N.H. Sunday News - Dog Tracks Column - 9/9/07 By: Gail T. Fisher
My last two columns addressed a question about whether or not electronic fencing can affect a dog’s personality and temperament. In response to this topic, I got the following email from a reader, who wrote in part: “We had two dogs, an older quiet one, and a younger Bernese Mountain Dog pup who at around four months of age, was prone to barking in excess when people walked by our home. To control this behavior, we bought a battery operated, bark control collar. We placed the collar on our dog and waited for the next outburst of barking.
"The wait was not long. As a neighbor walked by with his dog on leash, both dogs raced to the screen porch. The pup started to bark but stopped, totally puzzled at the first shock. In the meantime, the older dog continued barking causing more shocks. We immediately took the bark collar off and discarded it. Not what we had expected, this was abuse!
“To this day, at almost 8 years old, our dog gets extremely upset, if anyone takes her collar off. Now, after reading about electronic fencing, we realize that this one short incident so long ago, may also be the underlying cause of her Annie's timidity. We hope this helps others, to take better care of their pets.”
“No-bark” collars, as the reader refers to, have several different designs and approaches stopping a dog’s barking, starting with what sets it off: either the sharp sound of a bark as in this case, the vibration of the dog’s vocal chords and muscles when it barks, or collars that are owner-controlled, activated by a remote control.
As I wrote last week, we cannot know what a dog may associate with what the manufacturers refer to as the “stimulus” or “vibration.” By any name, this rose is called “pain” or these collars wouldn’t work to stop behavior. In this case, it’s likely that as the owners reached to remove the collar, this poor pup got zapped, and associated the pain with someone taking her collar off. So for the past eight years, when someone reaches for her collar, she experiences “post traumatic stress,” worried she’s about to be zapped.
In addition to what activates the punishment, another difference between collars is what punishment the dog receives. Some collars use what the industry calls “static” – likened to the shock you get in the winter when you walk across carpet and then touch metal – Ouch! Other collar types use an objectionable sound – a high-pitched “ultra sonic” noise similar to a smoke detector. And then there are those that use a spritz of citronella sprayed in the dog’s face, called a “sprayed disruptive stimulus,” rather than pain.
Although the citronella spray is marketed as “inoffensive,” clearly it must be offensive to the dog. If it weren’t, it wouldn’t disrupt or eliminate the dog’s undesirable behavior.
Which delivery mechanism is best? I’d love to ask a dog how offensive and damaging to his delicate nasal membranes the smell of citronella is. I fear that this might be the most punishing of all three mechanisms. While we humans generally view physical pain as more aversive, I suspect that to a dog, painful sound and offensive, lasting odor may be far worse than a momentary zap. If I’m correct (and there’s no way to know for sure), “static” may be the “kindest” of the lot.
Here’s my two cents about these devices. If you have a barking problem, first engage in training. Whether or not you ultimately have to resort to a “no bark” collar, the foundation laid by training is the only way to be fair to your dog – to let him know the behavior you don’t like (barking) and what behavior will be rewarded (quiet). Without such foundation, the aversive collar (and no question about it, it must be aversive to the dog to work) is equivalent to letting a child get burned to learn to avoid “hot.”
Next, you definitely get what you pay for. The better (more costly) collars are designed to not be activated by another dog barking, or by any other vibration or sound. As the reader’s experience demonstrated, how cruel – and potentially psychologically damaging – for a dog to get zapped for nothing.
Finally, as with any mechanical device, they are subject to malfunctioning. For this, and other reasons, I would not recommend a self-activated no-bark collar over one that is remotely controlled by the owner. Additionally, since some dogs scream when they get shocked, if it’s a vibration or sound-related zap, as opposed to one that the trainer/owner controls, the scream leads to additional punishment, which may lead to yet another scream.
With proper training, an owner can control barking; however, the owner as well as the dog, should have training before using any mechanical collar. To employ any “punishing” device without understanding the limitations and drawbacks, as well as proper usage, leaves you open to the potential of damaging your dog.
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