Just a few comments.
I agree that Leerburg and Koehler are not good resources. Use of the e-collar as a purely positive punishment, as a high level "zap", is a huge mistake in most circumstances. If a person is going to use a tool like an e-collar, they need to ALWAYS keep in mind what they are using and not EVER take it lightly. I certainly don't encourage people to run out and buy one.
There ARE levels on the collar that are merely a tingle - much like what you would feel with the TENS units that use electrical stimulation to help alleviate arthritis pain. And there are levels on the collars that are quite painful. I'm not going to pretend that a collar is pleasant in any way. But it also doesn't have to be really painful. "Tapping" is a way to describe the sensation - if you take the first two fingers of one hand and tap them on the back of the other hand you will get an idea of how it feels. Vary the intensity of the tapping and you can change it from a slight sensation to something very uncomfortable. The proper use is NOT at a level that creates a yelp or other pain reaction.
I don't use an e-collar as a shortcut. In my case, it was after nearly a year and a half of consistent training using positive methods. It was a matter of "keep the dog on leash forever" or "let her run and play and have a good time". I know that many will say "keep her on leash" - but none of you know my dog nor do you know what her needs are. Exercise is vitally important to this dog. The collar gives her freedom and safety that she would otherwise not have.
As far as the "would you put a shock collar on a child" question - in all honesty, that's a pretty ludicrous question. I wouldn't put a collar and leash on a child at all. I also wouldn't have my dog sit at the dinner table and ask "please pass the butter". But I do think there's a place for a swat on the butt with children, just like there's a place for a correction with dogs.
Dekka - a collar, regardless of brand, that only has eight levels is not a decent e-collar. If a person is going to use the lowest level of stimulation possible then you have to have a collar that increases sensation in tiny levels. Any collar with less than 100 levels is not appropriate for the type of training described here.
Even if a trainer intends to never use a shock collar, it is important to understand the concepts and methods used. The low level stimulation training is not the e-collar training of old. When I see people post ranting and raving about how harsh the collar is, I know immediately that they are not knowledgable about the modern e-collar and the use of it.
Like I said, I'm not recommending it. But there is so much blatant misinformation being thrown around about the use of these collars by people who don't understand the concepts of using low level stimulation as a negative reinforcement. Please, people, research and understand before just going with a gut reaction. Proper use of a collar like this - for particular cases - is NOT cruel or inhumane.
Melanie and the gang in Alaska