Shock Collar - Technical Considerations

Technical Considerations

Electric shock can be characterised in terms of voltage, current, waveform, frequency (of waveform), pulse rate and duration. Although voltage, current and duration of shock can be used to calculate the amount of energy applied (in Joules), these are not indicators of the intensity of the stimulus or how it may be perceived by the recipient. Static electric shocks that are experienced in daily life are of the order of 10,000 volts, and yet are not painful or physically damaging because they are of very low current. Modern shock collars can be set so that the current they give off is only mildly uncomfortable. No shock collar on the market today is limited to deliver shocks of such low intensity. The lack of such limits is because variable settings are essential, so that the shock collar can be adjusted to the level that the dog requires, and adjusted as situations change. The shock, and the animal's perception of it, can be affected by a number of factors.

Individual variations in temperament, pain sensitivity and susceptibility to startle of dogs, means that shock settings must be carefully adjusted to produce a shock that is perceived by the dog as aversive enough to stop the dog engaging in the unwanted behaviour. The single most important factor is the animal's level of arousal during training. Normally salient stimuli, such as noises, commands and even shocks, may have no effect on a dog that is highly aroused and focused on an activity such as hunting.

In order to deliver consistent shocks, good contact must be made between the collar electrodes and the dog's skin (the collar must be fitted according to the manufacturer's instructions). Local humidity and individual variation in coat density, skin thickness and surface conductivity, will also affect the delivery of the shock.

The waveform, its frequency, the pulse rate, amperage, voltage and impedance are important determinants of likely response. "Many e−collars appear to shift intensity levels by altering the pulse duration or repetition rate while keeping the output current and voltage relatively constant, depending on the electrode−skin load." (Lindsay 2005, p. 573).

Shock collars are sometimes referred to as delivering a "static shock"; however, static electricity is direct current and carries little energy (order of millijoules). Shock collars make use of alternating current. It is therefore inappropriate to refer to shock collars as delivering a static shock.

No regulations exist specifying the performance characteristics or reliability of these devices, so there is considerable variation in shock level and waveform characteristics between manufacturers, and perhaps even between batches of collars from a single manufacturer. The lack of regulation or standards, and the fact that some of the safety features of shock collars are patented by specific manufacturers, means that the safety and operational characteristics of individual products cannot be verified.

Over 31 years ago, in the USA, the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), a branch of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), "concurred" in regulatory action against a manufacturer of a bark collar, stating "Complaints received, which were later corroborated by our own testing, included severe burns in the collar area and possible personality adjustment injuries to the dogs. The shocking mechanism was found to be activated not only by barking but by vehicle horns, slamming doors or any other loud noise. CVM concurred in regulatory action against the device since it was deemed to be dangerous to the health of the animal." However, today's quality bark collars are activated only by the barking of the dog that is wearing the collar and no research study has shown any physical injuries from the current produced by any of these devices.