OP is not torturing the dogs, unless there's something else going on we don't know about. The idea of shock collars is to improve the dog's quality of life. It's not a situation where the owner laughs maniacally while watching the dog writhe in agony. The dog learns after a few mild shocks that it's not to leave the boundaries of the electric fence while the collar is on. The key word here is "mild;" we're not talking about a Taser here. There's also a warning noise that will sound before it reaches the fence, to give it an extra chance to avoid being shocked. Once the dog is trained, it doesn't actually get shocked anymore. Since there's no danger that it will wander into traffic, it can run around the yard freely. This means it's not dependent on leashed walks. It's much better for the dog than being cooped up in the house for most of the day.

#167 wow. and so.. this must mean you're a dog, and you've tested the collars.. so you know EXCACTLY how it feels right? yeah, no. Don't be such a smarty pants, because dumb people can't pull it off. If someone REALLY cared for their dogs, they would try everything in their power to keep the dogs from any harm whatsoever. and an INVSIBLE, ELECTRIC fence, is NOT keeping this dip shit's dogs from harm. i'd like to see you slap one of those on and run around blindly waiting reluctanly for the next painful shock. It's like putting an electric collar on a KID.. but oh WAIT.. you probably hate kids too.. now what are you going to do? try and convince us that those crappy KID leashes are GOOD for them? didn't think so.

Thank you for agreeing with me but, asinine? really? I have had (and trained, non proffesionally speaking) dogs all my life, and one of the better ways to get them to understand NO was the pecking. Pecking is basically a touch. That's asinine? It's asinine to touch the dogs in a way to get them to understand no? I'm glad we are basically of the same mindset, but I'd suggest you choose your words better in the future, whether you agree with me or not. In regards to leashes- I said nothing about those, useful as they are, except that owners sometimes believe they use their leash too hard and that they are choking the dog- which is of course not true. (Unless the owners are abusive assholes, but that is not the case we're talking about) Cheers!

I work with dogs professionally and yes prong collars if used properly are perfect training aids. I have used them, on personal dogs, it is just like anything else if used improper they can be bad. Also actually just a regular collar can scar a dogs larynx, that can happen if they pull to harshly and for extended period of time.

I personally haven't seen a dog who could not learn "no" without physically touching the dog. It's not like it hurts the dog, but it's unnecessary and much abused in that there are plenty of people who see Cesar Milan work once and begin to advise everyone with a dog problem to poke it. I do not have a high opinion of it whatsoever, obviously. Leashes are the same - it's very difficult to injure a dog with a typical leash and collar, but it's unnecessary to use them as tools, as opposed to safety devices only. A dog can be trained fine without you ever putting pressure on the leash just by engaging the animal. If you need the leash for something other than safety purposes it isn't being used correctly. Prong collars can be useful for proofing a high drive and well trained animal, but my Golden fits this description and I would never use a prong on him. Dogs with certain temperaments won't respond to training without any corrections of any kind, but these are the same kind that have a ridiculous pain tolerance and are not overly effected by the experience.