Have you heard the rumor?
The Electric Dog Fence is not fair to dogs because they will keep getting bad shocks for the rest of their life? I remember hearing this years ago and thinking “Wow.. Is that unfair!”.. Who would want their dog to get ‘bad’ shocks for life?
Well like most rumors there is a small bit of truth and a big heaping of assumption in the statement. Let’s look at the reality of the way dogs learn and see for ourselves. Here’s a few questions first..
Is the shock bad? Bad in what sense? Is it unpleasant? Yes, its unpleasant. Its supposed to be.If the shock correction was just annoying it wouldn’t be sufficient to consistently get the dogs attention and it wouldn’t be something the dog would work to avoid.
Consistently unpleasant things are things we (and dogs and other animals will work to avoid). This is the basis for learning to avoid the areas in the yard that cause the unpleasantness. That’s why a properly set up containment system has: a) a collar that emits a beep tone to warn the dog BEFORE delivering the shock, b) Flags PROPERLY set up in the yard that the dog learns to correlate or relate to the shock that comes after it crosses past the flagged area.
So why are dogs sometimes freaked out when they first start training for the EDF?
Dogs (and people) are confused when they can’t relate a cause and an effect. For example there is nothing (at first) most dogs relate in their life experience to the unpleasant shock they receive when they pass the warning flags. Yes, there is a beep, yes there are flags but it takes some time and consistency so that the dog knows (learns) the relationship between the flags, the beep tone the collar makes and the correction shock the dog receives. In psychology this is known as paired associative learning.
The truth:
With consistent and proper training most dogs can learn the Underground or Hidden type fence within two to three weeks. Remember consistency is the key.
Keys to consistency-
- Always be sure your dog has the containment collar on when outside
- Be sure the containment collar is working properly and is SNUG on his neck
- NEVER let the dog out without a leash during the initial training
- Corrections-shocks- should be like seasonings on a meal. Use sparingly. It’s most important that the dog learn that MOST of the yard is a perfectly safe place.
- NEVER allow the dog to get a correction if its fearful.
- While training may sound easy its easier to confuse a dog. A trainer experience with containment training may be your best bet.
- Proper training is more than allowing your dog to ‘get a shock’ and hoping he’ll get it quickly.
Click Here to learn about Contain My Dog Contain & Train uses the Nine pillars of training as a behavioral and fair approach to training dogs to the Electric Dog Fence