Surely a collar that omits a nasty odour could of been tried first?!?!?!

I think these electric collars are a dreadful invention, thankfully your dog didn't feel its full force.

Best wishes with her

Diane

Absolutely. We didn't know (my ex and I) anything about e collars or that type of thing so went with what the behaviorist suggested. We bought one that came with a video and booklet so we did what we could to learn about it before we used it. We were a bit new to the world of misbehaving doggies. ops: We were both against it when we bought it and decided to shock ourselves to see what it was like. Had it have been painful in the slightest it would have been returned. The first shock she got (which is what we got) made her turn her head like 'what was that?'...but it was enough.

The e collars, IMO, are just one of those things that can either work well or be abused. I just wanted to point out that there are a plethora of things that can be done before resorting to debarking.

I can't decide if I'm for it or against it ultimately. What if everything is tried first and nothing works? Do you put the dog down? Keep the dog on medication forever? I would guess, though, that we're talking about debarking as an option for slightly annoying dogs...not dogs on the verge of euthenasia.

I just noticed Nicole you are the USA. In the UK there has been a long running debate about making these illegal here. Mainly due to misuse.

Diane

I can understand that. Here they're used often as a first option instead of a last - if it makes sense the way I'm saying that. There are people that train hunting/retrieving dogs that swear by them...I just don't know. I'm loathe to put down anyone's training methods if it's not abusive and it works for their dog...I also don't know anything about training dogs for hunting.

Surely dogs bark, its a natural thing.

I i know this thread is like... Really old but I had to comment. I put debarking as the dog equivilant of declawing, its just that cruel. I could also handle it as a last resort, when & ONLY when all other means of training & training options have been exhausted.

If an owner is just doing it to suit their convenience, then yes I consider hat cruel of course. In that aspect it is not much different to declawing a cat which is largely done for the humans conveniences. I say if you don't want to deal with at least some barking either get a 'non barking' breed... Or another type of pet other then a dog, because sooner or later all dogs bark.