Ep. 26 Worldwide Debate on Shock and Prong Collars, Where Are They Banned and Why?

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Did you know that using shock and prong collars on dogs is banned and illegal in many parts of the world? There's a reason that localities and entire countries have taken this action. This episode will tell you where they are currently banned worldwide and some of the reasons why.

Ever wonder if the tools you're using to train your dog could be doing more harm than good - especially in the area of behavioral issues like aggression? Prepare to have your views on canine discipline challenged as I, Scott Sheaffer, take you through a thought-provoking journey examining the contentious use of shock and prong collars in dog training.

This episode ventures beyond the surface of traditional methods and digs into the psychological repercussions that such devices may impose on our dogs. You'll gain insights into the global perspective on these tools and discover where they've been outright banned—a testament to the shifting tides in animal welfare and behavior understanding.

The conversation doesn't stop at the theoretical; it inludes actionable advice for handling dog aggression. I address a common dilemma many dog owners face: the dreaded 'brakes on' moment when your dog locks eyes with another canine. You'll learn why the conventional approach might not be effective and uncover alternative strategies to maintain peace without instilling fear or pain.

This is more than just a discussion—it's essential information for any dog owner looking to foster a harmonious relationship with their pet through compassionate, science-based training techniques. So, leash up and prepare to take a walk on the enlightened side of dog training with me as your guide.

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About Scott Sheaffer
Scott Sheaffer, CCBC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is a certified dog behavior consultant who has worked with thousands of dog owners and their aggressive dogs. Scott specializes in the assessment and treatment of fear, anxiety, aggression, and phobias in dogs six months and older.

Disclaimer
If you have a dog who is aggressive and dangerous to humans, it is important that you immediately consult directly with an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Take proper measures to ensure that your dog is never in a position to injure anyone. The information presented in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is neither intended nor implied to replace the need for the direct involvement of an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Scott Sheaffer, the Grumpy Dogs podcast and USA Dog Behavior, LLC, are not liable for any incidents or outcomes resulting from following the advice given in this podcast.

Episode Transcript

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDB (00:00):
Hi everyone.
Let's pretend it's the 1950sand a kid can't solve a math
problem on the board.
He's in school.
Teachers ask him to go up tothe board and work out a problem
like every kid's nightmare.
The school teacher getsimpatient with his slowness and
hits the kid with a ruler tomake him learn faster and get

(00:23):
faster.
You know, the reality is that'sreally what used to happen and
of course we know now that isthat's silly.
That's not how people learn andthat's not how dogs learn.
Today's episode is titled theTitle Shift in Attitudes about
Shock Collars and Prong Collars.
There are, believe it or not,still dog trainers around who

(00:47):
use and teach the use of thesetools shock and prong collars.
We've covered why I don't likethem and why they're not
beneficial, even harmful to dogs, and we've talked about those
in other episodes.
Some people call shock collars.
Just a little note here Somepeople call shock collars
ecollars for electronic collars.

(01:09):
But guess what?
They're shock collars and theyhurt the dog with electricity.
And the term ecollars is aeuphemism, a way of making it
sound better.
There's a reason why they sayecollars now instead of shock
collars, because they don'treally want to talk about them
too much.
And then, of course, we alwayshear with shock collars the

(01:30):
following but the trainer saidhe has it on the lowest level.
Well, guess what?
It's still hurting the dog.
Studies have shown that eventhe lowest levels of stimulation
, even vibration, after beingconnected with the shock, can
have negative consequences fordogs, leading to increased
aggression, not less depression,stress.

(01:53):
There's just really not a goodway to use these, in my opinion.
I have a current client rightnow she's just great and she
asked me a question that stoppedme in my tracks.
She said what country, city,states, whatever have outlawed
shot collars and prom collars,baby?
And I thought I've never reallythought about that before.

(02:15):
I know there were some placesaround the world that do that,
but how pervasive is that?
That would be a great way forus to know global attitudes
about these tools by researchingthis question.
Well, good news for you.
I did the research and let metell you it took a long time,
but that's what I'm here for isto take this good information

(02:37):
and get it to you.
In today's episode, we're gonnaanswer this question how do
people around the world feelabout using shock and prom
collars on dogs?
And, specifically, I'm gonnashare my research on where they
are outlawed, and I think thisis a great indicator.
Stay tuned.

