{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The Vegan Dragon","provider_url":"https:\/\/thevegandragon.com","title":"Shock Collars - The Vegan Dragon","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"EDZwKOwtSs\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevegandragon.com\/index.php\/educational-journals\/animals-as-pets\/shock-collars\/\">Shock Collars<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/thevegandragon.com\/index.php\/educational-journals\/animals-as-pets\/shock-collars\/embed\/#?secret=EDZwKOwtSs\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Shock Collars&#8221; &#8212; The Vegan Dragon\" data-secret=\"EDZwKOwtSs\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/thevegandragon.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","description":"Shock collars are immensely cruel and NEVER should be used on any living being. Countries and cities that have BANNED shock collars include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Germany, Scotland, UK, Wales, Quebec, France, Spain, and parts of Australia. Boulder, Colorado is the first city in the US to ban shock collars with more cities with laws in the works. Petco has recently banned them in all their stores and are leading a campaign for a global ban alongside organizations such as the SPCA, Humane Society, Kennel Club, The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), the American Animal Hospital Association, and hundreds of animal rights groups. Studies done on dogs reveal that shock collars create distress and fear, which in a dog often reacts with biting. Children have been mauled to death resulting in the first wave of shock collar bans. Unfortunately, the bans are not being made fast enough and the rise of child deaths is increasing with the use of shock collars. Companion Animal Psychology has released multiple studies revealing shock collars do not help train dogs in any way, but rather have many negative effects, from fear, distress, marking (peeing inside), biting, and worsened behavioral problems. If you want your dog to get WORSE and to KILL a child, then use a shock collar. World renown dog behaviorist Victoria Stilwell explains in detail about shock collar cruelty on her website: www.positively.com Go to www.banshockcollars.ca to learn more and see studies. This is an excerpt from a dog training site: Scientific Evidence Outlining the Concerns with the Use of Electric Shock There is no doubt that shock collars cause pain. While proponents might call it a \u201cstim\u201d a \u201ctap,\u201d or a \u201cstatic charge\u201d we know from the science of operant conditioning that the aversive stimulus (electric shock) must be sufficiently aversive (i.e. painful) in order to cause a change in behavior. Multiple studies2, 3, 4, 5 have reported that shock collars definitely cause undue stress on a dog. A study of guard dogs2, specifically bred for toughness and low sensitivity to pain and stress, found that training with shock collars caused long lasting stress effects to the point that the dog continued to associate their handler as aversive even outside of a training context. The dogs exhibited behaviors clearly associated with fear and anxiety long after they had received shocks. The scientists conducting this study stated: \u201cThe conclusions, therefore are, that being trained [with electric shock] is stressful. That receiving shocks is a painful experience to dogs, and that the dogs have learned that the presence of their owner (or his commands) announces reception of shocks, even outside of the normal training context.\u201d Another study3 examined the use of shock for training to stop undesirable hunting\/chasing behavior. This study also revealed the dogs found being trained with shock to be very stressful. The authors concluded \u201c\u2026the general use of electric shock collars is not consistent with animal welfare.\u201d A third study4 compared the features of several shock collars and examined how they are used by typical pet owners. The researchers concluded \u201cfor a subset of dogs tested, the previous use of e-collars in training are associated with behavioural and physiological responses that are consistent with significant negative emotional states; this was not seen to the same extent in the control population. It is therefore suggested that the use of e-collars in training pet dogs can lead to a negative impact on welfare, at least in a proportion of animals trained using this technique.\u201d (p4). The scientists conducting this study4 also observed that the instruction manuals that came with these products did not explain features well. When the individuals using the collars were interviewed they could not explain how to use the collar properly and often indicated that they had failed to read the instructions or ignored them. The researcher\u2019s conclusion: \u201c\u2026some of the reported use was clearly inconsistent with advice in e-collar manuals and potentially a threat to the dog\u2019s welfare.\u201d (p25) As noted in this study, misuse and inappropriate use of shock collars is not uncommon. One of Green Acres\u2019 staff witnessed such misuse at a field trial event right here in Maine. A dog owner with two dogs was working with one of his dogs and had a second dog in its crate. The dog that he was working with did not respond to a command so the owner pressed a button on the remote to shock the dog. The dog still did not respond to the command so the owner shocked the dog again. This happened three times. Meanwhile the dog in the crate was yelping each time the owner was intending to shock the dog he was working with. It was not until our staff member pointed it out that the owner realized he was shocking his dog in the crate and not the one he was working with. It would seem that the owner had picked up the wrong remote unit. Because of the findings of Studies to assess the effect of pet training aids, specifically remote static pulse systems, on the welfare of domestic dogs4 scientists initiated a fourth study; Studies to assess the effect of pet training aids, specifically remote static pulse systems, on the welfare of domestic dogs; field study of dogs in training5. This study was designed to investigate how dogs would react when a shock collar was used per the manufacturer\u2019s instructions. The study looked at three different groups of dogs; all with owners that had reported their dog either had a poor recall or chased cars, bicycles or animals. One group of dogs was trained with a shock collar by dog trainers that had been trained by shock collar manufacturers; the second group of dogs was trained by the same dog trainers but with positive reinforcement. The last group of dogs was trained by members of the UK APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) using positive reinforcement. The conclusion of the researchers: \u201c\u2026the study did find behavioural evidence that use of e-collars negatively impacted on the welfare of some dogs during training even when training was conducted by professional trainers using relatively benign training programmes advised by e-collar advocates.