One Kennel in this area will rent out ring space for practicing OB. One woman (high level competitor) has been banned from there because of her heavy handed use of the e-collar.

This is the sort of stuff that feeds into the bad rep on e-collars.

I've also commented more then once that the e-collar is a good tool I choose not to use. I think they are to often misused "BUT"

I believe Ed is working on another DVD on E-collars?
If so I'll probably get one to see how it goes.

In the right hands they can still be an excellent tool!

I very rarely actually use the stim, the 'beep' is all they need to stop focusing on another dog on the lead, which actually is the only time they DO need a reminder to 'ignore' and off lead they don't take a blind bit of notice of other dogs.

This was what I wanted the e-collars for, as a reminder to pay attention to me, regardless of the outside interference!

This thread made me "get off the duff" and upgrade my ecollar, before they're Banned in the USA -- I was all set to order an Educator 300 Mini on Leerburg when I noticed they also offer a "LADY 300" here as well ... So for an extra 20 bucks, I sprang for the "girlie-fied" leopard skin model, since it matches my Dobie's black & rust colors, LOL "Bitches Rule, Dogs Drool" !!!

bump

I am an e-collar convert. After very strong protests on my part, the trainer who I still use and am now friends with, convinced me to use it for Jody. Her technique worked and I now incorporate it with any dogs since then. I participate in AKC obedience and quite frankly I do not agree with everything the organization does. You have to take the good with the bad and really decide what is important to you.

AKC for many aspects of dog obedience, i.e. Canine Good Citizen is still the "standard" so to speak. It has taken eons for them to recognize mixed breeds for obedience competition but you either chose to participate in their events or not. And, it you want to do AKC-style obedience, they still hold far more events than any of the other organizations.

Do they have faults....Yep, they are huge. For example, 35 years ago, a friend's daughter showed my German Shepherd in Junior Showmanship and THE JUDGE WAS AFRAID OF GERMAN SHEPHERDS. (I referred to her and her 2" nails as Ms. Dainty Paws.) At that time, most of the breeds in that event were 30 pounds and under. I chose not to report the episode as it would have been a waste of time.

AKC as well as other organizations in our lives aren't perfect but it is kind of like pick your battles and walk away with the "best out of any scenarios". Sorry for the rant !!

 Quote: tracey holden

The E-collars are only banned in Wales at the moment, although I think it is only a matter of time before pressure comes to bear at Westminster, I have them for the Boerboels and would just put bandanas over them if necessary.

I know cops in the UK who advise that their use is against policy. It may not be defacto illegal but violation of policy will get them a bad result as well. I think it's the same for prong collars as well.

I wonder if it is something the police have taken under advisement because they come under a UK wide umbrella??

As far as I am aware the use is only illegal in Wales at the moment as far as civvies are concerned and the company I got my two collar set from is still trading;

http://www.paccollars.co.uk

You may well be right, but among the circle of country wide dog acquaintances I speak to fairly regularly, I haven't yet heard it apply to the general public.

I would be interested to hear if the ban has been extended to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland though....

Having read your post again, it sounds like maybe it is possibly something to do with a public relations issue because of the controversy?? I must admit not seeing prongs used widely here, I think most people who attend dog obedience would be told they are cruel! The trainer I went to when the Boerboels were younger said she was happy for me to use them in private sessions, but that I would get some heat from a group class!

Edited by tracey holden (09/20/2014 04:13 PM)
Edit reason: ETA

AKC response as posted on another web board. I was not able to find this anywhere on the AKC's website to verify it.

"On Saturday morning, AKC agreed to appear on Fox & Friends to discuss our thoughts on the use of e-collars for pet training, a buzzed about subject triggered from the release of a recent study.

The AKC has not called for a ban on e-collars. The AKC supports choice in training methods, as well as trusting the experts. Our thousands of field trial, performance, and companion participants are the experts, those with the training experience and knowledge to obtain AKC titles in their dogs. It is our opinion that when placed in the informed hands of professionals, e-collars are an appropriate and effective tool for training dogs that are not only well behaved in the home but also competitive in the field. In fact, listed under the heading "Training Collars", our position in support of e-collars as it pertains to AKC events, dog clubs and professional trainers has not wavered since it was adopted by the Board of Directors.

When we accept national media opportunities, we see them as a chance to talk to the nearly 57-million dog owning households across the country who may not know about AKC's resources and offering. For better or worse, the vast majority of those owners will face struggles at the most basic level of training, not the complexities of handling performance-level dogs in the field or advanced companion work. When we appeared on Fox & Friends, it was our intention to speak to those novice owners who are seeking the best methods to create well-trained pets. AKC maintains it's encouragement of positive reinforcement techniques for those beginner owners.

We continue to support the training techniques used by our experienced, responsible, and dedicated performance and companion competitors, and we apologize for not making that distinction clear during Saturdays segment.

Hilary Prim
Public Relations Director"

I'm guessing they realized that letting their VP attempt to talk about dog training was a mistake but what an elitist attitude!

"AKC response as posted on another web board. I was not able to find this anywhere on the AKC's website to verify it."


I saw it on another board, too. In fact, I have seen it on several different boards now, in the form of emails (all the same) to people who emailed the AKC in shock and outrage and then posted the reply received.

But this disclaimer of what the interview said does not appear online at this time in any other form. Certainly not on the AKC website, which I searched very carefully. I agree with Cathy: "I was not able to find this anywhere on the AKC's website to verify it."


Something really smells, IMHO.

I agree with a person who posted elsewhere that the purported emails aren't what he wants to see .... he wants to see Gina DiNardo state her support for e-collar use, and something in their official rules, by-laws, etc., about not interfering with the right to use e-collars.

It does seem like typical PR doublespeak. Personally I've always found it wrong that a newspaper can print a large headline article with false statements on the front page and then retract it the next day in fine print shoved in a corner on the last page. This is kind of the same thing. They made a statement disparaging the use of a certain collar in a very public and inappropriate manner. They should be happy to publicly clarify their position on collars and yet they are only responding privately to e-mails.

Simply making their response a formal press release would go a long way.

Note: I might have found the position statement she references on the AKC website.

This was the closest I could find: "Training Collars (July 2001 Board meeting)
Special training devices that are used to control and train dogs, including but not limited to, collars with prongs, electronic collars used with transmitters, muzzles and head collars may not be used on dogs at AKC events, except as allowed in the AKC Rules, Regulations, and policies.

The American Kennel Club recognizes that special training collars may be an effective and useful management device, when properly used, for controlling dogs that might be extremely active, difficult to control on a neck collar, or dog aggressive. These collars are also recognized as possibly useful for gaining control at the start of basic obedience training, essential education that dogs deserve and need.

There is a point at which owners should have sufficient control of their dogs to manage them on regular neck collars, without the use of special training collars. This is the point at which dogs are acceptable on the grounds of AKC competitive events and will have the opportunity to participate in those events. "