(03:02):
Welcome to the Dog AggressionAnswers podcast.
I'm Scott Sheaffer, your hostand a certified expert in dog
behavior.
With the background of helpingthousands of aggressive dogs and
their owners, I'm here to sharehumane, science-based solutions
for your dog's aggression.
Stay tuned, before we start ourdiscussion on shock and prom

(03:27):
collars, I wanna just answer, ifyou don't mind, just for a
second here, a quick listenerquestion, and the reason I bring
this up now is this is aquestion I get all the time, all
the time, and let me just throwit in here real quickly.
It's kind of related to today'stopic, but not really.
Let me just pose it right nowand answer it.
The listener's name is DanielleO and this is her message what

(03:50):
do I do if my dog puts on thebrakes when she sees another dog
and there is no way to avoidthe dog?
She usually gets veryaggressive when this happens.
What do I do to keep her morecalm?
Well, let me answer this foryou.
Many people, if not most dogowners, think the right thing to

(04:10):
do is just to stop, make thedog sit, try to keep them
somewhat under control until thethreat goes by.
That is exactly the opposite ofthe thing you should be doing,
and I'm gonna make a quickanalogy here so you'll know what
I mean.
Let's say I was walking with youand we're walking by a big pile
of snakes, rattles, snakes wehave plenty of those here in

(04:33):
Texas and we're gonna walk aboutthree or four feet away from
these snakes and you said to meScott, you know, don't we kind
of need to move away or get theheck out of here?
No, we're gonna walk right upto these snakes and we're gonna
sit down and you need to be calmwhile they hopefully slither
away.
But, Scott, we're only a fewfeet away.

(04:53):
I'm kind of nervous.
Just sit down and be calm.
You see, that point I'm making.
This is what happens when wemake a dog sit and force them to
endure that dog walking by, orif they're human, reactive, same
thing that human walking by.
Here's what you wanna doinstead Keep Moving, always keep

(05:16):
moving, but keep moving bywalking calmly, with no
behavioral cueing, which meansno micro management of the leash
, and you're changing your speed, you're slowing down, you're
speeding up.
Just stay relaxed on the leash,keep moving at the same speed.
And I have an episode onhandling skills, leash skills,

(05:40):
in one of my earlier episodes.
You see that and I even have afree video.
I'll send you on that if youwatch that episode and always,
of course and you know this fromprior episodes provide whatever
distance is needed from thattrigger, whether it's human or
dog.
The threshold distance Again, Icover that in prior episodes
you need enough distance.
You're going to keep moving,but you need enough distance so

(06:02):
the dog doesn't feel toostressed, just like you would
like to have a distance fromthose rattlesnakes.
All of this is much lessstressful to your dog.
It's not going to really fixthe situation, but it's not
going to add to the problem.
And now back onto prong andshock collars.
Let's talk about how peoplearound the world feel about

(06:26):
these things.
From a worldwide perspective,where prong and shock collars
are outlawed is how we're goingto measure this.
I give you some comments afterI give you this information.
All right, let's just starttalking about countries, these,
where these things are banned.
England, not currently banned,but soon will be Plans to ban

(06:46):
shock collars starting inFebruary of 2024.
So that's just a few months.
The following countries I'mgoing to mention have already
banned the use of shock collarsin dog training and in dog
behavior work on dogs period.
I was surprised, I'll be honestwith you, when I did all this
research how many countries areincluded in this list.
Unfortunately and sadly, theUnited States, where I live, is

(07:09):
not on this list.
There are some pendingexceptions in the United States,
some laws that are coming, andI'll note those in a second.
Okay, here are some countriesthat currently outlaw the use of
shock collars.
Some specify prong collars, butI'm really focusing in on shock
collars.
I have some comments aboutprong collars on some of these.
Here they are the Netherlands,scotland, denmark, norway,

(07:35):
sweden, austria, switzerland,germany, slovenia, the
Netherlands, finland and NewZealand.
Isn't that incredible thosecountries?
Those countries have outlawedat least shock collars
nationwide.
I just think that's so great.

