I like Cesar Millan very much and he certainly has a way with dogs, which is born out by his own pack.

I have seen a few posts on this forum concerning e collars, and so far have not commented. However, I know of one case where a poor woman was at her wits end regarding her Golden Retriever.

They had moved to the country, and had an extremely large garden, which they took to be dog proof. However, her Goldie escaped and was found worrying sheep in an adjoining field.

The farmer had threatened to shoot the dog if she were found to be doing this again, and the owner was frantic. They could not find where the dog had escaped. To cut a long story short, an e collar was used. Within 20 mins of use the dog no longer chased sheep and was able to enjoy her walks off lead around their land.

Firstly I am NOT advocating this type of treatment. It was actually used at a training centre for extreme cases only, where I took my own dog, and I, like you guys, was initially appalled.

Having argued with the trainer, he put the collar around my arm and I felt a very light tingling. It really was very slight and not what I expected at all!

I have always been of the opinion that if puppies are given training, be it at a centre, or within the home, a lot of behaviour problems can be avoided, including pulling on the lead. In this case however, the dog was older and had previously been used to living in a city, therefore her contact with sheep was limited.

They had tried other methods including a spray collar, but nothing else had worked! In desperation an E collar was used. The outcome, was a life saved. Do I agree with them, basically no, but as a last resort - maybe. If used however, it should be done under license, and only as a very last resort.

All I am saying is "there but the grace of God, go I".

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very well said i totally agree with you, training from the youngest possible age is best.
but when all else fails to work with very very few dogs as this can happen and its a matter of life or death, i would gladly have a collar used.

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Stryder the Utonagan


www.carolscaninecare.co.uk

http://www.nuadalseurope.co.uk/

You know Carol, I thought long and hard about posting this thread, since I know how controversial E collars are.

I thought it worth posting however, since I have actually had one used on me, and truth be told, it really was extremely mild. In an ideal world they should never be used, nor needed, but in extreme cases if one life can be saved, used under license and used under strict controls, surely they have their place?

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dh.dti, I totally understand your point of view, but I honestly believe that this owner was genuine in her attempts to discover the escape route.

In view of previous posts however, I felt I should highlight this case.

Early training is by far the best way to having a good mannered dog, and it is something I am always keen to advocate.

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................. I agree!

Most definatly about the license part as something needs to be done to stop us seeing pictures like the ones Sallyanne posted. But in extreme circumstances then maybe they should be used if its going to save a life.

Alan, this agreeing malarkey is now getting to be a habit

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yeah ive used one on my arm tried it on low then put it up higher all i got was more tingling than on the lower setting even fadie has used one on her arm.

no its not ideal but in very few cases ive seen and only when all esle has failed to work on the dog i have seen them used rightly and respect. and infact have seen it used on a dog that otherwise would have had to be put to sleep it was such a extreme case.

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Stryder the Utonagan


www.carolscaninecare.co.uk

http://www.nuadalseurope.co.uk/

I know cant you post something more controversial so we can have a debate again?

I agree, some people shouldn't be let near the sort of thing but as a last resort i have nothing against. Having said that if the owners put the work in from a puppy there would be no need for the e collars, unfortunatly not all of us understand that dogs need to be trained and no matter what breed we have we have to put in the hours to get a behaved dog.

I'm afraid in the way I think nothing shoud be used as a last resort,there are always other alternatives.

As Darren has pointed out what if the unit did fail,it could cause major damage to the dog even kill it.

The sooner there banned the better.