How do you feel about shock collars

[elegy]

I've never used one (don't have anybody to teach me), but I think they are appropriate for a certain percentage of dogs in limited situations. Crittering, for example, and reliability off-leash in a dog who already understands a recall.

Interestingly, for those who use spray bark collars, there was a woman with a dog at our obedience class on Saturday whose other dog takes the class prior to ours. She was put away, but she's a barker, and the woman was using a remote collar with unscented spray. I have a hard time accepting the use of citronella as dog noses are *so* sensitive and the citronella takes awhile to fade away, which means the dog is still being corrected long after they've quieted. Unscented spray seemed like an interesting option.

[SizzleDog]

Used one: Yes
Reason: Excessive barking, recall reinforcement
Use on yourself: Yep.
Did it work: Yes, definitely.
How long did it take: It fixed the recall immediately. Barking it fixed in about a day, but they need occasional reminders with the collar (about once every 6-8 months or so)
Still use: Yes. My dogs wear e-collars on offleash hikes because by law they cannot be offleash without one. And it serves as a "safety device" should my dogs ever ignore the commands they know to chase wild game.
Use again: Definitely.
Over all opinion: In the right hands and for the right reasons, I'll for them.

[ihartgonzo]

No, no, no, no, no, no, annnd... no!

Just like many other pain-based training techniques, there are certain times and certain places and certain dogs that might benefit. But speaking generally, I DESPISE shock collars. There is just SO much of a risk for a dog to become fearful, aggressive, hurt, and/or associate the shock with the wrong things (people, for example). Plus, the majority of shock collars are "automatic", which is just bad news.

[milos_mommy]

I used one with an electric fence ( PLUS a real fence. That had cinderblocks underneath it.)

I did use it on myself (no way in HELL would i put it on him before i knew what it felt like). Took two shocks to get him to stop going near the fence. We used it for like a week and then stopped putting it on. He's only dug under once since then.

[scob89]

Used one: Yes
Reason: Not having very good recall at all
Use on yourself: Yes, and all of my friends too.
Did it work: Yes
How long did it take: Two days
Still use: Yes
Use again: Yes
Over all opinion: Works very well, I have the 200NCP model that has a paging feature, If I want Brenna's attetion I just hit the page button and the collar vibrates. Works very well that way.