🛑 The Truth About Aversive Tools: Why Prong and E-Collars Cause Harm, Not Change

For decades, certain dog training communities have relied on aversive tools like prong collars and electronic (e-) collars (also known as shock collars). These tools operate on the principle of punishment or negative reinforcement, applying pain, discomfort, or fear to stop an unwanted behaviour.

There are Facebook pages promoting unsubstantiated claims that banning e-collars will kill sheep.

However, modern behavioural science and numerous peer-reviewed studies have definitively shown that these tools pose significant risks of emotional harm, compromise welfare, and are ineffective for true, long-term behaviour modification.

An e collar is not an effective way to ensure that your off lead dog will not worry, chase or kills sheep. The behaviour could trump the collars effect due t adrenalin and the dog could continue to chase, the collar could come off, the batteries fail, or simply stop working.

There is no substantiated evidence that e-collars save dogs lives. It is unfounded propaganda designed to promote their use.

Here is the scientific consensus on why punishment-based tools fail and the evidence supporting the use of humane, positive reinforcement methods instead

Do Dog Trainers use E-collars and prongs?

Dog training is unregulated and anyone can set up with no qualifications. This means that many trainers will use these tools without understanding the impact they have on dogs. Because they don’t understand how to correctly implement positive reinforcement, force free training.

They state that if used ‘correctly’ they do not hurt or cause harm. The science states otherwise.

🔬 The Scientific Link Between Aversive Tools and Emotional Damage

The core issue with tools that rely on physical or emotional discomfort is that they focus on suppressing the outward symptom (the bark, the pull) without addressing the dog's internal emotional state (fear, anxiety, or excitement).

1. Increased Stress and Cortisol Levels

Using punishment directly elevates a dog's stress levels, which hinders learning and exacerbates anxiety.

• Study Link: A 2017 study by Vieira de Castro et al. examined the welfare implications of different training methods. They found that dogs trained using aversive methods, including e-collars, showed increased stress behaviours (yawning, lip licking, lowered posture) and had significantly higher cortisol levels (the stress hormone) both during and after training sessions compared to dogs trained with positive reinforcement.
  Vieira de Castro, A. C., Fuchs, D., Morello, G. M., Pastur, S., de Sousa, L., & Olsson, I. A. S. (2017). Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive methods on dogs’ welfare.

• The Problem: High cortisol is counterproductive to behaviour change. When a dog is stressed, the emotional part of the brain takes over, making it impossible for the dog to think, learn, or form new, positive associations.

2. Risk of Aggression and Fear

Aversive methods are directly correlated with an increased risk of fear-based aggression and reactivity.

• Study Link: Research by Herron, Shofer, & Reisner (2009) investigated factors associated with aggression toward humans and other dogs. They found that confrontational methods, including "hitting or kicking" the dog and using "alpha rolls" or choke/prong collars, were significantly associated with an increased risk of aggressive responses. The dog learns that people are unpredictable and sometimes painful, increasing the likelihood they will act defensively.
  Herron, M. E., Shofer, F. S., & Reisner, I. R. (2009). Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing aggression.

3. Compromised Learning and Unintended Associations

Punishment often fails because the dog frequently associates the pain/discomfort with the wrong stimulus.

• Mistargeting: If an e-collar correction is administered when the dog sees another person while barking, the dog often associates the pain not with the barking itself, but with the presence of the person. This turns the person into a conditioned fear stimulus, compounding the fear and reactivity.

• Study Link: Cooper et al. (2014) investigated the effectiveness of e-collar use. They concluded that dogs trained with e-collars showed less attention to their owners and more stress-related behaviours compared to those trained with positive methods, indicating that the use of a remote collar introduced negative emotionality that interfered with the training process.
  Cooper, J. J., Cracknell, N., Hardiman, J., Wright, H., & Mills, D. (2014). The effect of using a shock collar during training on the behaviour and welfare of pet dogs in comparison to training with positive reinforcement.

What do vets think of e-collars?

The British Veterinary Association has called for the use of e-collars to be banned. Here is a link to send a letter to your local MP

✅ Why Positive Reinforcement Works Better

Ethical training focuses on teaching the dog what to do, rather than punishing them for what they shouldn't do.

1. Changes the Emotion: Positive reinforcement (using treats, praise, or toys) changes the dog's emotional state from negative (fear/stress) to positive (optimism/joy). If a dog is afraid of other dogs, rewarding them for seeing a dog at a distance makes the sight of a dog a predictor of something good.

2. Teaches Alternatives: Positive training focuses on teaching replacement behaviours (e.g., teaching a dog to look at the owner instead of lunging). This gives the dog a constructive, rewarding action to perform instead of relying on outdated defensive instincts.

3. Builds the Bond: Training that relies on trust, clarity, and reward strengthens the vital bond between human and dog, which is the foundation of all successful behaviour modification.

The scientific evidence is clear: Aversive tools are detrimental to canine welfare and are ineffective for creating reliable, happy, and confident companions. Choose science, choose kindness.

It is important to understand that not all behaviours can be changed by tools or positive reinforcement. Sometimes we have to accept this, and management is the only way to prevent your dog running off.

If your dog does not have an off lead reliable recall, then they should not be off lead, an e-collar is not an effective way to manage and control your dog's behaviour.

Prong collars will not communicate with your dog that barking and lunging is not a behaviour that you want.

Working on understanding your dogs' behaviour, managing their behaviour through kindness and lowering stress levels is the only way to truly change your dogs' behaviour. It takes time, understanding and patience.