Does the remote collar (electric collar) hurt my dog?

The correct answer to this question is that remote collars have the potential to inflict pain but when the remote collar is used correctly the training is done with "low level stimulation." These are levels that a lot of people may not even be able to feel, or if they do feel the stimulation it's more of a tickle.

With this said every training tool has the potential to be used incorrectly. That is certainly the case with remote collars. In fact remote collars (electric collars) have a bad reputation because of abusive trainers not using the collars the way they are intended to be used.

The remote collars of today allow the handler to change the level of stimulation at the transmitter. Years ago this was not possible, the stimulation level had to be changed on the collar. This was a serious problem, but those days are behind us.

Some models of remote collars have a vibration button. There is no stimulation associated with this button.