I am often asked by customers about the different types of electronic training collars being used whether it be a remote training collar, invisible fence system collar or bark control collar “Will this hurt my dog?" or much less often, but much more disturbing “I was told by a friend that his dog received burns from the electronic training device". It seems there are many people who are under the misconception that electronic training devices discharge a large amount of energy at potentially harmful levels. These are very damaging rumors based on misinformation and/or ignorance of the facts.
Let's first address the question of “Will this hurt my dog"? The answer is No!
An irresponsible pet owner, using an electronic training device inappropriately can however lead to unneeded emotional distress for the pet without the proper training. These are first and foremost “training" systems.
Without proper training first, the system can fail and your dog can get hurt.
While the corrections themselves even at the highest levels available are not strong enough to do any physical damage to your dog, they can scare and demoralize your pet if your pet receives the correction too early or without the proper training first.
Pets do not have the ability to reason the way humans do. It is our nature to want to humanize our pets but the truth is that they do not have the capacity to learn the way we do. If you decide to use one of these electronic training devices and simply put the remote training collar, invisible fence system collar or bark control collar on your pet and just throw him or her out into the yard until he or she gets the correction, he or she is simply not going to know what has happened to him/her. He/she will go into an area in which he/ she was free to roam and play just yesterday and now when he/she goes into that same area, he/she is subjected to a very startling and uncomfortable sensation. This is extremely unfair and even cruel to the pet but it is not the fault of the system, but rather the fault of the pet owner who did not first do the essential training. The end result is that some of these pets will be so traumatized and confused that they will now refuse to go outside even to go to the bathroom. This is obviously an unacceptable result and it is one that is very easy to avoid.
With the proper training in tandem with your invisible fence system installation, you will have a dog who clearly understands his/her boundaries and will remain safely and happily contained within his/her yard. Likewise in the case of a remote training collar or bark control collar, your dog will quickly learn to avoid the corrective signals by eliminating bad behaviors such as digging, chewing on furniture, jumping on guests, chasing cars or barking and by listening to your commands.
The second myth for me is the most infuriating and unfortunate one out there.
“I was told by a friend that his dog received burns from the collar". This is not only untrue but it is also impossible! One thing that keeps this rumor floating around is that veterinarians are often misdiagnosing a condition called “Pressure Necrosis" as burns and telling their clients that the remote training collar, invisible fence system collar or bark control collar caused these “burns". (I will explain pressure necrosis later.) The following chart will compare the energy discharge of electronic training devices with many common items. The energy output is measured in Kilovolts:
1 – electronic containment system such as an invisible fence at its lowest level = .9 kilovolts
2 – remote training collar at low level = 1 kilovolt
3 – bark control collar at low level = 2 kilovolts
8 – Abdominal Energizer (Ab Stimulis Machine) = 18 Kilovolts
9 – cattle prod = 27 Kilovolts
10 – defibrillator = 75 Kilovolts
11 – stun gun = 625 Kilovolts Have you ever received a burn from a static shock? Of course not. It cannot happen! Electronic training devices, even set to their highest levels are still not as powerful as a static shock from carpeting on a dry day. Even those gimmicky abdominal stimulation machines do not leave burns and they are
3 times as powerful. A misdiagnosed disorder called “Pressure Necrosis" is responsible for this burn rumor. The fact of the matter is that Pressure Necrosis is caused when the pet owner fits the remote training collar, invisible fence system collar or bark control collar too tightly on the pet's neck, and never takes the collar off to clean the probes and allow the pet's neck to “breathe". The pressure of the two metal probes on the dog's neck, combined with the accumulation of dirt and oils in and around those probes will cause the skin to deteriorate and die (necrosis = to die/rot). The result is two marks at the point of probe contact that look and smell exactly like burns and thereby lead to a veterinarian's misdiagnosis of burns. This situation can be easily avoided with proper care and common sense. When fitting the receiver on your pet's neck, tighten the collar to the point where you can slip the tip of your index finger between your dog's neck and the tip of the metal probe. Your finger should not be able to slip between the two easily, but with a little effort. It should be a tight squeeze. Doing this will insure proper contact with the dog's neck without overtightening.
The next step to guarantee the pet will never suffer from this problem is to remove the collar from his/her neck when not in use and clean the neck area with shampoo and the probes with alcohol at least once a week. The only time a pet will get Pressure Necrosis is if the pet owner does not take proper care when using the system.
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information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
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