A pity it couldn’t have stayed focused on, as one dog trainer said “training [that] enhances the lifelong relationship between people and dogs.” Or as another said “Humane dog training is that which gets the point of the training across to the dog in the fastest manner without undue pain or confusion to the dog. It does not necessarily have anything to do with the equipment used.”

Here are a couple of articles about the whole thing:

http://www.dogpro.org/index.php?pageID=47
http://www.dogpro.org/index.php?pageID=55

Unfortunately, there are archaic and culturally driven techniques that still head the pack despite more sophisticated techniques and handling methods.

Looking at the caging at the facility tells me there was a problem and probably more that were unseen.

The only time I’ve seen similar damage to an animal’s neck was when I was riding with a traditional trainer and viewing his clients. One owner failed to move the collar regularly and left it to burn holes in his dog’s neck.

The trainer wanted me to join his team but between clients we bantered the differences of approach between our techniques and there was no way I would have been comfortable enough to join his team but we both left respecting each other.

I have tested shock collars on my hand. At the low setting, my little finger was numb for about a half and hour. Hence, I’ve never used them.

Roger Mugford had me test citronella collar on barkers in the early 90s and I found them to be reliable on about 95% of the dogs. However, it is only one tool in any strategy to deal with barking.

Unfortunately, these types of reports reflect badly on the profession not to mention the harm that it causes our canine companions.

The underlying problem is getting the right message to the consumer about what constitutes humane and reasonable methods of training and animal care…that way they can make better choices—anyone have an answer?

That’s why you don’t leave your pets outside unattended no matter what type of fencing you have.

I also think too many people think they can just install an invisible fence and put the collar on their dog, and then voila, magic happens. You can’t expect your dog to understand what’s going on unless you show them. I guess that’s why I made such an effort to train them on the fence in the first place, because I didn’t want to have to worry about them being ‘shocked’ on a consistent basis, or them running through the fence (which I hear about alot.) In fact, in my case, my dogs don’t even really wear their collars in the yard most of the time. (I didn’t put that in my original response because too many people read that and then try the same thing and since their dogs weren’t properly trained in the first place, they end up running away or whatever.)

I also think invisible fences can cause other problems as well. For example, I believe my dogs are more protective of the yard than they should be and I blame this on the invisible fence. But I still am glad I have it because I live in the city and can’t have real fencing and my dogs so would have been hit by a car or run away by now. And again, someday when I move, the first thing I’m checking is city ordinances on fencing. Because I want a real fence!

That’s my general recommendation, without knowing the dog, the owner or the circumstances. Because in general I find that automatic electronic training systems are offered as a “quick fix,” and I hate that.

That said, with every almost every piece of training equipment I can always find an exception to my general recommendations.

But all the same, those general recommendations stand, if for no other reason than electronic containment systems don’t protect an animal from being attacked or stolen.

Just another reason I’d never board them.

That being said, my dogs haven’t been anything other than warned by a beep in over 4 years AND if they were to go a bit further and push that warning threshold, well it certainly hurts less than getting hit by a car. But someday, I’ll move, and on my list of requirements for a new home, is to move to a city that allows for REAL fencing.