliated to BSAVA, it is our duty to recommend that shock collars and all other related training and control aids should be banned from sale or use".

The BSAVA itself produced a statement on the risks associated with collars "In principle, the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) opposes the use of electronic shock collars for training and containment of animals. Shocks received during training may not only be acutely stressful, painful and frightening for the animal but also may produce long term adverse effects on behavioural and emotional responses.".

There is no scientific study that supports the BSAVA's claim of potential "long term adverse effects on behavioral and emotional responses."

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), in the UK, called on all forces to suspend use of the collars on the advice of the RSPCA and other animal welfare groups.

The Kennel Club has an ongoing campaign to achieve a ban on the sale and use of shock collars; "The Kennel Club in calling upon the Government and Scottish Parliament to introduce an outright ban on this barbaric method of training dogs.".

The World Union of German Shepherd Clubs (WUSV) has joined the Kennel Club in calling for a complete ban on shock collars, and passed a motion to exclude this equipment from any of its training branches

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals commissioned a review of the effects of shock collars from the Department of Veterinary Medicine at Bristol University, which is available online. It states "Given the lack of scientific evidence for the efficacy of behavioural modification using shock collars, particularly in the long term, in addition to the potential for mistakes or deliberate abuse and the difficulty in correcting such errors, the widespread use of these devices must be carefully considered."

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) provides the following comment on the use of aversive collars (choke chains, pinch collars and shock collars): "Some trainers use aversive collars to train "difficult" dogs with correction or punishment. These collars rely on physical discomfort or even pain to teach the dog what not to do. They suppress the unwanted behavior but don't teach him what the proper one is. At best, they are unpleasant for your dog, and at worst, they may cause your dog to act aggressively and even bite you. Positive training methods should always be your first choice." They go on to comment on shock collars specifically: "The least humane and most controversial use of the shock collar is as a training device. The trainer can administer a shock to a dog at a distance through a remote control. There is a greater chance for abuse (delivery of shocks as punishment) or misuse (poor timing of shocks). Your dog also may associate the painful shock with people or other experiences, leading to fearful or aggressive behavior".

The potential for shock collars to have a negative impact on behaviour has been recognised by the UK courts. In 2001 Ostarra Langridge was prosecuted after one of her dogs attacked and killed a shitzu whilst on a walk. A control order, rather than a destruction order, was imposed as the magistrates accepted the defense that Ms. Langridge's dog's aggressive behaviour was attributable to the effects of the shock collar. "Ms. Langridge sought the help of a behaviourist when her dogs started to run away from her on their walks along the beach. The dogs were given shock collars, which Miss Langridge was told to keep on for three months and activate whenever they misbehaved. But the first time the dogs got a shock was by mistake, after a small dog they were walking past made Miss Langridge jump. From then on her pets associated the shocks with small dogs and became afraid of them. When Miss Langridge described the day in July when her dogs turned on a shihtzu she had tears in her eyes.". She stated ""They connected the pain of the electric shock with little dogs because of the first time I used the collar. The day that machine came in this house I regret."

The Norwegian Council on Animal Ethics "recommends the introduction of a ban electric training collars and similar remote-controlled or automatic electronic devices that cause your dog substantial discomfort. It should nevertheless be granted an exemption for such training carried out by authorized persons in order to prevent hunting of livestock and wildlife."

The APDT says, " training collars should not be used by novice dog owners or by trainers who are not properly instructed in their use. Use of electronic training collars can result in trauma to your dog and generally are not recommended by positive reinforcement trainers".

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has produced a position statement titled "The use of punishment for behavior modification in animals", the opening paragraph of which reads "AVSAB’s position is that punishment (e.g. choke chains, pinch collars, and electronic collars) should not be used as a first-line or early-use treatment for behavior problems. This is due to the potential adverse effects which include but are not limited to: inhibition of learning, increased fear-related and aggressive behaviors, and injury to animals and people interacting with animals."

Steven Lindsay's book, mentioned below, was published two years before the papers by Schalke (et al.) and Steiss (et al.).