Electronic shock fencing systems have been around for about 25 years. These systems work by transmitting a radio signal from a wire or another transmitter that is buried or mounted in a location on your property. The radio signal is broadcast within a specified zone within your yard. The dogs wear a radio receiver collar which picks up the signal when they are in the specified zone. Most shock fencing systems include a warning zone area where the dogs hear a tone when they near the fence boundary. If the dogs stay in this zone, or go further into the area, they will get an electronic shock. The shock comes from metal spikes which face inward on the dogs’ special collar.
Some electronic shock fence makers, such as Invisible Fence, offer instruction for dog owners to teach them how to use their product. At the time of the training, the flags should have been placed around the perimeter of the safe territory, to show the dog where they can safely go. The owner may be instructed to tape over the metal spikes so that the shock is not as severe if the dog should get one, and are also told to walk the dog around the perimeter of the safe area on a leash and to enter the warning zone in order for the dog to enter to hear the tone. The owner is told to pull or call the dog back into the safe area when it enters the warning zone and to praise the dog when it comes back out. In the next training session, the tape is removed and the dog, while still leashed, is allowed to go further into the “danger zone,” where they will get a shock. The owner is then supposed to call or bring the dog back into the safe area and praise it when it returns. Following this, the owner is told to allow the dog to move throughout the area while off leash, but still supervised, and the last step is removing the warning flags. Theoretically, it is only supposed to take a few “corrections” before the dogs learn that if they go past the warning zone area where they hear the tone they will get a shock.
First of all, there will always be something that will be so enticing to the dog that it will suffer the shock to break through; unfortunately, it may not be as motivated to come back in if it will be shocked again. Some manufacturers now offer a system that is programmed so that the dog is not shocked when it comes back into the yard. Unfortunately, many animal control facilities report large numbers of dogs being picked up while still wearing their shock collars, albeit the batteries may be dead. In addition, certain breeds with a strong hunting instinct or thick strong necks are more likely to break through and take the shock. Other problems include the fact that the buried shock fence does nothing to keep other dogs, delivery people, or children who like to tease dogs out of your property.
The fact that cannot be changed is that electronic fencing is a punishment-based system of training, and pain is involved. Although the manufacturers will call the electronic shock the dog receives a “vibration,” a “tingle,” or a “tickle.” However, Dr. Nicholas Dodman (a behaviorist at Tufts University) has some interesting things to say about the electronic shock fence: “I know that dogs, once trained, can avoid the shock but to have them shocked in the first place, and then to spend their lives outside avoiding the experience for a second time, doesn’t ride well with me. In an attempt to overcome my reservations, I decided at one veterinary meeting to take the manufacturer up on an offer of trying out the collar on myself. I wandered into their commercial booth and at the invitation of a salesperson, applied the two electrodes to my own forearm. “Should I try in on low or medium?” I questioned. “Try it on low at first,” the salesperson responded confidently. I pressed the button and a searing charge, like death by a thousand knives, ran through my body. I leaped back in pain and amazement. “What the…” I muttered, nursing my tingling arm in disbelief. The salesperson’s smile transformed into a frown. “Painful?” he quizzed. I don’t know what the problem was – whether it was my low pain threshold, an exceedingly good contact, or that the collar was adjusted wrongly, but I got zapped. I’m just glad I didn’t put the collar around my neck. I would probably have curly hair now if I had.” (Dodman, 1999.)
At another conference, a group of trainers had the opportunity to try shock collars by wrapping them around their hands. Different people had varying reactions; while some reported feeling nothing to only mild sensations on the lowest settings, others described painful sensations at the lowest level, and intolerable pain at the highest. The product representatives refused to let anyone try the collars around their own necks, and there is no reason that a dog would not also experience different pain levels, when the collar is put on a more sensitive area, such as the neck.
By using painful punishment in training, you risk causing irreparable harm to the bond that you have with your dogs; if the dogs associate the pain with you or your presence they could end up being afraid of you. Further, some dogs can be severely traumatized by even one “corrective” shock. Some dogs will refuse to enter the yard at all after being shocked. One owner reported that after installing the fence, her dog was so “respectful” of the boundary that it would not cross it even when not wearing the collar; she had to load her dog into her car and drive across the boundary to take her dog for a simple walk around her neighborhood. (From Whole Dog Journal.)
Because I have dealt with so many cases of aggression linked to electronic shock systems, I cannot condone their use under any circumstances. I currently have one client who is bringing a shock fence company to court due to the severe behavioral problems that it has caused in her dog. I cannot say that the fencing system is solely responsible for causing the dog’s aggressive behavior, I can only say that my professional opinion is that it should be taken out and replaced with a citronella fencing system, or a privacy or chain-link fence if these are allowed in the dog owner’s neighborhood. The standard I set for any endorsements that I give, is that I do not recommend anything to a client that I would not use myself, and I would never use an electronic shock fencing system.
