Socialization, building a dog's ability to adapt to new experiences without fear, is recognized by most people as the fundamental skill a pet dog needs to acquire. It's a time-consuming process, but fairly simple. Your dog is rewarded for choosing to experience new things. Temple Grandin expressed the idea beautifully: fear and curiosity are opposites. Build curiosity, dampen fear.
If you wanted to make your dog completely anti-social, how would you do it? You'd convey the idea that anything new or interesting, anything that arouses curiosity, is very, very dangerous and painful. Every time your dog approached something, you'd zap the hell out it. If you were lazy, you'd construct a machine to do it for you. Lucky for you, such devices already exist: the Shock Collar "Fence". It's easier than ever to give your dog some serious fear-biter potential.
"Great!" you say, "I want my dog to be protective." Protective dogs need to have the confidence to bite and HOLD. Holding neutralizes the threat, instead of further arousing him (or her, let's be fair) with a bite and release. Any idiot can make a reactive fool. It takes time, talent, and know-how to build a confident dog who can not only stop, hold, and release a threat under any conditions, but also display the impulse control necessary to respond only when requested. Imagine the fun you'd have if your "guard dog" "neutralized" your grandfather or the neighbor's 8-year-old!
Back to the Antisocialization Device. From a dog's perspective, the flags "don't enter into it". Dogs are smart, some are brilliant, but the idea of a LINE boundary is not a mental concept that occurs naturally to your dog. Dogs recognize boundaries by visual distance, and scent markers, typically placed on vertical surfaces. The horizon line (from dog's eye level) or as far as you can see to the horizon is your dog's natural concept of her boundaries, her "home". It's as natural for a dog to identify and respect a flag boundary as it is for you to find and respect a scent boundary.
So, imagine you are a dog:
- You don't see flags. You don't see property lines.
- You see something interesting enter what you believe to be your home turf. It's a rabbit, a jogger, a tumbling leaf, a dog, children at play, a passing car, or the wind brings you a whiff of opposite-sex canine, trash, or some other scent you can't resist...
- Naturally, you are curious.
- You approach to check it out.
- As you approach it, you are zapped! Bitten! From a distance, even!
How might being "bitten" by the majority of things you approach affect you? If you will recall, this exactly the strategy we decided was best when we wanted to make an ANTI-social dog. In my experience, I have not yet encountered a single dog who fails to display problematic side effects from shock collar "fences".
Horrifingly, who buys shock fences most frequently? Parents!! Parents who are "too busy" to exercise their dog properly, and who mistakenly believe that "running around the backyard" is sufficient exercise for a dog. I wince at the thought of the moment that the child and dog are in the yard, and the phone rings. Or when the child leaves the boundary, and the dog tries to follow. What do you think that experience will teach your dog about your child?
The general public, not keeping an eye out for the tell-tale box on the dog's collar, often believes that the dogs they see displaying aggression at the end of the yard are "territorial" dogs, or that those dogs are just the bad seeds of the dog world, displaying unprovoked aggression. Nope. These dogs are being systematically anti-socialized.
I don't intend to be excessively critical of the owners who buy them. Many owners are motivated by thinking they are giving their dog something the dog will enjoy. Certainly, the vast majority of owners don't intend to antisocialize their dogs. They simply don't realize what they are doing. They envision the dog being contained, but with freedom. They focus on the freedom to simply open the door for the dog to go out. They look at cost and visual appeal. Would you trade having a nice, confident, well-adjusted dog for any of these minor benefits? Not if you knew that's what you were doing.
No shock collar fences.
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This is a fantastic article.
This is a fantastic article. I just can't get enough of Ian Dunbar and his crew. Some other high profile 'so called trainers' out there have me in tears watching some of the methods used. its so distressing.Thank you dog star daily for educating us to a better life for our dogs.
Excellent article
Excellent article.
I work in an affluent, rural area of Kent in the UK and 'Freedom' Fencing is a big problem here; people with more money than compassion, time, commitment etc for their dogs. If I discover a dog in my clubs is being subjected to this cruelty I provide a whole package of research on why I am banning them from my club until they make a commitment to stop using it... What gets me most is that these people could afford to put in humane 'ordinary' fencing, but would rather subject their dog to pain and fear than 'ruin their garden'. It makes me EXTREMELY angry...
~Jaq~
www.dogpsyche.co.uk
come meet my dogs
i've got to strongly disagree with your conclusions. i don't believe that invisible fences create unsocailized dogs. i would be more likely to agree that ALL types of fencing (chain link, stockade) can create anti-social dogs. it is all dependent on the dogs people. dog owners who dump their dog in the fenced yard, thinking it will entertain and exercise itself for a lifetime are going to create an antisocial animal. just like people who chain a dog out back to a tree or dog house for a lifetime. people who take their pets out to classes, dog parks, rail trails, dog events, etc are going to have vastly different dogs.