(07:56):
Now let's talk about a couple ofpartials here.
The first one is Australia.
The following states inAustralia have banned their use.
Not all of Australia, but thesestates New South Wales, south
Australia and the AustralianCapital Territory.
The next country is Canada.
The following provinces havebanned their use British

(08:18):
Columbia and Quebec.
Now let's talk about my homecountry, the United States.
Well, sadly, there are nofederal laws or nationwide laws
about prong collars or shockcollars.
There are a few things pendingCity of San Francisco,
california, who tends for thoseof you who don't live in the
United States, they tend to leadthe nation on these kinds of

(08:41):
laws, which is kind of cool.
There's pending legislation forthis, but as of now they are
still allowed.
New York State same thing asthe state New York Frequently
and California, but New Yorktends to lead the nation on
these kinds of things.
In New York, a legislativeproposal has been introduced to
ban the sale of shock collarsfor dogs.

(09:02):
So nothing yet, but it'spending, it's been proposed and
we're just behind.
I have to tell you we're justbehind in the United States.
That's really all that's goingon, and I sure would like us to
catch up with those 14 othercountries, and 14 large
countries, I might add, that areway ahead of us on that.

(09:23):
Okay, some closing comments here.
This geographic breakdowndemonstrates to me the global
trend against these kinds ofpunishing collars, especially
shock collars, a trend I reallylike, and I think it's really
empirical.
When you sit down and look at14 major countries 12, the

(09:43):
entire country has theiroutlawed.
That tells you something.
There must not be a great thingwith these collars.
These collars must not be sowonderful.
The challenge I'm going to giveto e-commerce and retail pet
supply stores is to stop sellingthese.
Many have already stoppedselling these, and I guess it's

(10:06):
really a lot to ask the peoplethat make these things to stop
selling them.
Make something else Now.
For those of you who arehunters out there, I know that
they use these in hunting dogtraining.
This is a real common tool touse, and they'll say, well,
they're so far away, we need thedistance thing and all this.

(10:26):
But you know what, believe itor not, that is a trend that's
also changing.
Active hunting dog training isnow on the move, and I am so
excited to see it.
Here's the thing it's just likewith pet dog training using
shot collars Short term gain,long term pain.

(10:48):
It maybe takes a little bitlonger to train without shot
collars and prawn collars, butthe benefits in the long run are
so great, and they also applyto hunting dogs too.
And I have a challenge foreveryone else who's using or
thinking about using shotcollars or prawn collars on your
dog Please do your research,don't you know?

(11:09):
Just don't listen to me.
I mean listen to my otherpodcast episodes where I go into
detail about a lot of thesethings.
But do your other research withlegitimate science based
ethologists and ethology isanimal psychology and learn from
multiple sources again, notjust me why these things can be

(11:30):
so bad in the long haul and whyso many countries are banning
them.
Please do this.
Listen and you all, if you'vebeen listening to this podcast,
you know this I'm an advocatefor the most effective dog
behavior tools available.
I'm also an advocate for yourdog.
I am.
I love dogs.
You know this.

(11:50):
I'm an advocate for your dog.
I hope to be a voice for yourdog.
And finally and mostimportantly, please know this,
I'm an advocate for you becauseyou wouldn't be listening to
this episode if you didn't lovedogs and specifically love your
dog or dogs.
I'm on your side.
I know how frustrating having areactive or aggressive dog can

(12:15):
be, but we want to use the righttools and we can affect change.
Thanks for listening.
Thanks for tuning in today.
If you enjoyed the episode,subscribe on your favorite
podcast platform and leave areview if this information is
helpful.

(12:35):
I always appreciate yourinsights, so visit
dogaggressionanswerscom if you'dlike to leave me a message
Before we wrap up.
This podcast offers educationalinsights, but for serious dog
aggression issues, alwaysconsult directly with a
certified dog behaviorconsultant.
See you next time and staytuned.