What Electronic Training Devices Are and Are Not

What makes today’s electronic training devices more humane than their predecessors? Advanced technology enables the manufacture of devices that emit a very mild electrical stimulation at lower levels. Many new devices offer a range of variable stimulation that can accommodate factors including pet size, activity level, temperament, etc. These devices draw their static stimulation from batteries in the collar; the energy level they produce is very limited, and comparable to the static stimulation received upon touching a metal object after walking across carpet. It is uncomfortable, surprising, and one quickly draws away; but it is not harmful and is more startling than painful.

Case 3 – Researcher Finds No Evidence of Organic Damage from Electronic Training Devices

In researching the potential for danger associated with using electronic devices to train and/or contain dogs, German researcher Dieter Klein concluded that, “Modern devices using single electric impulses with a duration of less than 1 millisecond, and a height of 30-80 milli-amps...are in a range in which normally no organic damage is being inflicted.” ¹³

Case 4 – What Does a Static Stimulation Really Feel Like?

The table below helps to put into human perspective the relative sensation a dog experiences when receiving stimulation from various electronic training devices. Note that at .914 joules, the electric muscle stimulation and contractions* a human receives from an “abdominal energizer” fitness product is exponentially stronger—more than 1,724 times stronger— than the impulse a dog receives from a pet containment collar set at its highest level.

*Dr. Klein notes that “in the case of dog training, it is not the muscle contraction that is desired, but ‘the sensation of electric current’ as a reminder.”

Although not depicted on the chart (page 6), Radio Systems Corporation has established during its product testing that the output voltage a human would receive from a nylon carpet at 50 percent relative humidity is more than twice the output voltage that a dog would receive from any of its three types of electronic training devices set at low levels. At 20 percent relative humidity, the carpet would product a sensation more than nine times stronger than a low-level electronic stimulation. This variance is reduced somewhat when the electronic training device is used at higher levels as indicated in the graph, but remains less than the muscle stimulation devices mentioned above.

Multiple Levels of Sensitivity to Suit Each Dog’s Temperament

A vital feature of today’s electronic training products is that instead of the obsolete “one size fits all” approach, it is now standard for most devices to offer a range of electronic static stimulation levels from which owners may choose, depending upon their dog’s temperament, breed, size, activity level and environment.

In 2002, Radio Systems Corporation received an endorsement by the International Association of Canine Professionals for its “Gentle LiteTouch^TM” pet containment training method. This breakthrough set a new industry standard by offering a wide range of stimulation adjustment for containment products.

Today, a survey of current remote training collars reveals a choice of stimulation levels ranging from five to eighteen in various modes of operation.¹⁴ This expanded range of choice is now commonplace among nearly all leading manufacturers of electronic training products.

Case 5 – Electronic Training Devices Aid in Easily Achieved, Lasting Behavioral Change

Research and the experience from dog training professionals indicate that the correct use of electronic training leads to more thorough and durable learning.

A team of Norwegian researchers conducted a two- year study of the effect of electronic training devices on 114 hunting dogs, specifically breeds which exhibited a strong instinctive drive to kill sheep. A group of dogs was given a sheep confrontation test in the first year: they received an electronic stimulation for predatory behavior if they wandered within two meters of a sheep.

In the second year of identical testing on the same group, the dogs showed weakened, delayed, and hesitant behavior, indicating that a) learning had taken place; and b) behavior modification learned previously was retained by the dogs over a relatively long period of time. Only one of the 114 dogs that received electronic stimulations the first year required it the second year.

The researchers F.O. Christiansen, M. Bakken and B.O. Braastad, concluded that “aversive conditioning with the use of electonic dog collars may be an efficient method for reducing the probability of a dog chasing or attacking grazing sheep.”¹⁵ And from a psychological standpoint, the dogs’ owners reported “no negative effect on the dogs’ behavior during the year ensuing electronic treatment.”

Advantages of Using Electronic Training Devices

The new generation of electronic training devices offers several benefits over other stand-alone behavior modification methods such as leash or clicker training.¹⁶

·  Speed / timing of stimulation

With a remote trainer, owners can deliver the appropriate signal at the exact instant they want to obtain the dog’s attention. There is no time delay such as is associated with offering a treat, or taking up slack on a leash, or catching the dog if it is far away.

·  Effective for any size combination of person and dog

Unlike leash training, which can require significant size and strength to perform safely and effectively, electronic training devices may even be used by persons with physical disabilities. In all human-dog training situations, regardless of size, the goal is to remind the dog that it is part of a team, not acting alone.

·  Consistency—Can be used at all times in all appropriate situations

Many dogs are not motivated to work for anything but food, which can become

problematic for dogs and for handlers. A dog may be a model student in obedience class, only to forget everything it has learned upon re-entry into the real world. Use of a remote trainer ensures that the owner can consistently correct or reward the dog instantly, without a constant stream of treats, an extremely long leash, or physically pursuing the dog.

·  Control—Allows the handler to maintain gentle,
effective control of the dog even at a distance.

In certain situations, such as animal-assisted therapy or police dog work, it is of the utmost importance to everyone involved that a dog be under control at all times. Observations such as the following illustrate the value and flexibility of the electronic training option for almost any kind of situation when used properly:

“Our Canine Unit has been in existence for 15 years and has depended greatly on the use of remote training collars. The devices aid in teaching new exercises using low-level stimulation. They are also very useful in controlling the dog at a distance while allowing our officers to keep their hands free, a very important officer safety issue. Most important, it limits the department’s liability. We have yet to have an accidental bite of an innocent bystander...If we can prevent our dogs from placing themselves in dangerous situations by the use of low-level stimulation, it is our responsibility to do so.” —Sgt. Rod Hampton Canine Unit Supervisor, Round Rock (Texas) Police Department¹⁷