4. Electronic training collars risk the welfare of dogs

The proliferation of electric training collars have led many pet owners to believe that these are a safe, effective way of getting Fido to behave. A study carried out by the University of Lincoln in the UK, however, shows that the immediate effect of using this type of collar is distress for dogs, particularly when programmed to high settings. The study looked at 63 dogs who were referred for poor recall skills and similar issues. The dogs were placed into three groups: one used an e-collar and the other two didn’t. The dogs who were trained using the e-collar showed negative responses, including greater tension, more yawning and less time spent on environmental interaction, than dogs in the control group.