am i defending my lifestyle? yes i am. i have 8 acres of land, 5 of which are under invisible fence. i fenced the area because my neighbor decided to raise feral cats. after my heeler/terrier mix took out a cat , she insisted i do something. i couldn't afford to fence my entire property, nor would i want to. i have found the invisible fence to be an excellent compromise. now my other neighbor has chosen to put up a six foot high chain link fence for her 3 dogs. they are NEVER taken out of that fence. they constantly run the fence line barking at cars, people, dogs, etc. the one time they did get out, they attacked my dog, nearly killing it. he required over 75 stitches to put him back together. my dogs have never bitten anyone and i have delivery people in and out all the time (within the fence). i've rarely met a physically fenced dog that wasn't aggressive on some level. i've met plenty of invisibly fenced dogs that are quite socialized.
once again, you're blaming the tool. it's all in it's use. if the fence, any fence, were all the dog knew, then yes, it would defend it's lines relentlessly. dogs taken regularly outside the fenceline learn to be as social as any animal.
I had already guessed the
I had already guessed the content and tone of the above post's 2nd paragraph before I even got there...
~Jaq~
www.dogpsyche.co.uk
Unfortunately, some home-owners' associations require it
Or, to be precise, they don't allow visible fencing. I'm not a fan of electric fencing, for the reason you cite - making the dog feel as if he's been "bitten" by whatever interests him outside the fence - as well as other important problems. (Another big problem with these fences, IMHO, is that it won't keep another dog from coming IN to the yard and attacking the "fenced" dog.)
That said, it's an imperfect world, and sometimes compromises are the best option for the dog. While the rescue group I volunteer for won't adopt prey- or scent-driven dogs out to homes with electric fencing, we have done so for more sedate dogs. It's not our first choice, and we always explain the many negatives. But, it's not an automatic denial. If a dog has few or no other prospects, and the HOA won't allow visible fencing, and we feel that it's otherwise a good home, and that the potential adopter will take steps to both socialize the dog and keep it safe, we'll certainly consider that home.
A friend of mine lost a dog
A friend of mine lost a dog who chased a deer through his electric fencing. The dog ran onto a street and was hit and killed by a car. My friend said he'll never use or trust such a method again to detain a dog in a yard.
My girl is very resourceful when it comes escaping, so I would never trust her not to figure out an electric fence. We live in a city neighborhood next to a large park so have lots of deer, raccoons, cats, squirrels, etc. cruising through our yard and down the street. Actually, my dog is never outside unattended, so it's not an issue for me.
We also have a couple of dogs in the neighborhood who are contained by electric fences who rush the "fence," barking like crazy and giving people heart attacks that are walking by as they may not be aware that the dog is "contained." I believe this creates a negative feeling towards dogs and is not fair to other neighbors out for a stroll. At least with a fence, walkers feel a little safer that the dog is not going to take a chunk out of them.
on topic
let me clarify my position. the topic makes a premise that invisible fence creates fearful dogs because the dog is punished every time it tries to investigate a new experience. when the fence is used properly, the dog is taught where the boundries of it's property are. flags or no flags, the dogs, at least my dogs, know down to the inch where the warning buzzer is going to go off (on all 5 wooded acres). they are warned about 5 or so feet before a shock occurs. it took only a day or two for the dogs to know where the chase had to stop. we live in the woods of west virginia. we have deer, rabbits, feral cats, turkeys and whatever other wildlife is out there. my dogs are constantly after wildlife. they just know when they have to stop, pretty much to the millimeter. and they stop even before the warning, therefore not ever getting "punished".
now, if we were talking shock aversion therapy; every time the dog saw a rabbit it was shocked, yes it would then become fearful of rabbits. and perhaps any other small furry thing. you make the assupmtion that every time the dog sees something new and interesting, it gets punished. generally, unless the dog has some mental defect, this is not the case. the dog just has to be interested at a respectful distance. it has learned that it is the proximity to a certain location that causes the discomfort, not the stimulus outside.
now, do i believe that invisible fences are right for any or all circumstances?- a big NO. as the commenter above stated, the chance that a dog will run right thru the line, into danger, is always there. and yes, it can be scarry to those walking a neighborhood to have what seems to be a loose dog charge them. i, luckily, have a situation that makes the fence feasible. and there are others who can also benefit. but once again, it is not for everyone.
the hypothosis presented was that the fence makes dogs fearful. that is where i disagree.
on topic
Rufftie, you're making fine distinctions here and I get that you need to rationalize your decision to use shock collars on your dogs. But, you didn't have to fence your whole property to keep your dogs from killing the neigbhor's cats. You didn't have to subject them to "only" a day or two of being shocked. You could have fenced a smaller portion and accomplished the same effect.
As for the point of the article, it IS talking shock aversion therapy--a shock is delivered every time the dog exceeds a certain boundary. An aversive is being applied to get the dog to avoid doing that. As the article points out, often the reason the dog is approaching the shock like is because the dog has seen something -- a rabbit, a child, another dog -- that it is interested in and it goes to investigate and wham! dog gets shocked and learns that rabbits, children, other dogs are bad news. If you really think the only thing the dog learns is that a certain distance between himself and the child/rabbit/dog is bad news, you're really working hard to avoid the obvious.
honestly, i don't want a
honestly, i don't want a physical fence. i sincerely believe they make dogs mean and possesive. they learn they aren't allowed out and you are not allowed in.
overstating?
