When I worked at an animal hospital and helped with their puppy classes, the thought of using a shock collar on a dog really offended me. I thought that any puppy could be taught to do all the normal things with praise and love and treats. Then I met Bowie.
From almost the first day we brought Bowie home, he has been something of a menace. We knew that he was supposed to be a high energy mix and that he had a really strong temperament, but we thought that all puppies were inherently sweet and wanted nothing but to please their loving masters. Bowie definitely has his moments of sweetness and he makes me laugh, but in the next moment he can turn and bite like a fighting Pitt Bull (no offense to Pitt Bull lovers, myself included).
Bowie has a very cushy life. He gets walked at least twice a day, he has tons of toys (given out responsibly), and treats, he is fed high quality food, and is fully vaccinated. He is incredibly smart and I think that may be the problem. Once he learns a trick, he chooses not to do it even for a treat. He is on to our kennel routine and will lash out if we try to kennel him by "force". He knows that if we reach to take off his leash that he is probably going in the kennel and he bites or bolts. He has figured out how to open his kennel from the inside and we have to lock him in with his leash, but it is only a matter of time before he figures that out, too. He is bully with all dogs no matter the size, and gets very jealous if his mom (that's me, for you non-"dog people") tries to pet other dogs, especially puppies.
Needless to say, some of his behaviors, particularly the biting and jealousy, are pretty big warning signs. When we hired trainers for Bowie we told them we wanted a freakishly well behaved dog. Our feisty monster seems hell-bent on not letting that happen.
After Bowie learned all the basic commands backwards and forwards, our awesome trainers started us on the plastic prong collar that simulates a small bite like the mother would give when he misbehaves or chooses to disobey a command. This is an important part of the training to get puppies to the point where they don't have to have a treat to obey, and to reinforce the importance of obedience. The problem is that when Bowie gets corrected it almost seems like he is thinking "she just bit me and I'm going to get her for that later". Scary smart. He started to retaliate.
This leads us to the dreaded shock collar, or as we like to call it, the electronic collar. When my trainers brought one to try I was so against it, but we tried it and it was amazing. Bowie is so sensitive to it that we only used the lowest current, so low that I can't even feel it on me (you bet I tried it first). When I turned it up so I could feel it, it wasn't really painful, just kind of tingly and weird. He responded immediately.
We have been using it for about a week and the change in his behavior is awesome. He doesn't know where the correction is coming from so he is no longer retaliating. He knows that if comes to my side and sits then he feels just fine. He is no longer eating things like goose poop and cigarette butts (super fun to fish out of his mouth), and he comes when called even with other dogs and people and cars around. His spirit is not broken, as I thought it would be. He is still the same sweet happy puppy, he just listens better and doesn't bite as much (we are still working on that). He is so smart that I think he is going to be a super cool dog when all is said and done. We just couldn't put up with this silly stuff when he has such potential.
So, I have changed my tune somewhat on the electronic collar. In the right hands and with the right instruction from a good trainer, I think it can be a useful tool.
On an unrelated note (ha ha), I have been asked to sing in church on Sunday. If any of you are in Boise, feel free to stop by. It's been a long time and I am a little nervous, but we'll see how it goes.
