The Human Scenario: Aversive Collars

I am not particularly a fan of aversive collars. They don’t do a very good job teaching the dog what we want her to do. They focus more on correcting the dog for a bad behavior by causing pain to the dog via choking, shocking, pinching or pronging, ultra sonic sound or spray. If your curious to learn more about aversive collars—click here for Aversive Collars—What They Are and Why They Don’t Help.

I have heard many people say, but my dog likes the collar, she gets excited every time I bring it out. Here’s the thing…the dog doesn’t like the collar, she likes what’s associated with the collar. That collar means ‘we are going outside’ and she is willing to put up with the collar for the high payoff of going for a walk.

So here’s a human scenario for perspective; if we were hanging out (you and I) and every time you looked at me, I punched you in the face, but right afterwards gave you $1 million. You might have mixed feelings about me. You’re not so keen on me clocking you, but are happy to just receive the $1 mil. Let’s say you looked again, then bam, and another $1 mil.

Bam! Here's your $1 million...

The payoff could be high enough that you may allow me to punch you again. Depending on how much you want that money, you might even be happy to see me start to punch you, because you know you’re going to get paid off big time!

But the question is, is getting punched in the face good for you? Is it good for our relationship? Will there be a point at which you have enough money that you might start to care more about being punched? Over time, will there be potential psychological consequences with your abuse? Will you have a high tolerance for violence now because you have learned it pays off?

Do you think I can feel pain?

These are some of the biggest questions we should ask when considering using, or if we have been using an aversive collar.

• Is causing pain and constricting the throat good for the dog?—No, causing pain in this way can cause a lot of damage to the dogs throat, and you may be in line for a surgery to help correct that problem in the future. There are countless dogs in rescue with broken trachea’s from someone using an aversive collar on them.

• Is it good for our relationship?—Again, the answer here is No. We need to be leaders to our dogs, but behaving like a dictator does not make for a good leader. Causing pain to the dog teaches him to fear you, not respect you. He is more likely to avoid or ignore you if he believes you will cause him pain in the future.

• Will there be a point at which the dog will no longer tolerate the abuse?—Most likely. In the rescue and training world, we here a lot of stories about dogs who “just snapped, there was no warning.” Most of the time, these dogs have been dealing with a type of abuse for a while and have finally had enough. Sadly, when they do let us know they are done being treated this way, they are labeled as “aggressive” and are put down.

• Over time, will there be potential psychological consequences with her abuse?—Yes, it is well documented that any creature, human or animal, has psychological side effects from abusive treatment. It is well measured that animals can feel pain, and it effects their mental well being. If you are interested in the science behind how animals feel pain—click here for a research paper by The EUPRIM-Net Project

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