I'm not a fan of electric fences. Both the emotional fallout and the more mundane safety risks lead me to caution my clients against them. I see their fallout all of the time. We opened a second training center about 3 years ago in a relatively newly developed suburb where many neighborhoods don't allow physical fences. Nearly every month I see a client whose dog has developed fear or aggression issues due to being confined behind one of these barriers. In almost every neighborhood in which I go out walking with clients or their dogs, I see at least a house or 2 with dogs who these barriers make ticking time bombs.
That said, the vast majority of dogs I work with who are confined by these systems demonstrate no visible ill effects. Most learn the boundary quickly and eaisly stay in their yard. Almost all of the problem dogs' boundaries extend right up to a sidewalk where the practice frustrated barking at people on a regular basis. Like I said, I don't care for these systems, but I also don't the idea that every dog confined by them has experienced observable emotional fallout doesn't match my experience at all.
Overstating?
I dunno Jeff, seems like you're seeing a lot of fallout if it's every month and two or three dogs per neighborhood. Why would anyone risk doing that do their dog?
You're right, Sue. I do
You're right, Sue. I do see a lot of fallout. That's why I recommend that people not use these systems. That doesn't make it OK to overstate the risk. Let's say that I tell a teenager that everyone I've ever known who drove drunk wound up in a terrible car accident. That's certainly a stronger warning than an accurate description of the risk. If he believes me, it may be more effective at deterring him from drinking and driving. If - on the other hand - that teenager has repeatedly seen people drive drunk and make it home safely, then my credibility with him is shot. He's not going to listen to anything else that I say. Drunk driving is a terribly risky behavior in which nobody should engage and which should punished harshly. I believe that very strongly. I also know that the overwhelming majority of instances of drunk driving don't cause any harm at all. The two messages aren't contradictory.
It's the same with the electronic fencing. It screws up enough dogs that I recommend against taking the risk even though I know that the overwhelming majority of dogs confined by them do just fine.
www.trainingtracks.com
Overstating?
I just don't see the article as overstating. The author is describing her experience with dogs who've been subjected to shock fences. In her experience it sounds like she's seen more fallout than you--or that she's just noticing it more than you. That your perception is different doesn't mean hers is an overstatement.
The one thing no one has
The one thing no one has mentioned yet is that another issue with e-fencing is that owners leave dogs outdoors unattended within it. So, humans, who are not wearing collars, can trespass over the boundary, steal your dog, and make a tidy profit reselling it to some one else. Or, the hungry or territorial coyote who shares the same neighborhood can decide to eliminate the competition. Dogs can also be attacked by other loose dogs.
It's been my experience that solid fences are not as likely to provoke barrier aggression as are e-fences or open weave fencing, which give dogs a better view of passersby. That's not to say that dogs contained in solid fencing are always well behaved - a lot of the behaviors have to do with being isolated, with thinking they are repelling a threat, or with boredom. All are problematic for fenced or tethered dogs that don't get enough physical or mental stimulation, or who don't get adequate social experience while they are very young, and on an ongoing basis.
Safety
We have invisible fence. We've had it for years because we got our Pom, Brenner from a rescue that required a fenced yard. We couldn't afford to fence the front yard so we did it in e-fence. And thank goodness we did. Brenner is fast and he has a habit of dashing out the front door every chance he gets. If we didn't have the e-fence he would have either run off or been killed any number of times. I think his safety well outweighs any behavioral issues.
It's my job as his human to make sure that he stays safe and if that means that he got zapped a couple times when we were teaching him the boundaries, then so be it. In the enire time we were teaching him where the boundaries were he only got "bit" twice.
The system we have gives him an auditory signal if he gets to close to the e-fence. If a dog chooses to disregard the beeps only then does he get "bitten". Dogs are taught during MULTIPLE training sessions that the white flags and the beeps are the boundaries. Those flags are only removed over a long period of time.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm looking out for the safety of our family member.
False sense of safety
Herbwoman--You're right, it is your job to keep your dog safe, but why would you shock a family member to keep him safe? And, why would you disregard the pain inflicted on a family member as just "getting zapped"? Please, stop with the euphemisms. He's not getting 'zapped" or "bitten." He is being shocked. It hurts.
If you want to keep your dog safe, then put in the time and energy it takes to make him really safe rather than rely on the quick "fix" offered by shock fences. For one, they aren't really keeping him safe. He can still run out of the fence, others can still get into the boundary to hurt him, and oh yea, he's still not safe from being shocked.
There are alternatives to a shock fences. Can't afford a physical fence, then take him out on a leash or fence a smaller part of the yard. If you're worried about door dashing how about training your dog not to dash out the door. That will keep him safer than shocking him ever will. He can still dash out of a car, a vet's office, a hotel room, any other number of places where you're ever so convenient shock fence won't stop him. It's your responsibility to train your dog, not just rely on shocking him.