Shock Collar - Frame of Reference

Frame of Reference

"At low levels, the term shock is hardly fitting to describe the effects produced by electronic training collars, since there is virtually no effect beyond a pulsing tingling or tickling sensation on the surface of the skin ... the word shock is loaded with biased connotations, images of convulsive spasms and burns, and implications associated with extreme physical pain, emotional trauma, physiological collapse, and laboratory abuses ... the stimulus or signal generated by most modern devices is highly controlled and presented to produce a specific set of behavioral and motivational responses to it."

Some trainers who use shock collars will compare the sensation they deliver to the "static shock" that people sometimes get when reaching for a door knob or car door. This is not to imply that shock collars emit static electricity but rather to give the potential user an idea of what a shock collar feels like. It's often startling, sometimes painful, but has never been shown to cause physical injury.

Comparing the effects of shock collars with other electrical stimulation products, Dr. Dieter Klein has stated that, "Modern devices ... are in a range in which normally no organic damage is being inflicted. The electric properties and performances of the modern low current remote stimulation devices ... are comparable to the electric stimulation devices used in human medicine. Organic damage, as a direct impact of the applied current, can be excluded.” Shock of this nature carries little energy (on the order of millijoules, 1 millijoule = 0.001 joule ). "At 0.914 joules the electric muscle stimulation and contractions a human receives from an 'abdominal energizer' fitness product is exponentially stronger — more than 1,724 times stronger— than the impulse a dog receives from a pet containment collar set at its highest level.".

• A "remote trainer" set on a low level emits 0.000005 joules (5 microjoules).
• A "bark collar" set on a high level emits 0.0003 joules (300 microjoules).
• A "muscle stimulation machine" set on a "normal level" emits 2.0 joules.
• Set on a "high level" it emits 6.0 joules.
• An electric fence energizer emits 3.2 joules.
• A modern defibrillator can emit up to 360 joules.