The issues I have with e-collars.
You’ll see this one quite a bit, teaching your dog the system of communication using a 3rd party tool. Lets see if it really makes sense.
Human beings are animals, mammals in the animal kingdom, but it seems like many people have a hard time accepting this. Training today appears to have taken the dog out of the animal kingdom and put it somewhere else. So now we have “dog behavior” or “dog psychology” – not so much “animal behavior” or “animal psychology”. Humans are very similar to dogs on many levels and it’s time to investigate these similarities. Dogs have been with us for tens of thousands of years, and one would think their genetic makeup makes them closer to us than any other animal – they should know us by now but yet, everything has to be trained.
There is no animal on the face of the planet that has driven human evolution like the dog. They were our protectors back when we really were prey. They were our tools – trained to hunt and take down prey. They became livestock protectors. The list is long – but for some reason, we have come to the conclusion that everything has to be trained.
Dogs communicate on their own level – they need to communicate with dogs, and we really don’t know how they do it yet. They need to communicate with us in ways we’re still trying to figure out. People have a hard time trying to figure out what their dogs are trying to say, but yet still focus on other ways to communicate. Anybody else have issue with this? Wouldn’t it be easier to listen to the dog, at least try to communicate?
Enter the e-collar, a tool that is typically only used on dogs. You’ll hear how it’s an important tool of communication, that you need to teach your dog that communication. Really? We don’t understand how to communicate with dogs on their level, yet, lets introduce another tool that makes no sense to the dog, and call that communication. Getting back to Temple Grandin, she hates e-collars, but will accept their use in certain circumstances – where animals are killing livestock or other animals and it can’t be stopped. The e-collar shock to her is like a bolt of lightening hitting the dog from the heavens – the dog doesn’t know the shock is from the owher. So how is that communication?
When a dog is corrected directly by leash/collar, the dog knows it’s from you. When you’re hitting the button on an e-collar remote, does the dog really understand that this “communication” is coming from you?
Robert Hynes Dog Training
Serving Edmonton, Alberta and surrounding areas.
admin@roberthynesdogtraining.com