Board and train without e-collars or prong collars

The fallout: what aversive tools can cost

Pain and pressure can stop a behavior in the moment, which is why they look effective. The risk is in what else the dog learns. A dog shocked while looking at another dog may learn that other dogs predict pain, which can deepen the reactivity the collar was meant to fix. A dog corrected on a prong collar near children may learn to fear children.

AVSAB’s statement lists the documented consequences as increased anxiety and fear-related aggression, avoidance, and learned helplessness, plus dogs that are less motivated to train and less likely to interact with their household. It also notes that some dogs keep showing stress when they hear a cue that was taught with aversives, meaning the cue itself has become unpleasant.

• Fear or aggression linked to whatever the dog was looking at when corrected
• Shutting down: a quiet dog that looks “calm” but has stopped offering behavior
• Suppressed warning signals, so a later bite comes with less notice
• Behavior that only holds while the collar is on

What force-free training uses instead

Force-free training replaces pressure with three things: management, so the dog cannot rehearse the problem; reinforcement, so the dog learns what to do instead; and patience with the pace of learning. Equipment exists, but it is there for safety and comfort, not to hurt. A well-fitted flat collar or harness and an ordinary leash cover most dogs; a long line gives safe freedom for recall practice, as our page on long lines explains.

Dogtown’s training is fear- and force-free and centered on positive reinforcement, which is consistent with not using e-collars or prong collars. The exact equipment for your dog is something to go through at the assessment. For tools to use at home afterwards, see what equipment to buy after board and train.

A worked example: a puller without a prong

A strong eighteen-month-old Labrador arrives having been walked on a prong collar, still pulling hard. Day one starts with a front-clip harness for safety and a simple game in a quiet hallway: slack leash, marker, treat by the trainer’s leg. Pulling makes the trainer stop; slack makes forward movement happen. The dog quickly learns where the reward lands.

Over the stay, the game moves outdoors, then past distractions, then into the real-world outings of an Advanced stay, with the trainer rewarding check-ins and loose leash steps. Progress is steadier than dramatic. At the go-home lesson, the owner learns the same game, and the prong stays in the drawer. Our page on board and train for leash pulling goes into the method.

Questions that reveal a program’s tools

Some programs avoid the words “shock” and “prong,” preferring “remote collar,” “stim,” “pinch collar” or “low-level communication.” Ask in plain terms. A force-free program will answer without hesitation, and will not tell you that your dog “needs” a tool before they have met it.

Ask for the answers in writing at booking. That protects you and the trainer, and it is the clearest way to know what your dog will experience while you are not there.

• “Will my dog wear an e-collar, remote collar, prong, pinch, choke or slip collar at any point?”
• “What do you do when my dog pulls, jumps or ignores a cue?”
• “What would you do if my dog growled at a trainer?”
• “Can you put your equipment policy for my dog in writing?”