MSPs are set to get the chance to vote on whether to outlaw electric shock collars later this month.
The ban has been proposed by Green MSP Ross Greer in amendments to SNP MSP Christine Grahame’s Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Bill. Speaking to the Record, Kennel Club dog welfare expert Holly Conway explained what the devices do to pets – and why we should get rid of them.
Holly, head of public affairs at the Kennel Club, said: “The shock collar has two metal prongs that sit in the collar. You put the collar on, and the prongs effectively make contact with the dog’s neck, and then the owner presses a remote control button which transmits a painful electric shock to your dog.
An electric shock puppy training collar
“Normally, there are different settings. They vary, but as an example, say zero to 10, with one being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
“For the dog to have any sort of response to the collar, it would need to be set at an appropriately high level that they would think to themselves they’re not going to do that undesirable behavior anymore.
“It obviously has to hurt. If it didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t work at all.
“However, what it does not tell the dog is what that undesirable behavior is. So the dog could see another dog at the time it receives the shock, and then think the other dog did it.
“And then that sets in a fear of dogs – then you’ve got a case of an aggressive dog potentially on your hands who’s afraid of other dogs. It’s essentially a lazy training tool which doesn’t work because it’s very difficult, if you’re pressing a remote control button, for the dog to understand why it’s getting a shock in the first place.
“And with so many positive training methods around we considered this practice completely outdated and ineffective. There’s a lot of academic research as well as practical anecdotal evidence that suggests that there is just no place for them in modern-day dog training.”
Holly Conway of the Kennel Club says shock collars are ‘outdated and ineffective’
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Even in situations where shock collars do get rid of an undesirable behaviour in a dog, Holly adds: “What damage have you done to that dog in the long-term? You might end up with worse problems than you had to start with.
“Using pain and fear to change behaviour, whether for a dog or a person – that’s never going to be a good thing.”
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