\u201d The study also demonstrated that the shock collar was not any more effective at resolving recall and chasing behaviors than positive reinforcement training. This supports another recent study6 that concluded: \u201cmore owners using reward based methods for recall\/chasing report a successful outcome of training than those using e-collars.\u201d You can read a summary of study 4 and 5 at: http:\/\/www.companionanimalpsychology.com\/2013\/06\/the-end-for-shock-collars.html Shock Based Containment Systems It is our belief that individuals that choose underground fence systems for containment are not intending any ill will towards their pet; in fact it is often quite the opposite. People want to give their pet as much room to run as possible and they believe that an underground containment system allows for more \u201cfreedom\u201d at less financial cost. The problem lays in the lack of understanding about the pitfalls of this type of containment system and the lasting harm that may come to the dog. In our experience, shock collar systems, where a dog hears a beep followed by an electrical shock at their neck if they continue across the boundary line of your property, create a false sense of security for dog owners and often cause a dog to become fearful and anxious, especially towards other people. The false sense of security comes from the fact, as many have observed, the non-visible fence does not always keep the dog within their property. A dog can see, hear and smell beyond the invisible line buried under the ground and may be attracted to something on the other side of the line causing them to blast through the \u201cfence,\u201d resulting in their getting a shock. If the dog wants to return to its yard it must now suffer a shock to do so. If there is not something very attractive in the yard there is little incentive to come back home. Additionally, these containment systems do nothing to prevent others dogs, animals or people from entering into your yard. A regular fence has a much higher probability of keeping a dog in and keeping others out, thus ensuring the safety of your dog. People also have a tendency to think that since there is a containment system in place; their dog can be left alone in the area and they leave the dog unattended even through most of the manuals for these systems explicitly indicate you should remain with your dog at all times as they are not a substitute for a reliable fence. They do not offer you the same level of freedom as a conventional fence. Electric shock often causes anxiety in a dog because it hurts. The cause of that pain is then often associated with what the dog was focused on at the time the shock occurred. This could be something totally benign such as; another dog, a neighbor\u2019s cat, a person or someone\u2019s child passing by your yard.&nbsp; For example, if a dog sees your neighbor\u2019s child, runs toward it intending a friendly greeting, and in its excitement crosses the invisible line and is shocked, it is quite likely that your dog will associate this pain with the child.&nbsp; Your dog may now feel anxious and possibly aggressive towards all children. The same can happen towards adults as well as other animals. (See How Does Pain Cause Aggression- Case #1 below for a real example) While dogs do not always get the shock, sometimes they just hear the beep, that uncertainty in itself can create even more anxiety. If you\u2019re from the Midwest you can relate; the anxiety starts when the tornado sirens go off whether the tornado happens or not. If people approaching cause the dog to get a shock, or even just a beep (a reliable predictor of a shock or the system wouldn\u2019t work) and the dog has nowhere else to go (the fence essentially traps them in their yard) then the dog is going to do everything possible to drive those people away \u2013 including taking an aggressive posture which may increase the probability of creating a dog with territorial aggression. Other factors to consider are how you dog will feel about their yard, the space you have designed to give them \u201cfreedom.\u201d Sadly I have consulted with clients where the experience of being shocked in the yard causes the dog to refuse to go into the yard. Even more distressing, I have worked with clients where the dog now trembles in terror anytime it hears a beep that sounds anything like the beep of the shock collar (e.g. your mobile phone when you get a text, the smoke alarm when the battery is low). The beep even without the shock can and does cause anxiety. Lastly, like most pieces of technology, shock collars can malfunction. I know of people that have used shock based containment systems where the battery has stopped working which means the collar will no longer beep or shock. More frightening, I have been told of cases where the collar has malfunctioned resulting in the dog being shocked continuously until the battery dies. The companies that design, manufacture and sell these shock collar systems are unregulated and are primarily interested in profit. They are under no regulatory obligation to report problems that have already occurred.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you do report problems to the manufacturer, you will likely be told you did not follow the directions properly. Since these products are not regulated, we have no idea how many problems have occurred or how severe those problems have been.&nbsp; While these companies claim their products give pets more freedom, keep pets safe and even save pets lives, these claims are not supported by published scientific evidence. In fact the evidence in peer-reviewed literature on the subject of shock collars suggests the exact...","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/thevegandragon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Page-Under-Construction-With-Watermark-1024x744.jpg"}