E collars/ shock collars

Ok posting this here since maybe one of you can help me. We are looking for an e collar/shock collar for one of our German Shepards. He is about 6 years old and is slowly becoming more protective and aggressive. Plus he has a very bad habit of chasing and chewing his tail when he feels panic - almost anything can send him into this state tho - from a cellphone ringing to cars on tv, to us laughing.

This is really becoming an issue now since a year ago we had to amputate about 5cm off his tail since he chewed this raw as in to the bone!

He has been thru vet visits like mad to try and determine if there was some nerve damage in his tail that caused him to chew it but after various scans and xrays and tests they determined he is just a very sensitive dog that has loads of issues (we got him when he was about 8 months old and suspect he was abused before that). He gets loads of exercise and play time and chews such as rawhide and hooves. He has 2 other females that keep him company but he still acts up a lot of the time. The one female has started grabbing him by the scruff of his neck when he starts going into panic mode - but this doesnt stop him, he just goes and hides and does it where we cant watch him.

Hence we finally decided its time to try and see if we cant stop the behaviour and the aggression towards family friends with the shock collar. He doesnt bark all the time so we dont want a bark collar just one of those that gives them a mild shock (we cant use one with noise since he reacts badly to strange noises.)

Where can I find a decent one?

Thanks guys

Angie

 

Have you tried an animal behaviourist to try sort out the problem?

 

We have had him looked at by someone, our local vet has someone who deals with problem dogs. And they are the ones who advised the collar, but they are charging R4k for the thing. Unfortunately no matter what I do with him hes not getting better. Trust me I have tried it all. I actually got him to play - something he never did before I moved home. He didnt even know what a tennis ball was for he would pick it up and drop it immedately. Now he has a huge play drive but unfortunately nothing else seems to help - I cant calm him down when he goes into this panic mode. Ive sat on the floor for hours with him more often than not. Ive done the massages, the distracting him, all kinds of things. Trust me this decision to use the collar is last resort. But for the past 3 years even though I have had some good responses out of him, he is getting worse. And we really love him since he is a wonderful and loveable dog when hes not freaking out. We are trying to do everything possible to help him now.

 

hi there , have you by any chance trained him ?
i used to have a manic border collie ,uncontrollable, insane running non stop jumping on everyone , attacking strangers.. after about 6 months of training what a difference, they love the one on one attention , and will get used to the noise, traffic, being outside their comfort zone etc.. hard work and lots of commitment , but well worth it .. oh and u get some good exercise yourself.

 

How regularly do you play with him and how often do you take him for walks?? How many km's do you walk with him and how often??

 

All our dogs have been for 2 years of training every sunday - I believe in training. He goes for a walk basically everyday of about 3km unless its misrable. We also play every afternoon for at least 30 mins non stop and then loads of mini playing during the evening. So its not an energy issue. He is just a bit broken, since the other two dogs dont do anything like that. We suspect he was abused when young and he still has issues with it. The other 2 GSD that we have are well trained, loveable and play - they make a noise when ppl arrive but within 3 mins they relax and go about their business where he will go find a corner to chase his tail.

 

Okay I see, IMO think the e-collor will only worsten his behaviour. Hence that said I am no professional.

 

See even our trainers at the club has run out of ideas. That is why we are considering the collar. And I am part of the GSD federation and it is one of the only options left to us, we have tried rewarding him for good behaviour, all the tricks in the book - We even tried getting him into Schutzhund training - he does well for the most part, but he still goes into panic stages at home. When I take him for his walks he behaves - no useless barking, he doesnt fly out to attack other dogs, hes a huge gentleman that even the neighbourhood kids will come hug when we walk. Its just at home that he is extremely insecure.

 

and a small dose of Rescue remedy ? not sure if you have tried that to calm him down a bit ? lol kinda take the edge off ..

 

Good luck, I have boerboels the female is so cool and placid but the male is a bit of a problem, 5 months and very very protective doesn't allow anyone near myself and my fiance.. Wich is good in one way but very bad in another. Dog is really mans best friend, try the e collar, maybe it works, keep me us posted.

Hein

 

Sounds like one for Cesar Millan (Dog Whisperer). But it seems like all his remedies you've already tried. We bought a normal bark collar on BidOrBuy, I'm not sure if they currently have shock collars, but you could perhaps ask in their forum if someone could supply you with it? Or advertise somewhere like on Gumtree.

Good luck though.

 

have you tried one of those pheromone calming collars?
you can also try The Herbal Pet's 'Serenity' formula. it's a herbal calming supplement. I've used the equine version on my horse with great success.
http://www.theherbalpet.com/?page_id=17

 

Duh.... One of our sponsors... @NWS suplies them.... just saying...

 

or even a mega-dose? I'm sure you've done that. These kinds of problems can be so frustrating. Good luck.

@Anine - That looks interesting...

 

hehe might get my boss one of these..

 

Hahaha Anine, havent tried that, we have tried the citronella spray collar - he loves the taste and smell Rescue remedy works on our other two dogs -we give them a dose of it when we have people coming over to keep them calm For him it doesnt work, hes been on antidepressants, stress pills, all kinds of things - trust me this is a problem we have been working with for the past 7 years. He has improved somewhat due to training and us trying to relax him but unfortunately when a lawnmower goes off or we have the microwave ping - freaks him out again. My biggest issue tho of late is the aggression levels that seems to be climbing - he used to be fine with all visitors and lately he doesnt bite but he is VERY aggressive - scary some days and since he is huge and strong I cant control him at all.

@azurekoi thanks I will contact them

Oh the reason why we are considering the collar is we have been watching the dog whisperer nonstop for tips and trick - we have even emailed him still waiting on a reply tho, but from what we have seen the collar is the last resort that he uses and that is why we are willing to try it. Its not going to be a constant thing, just until the behaviour is under control.

 

@Wyvren

No need to contact us. I now saw the thread. I am also not sure if e-collar is the way to go. It might aggravate the problem. I will contact my suppliers in the States and ask what they think. Training is their main business, specializing in e-collars. They should know. I will report here as soon as I have an answer.

Can you tell me the make and model of the 4k quote you got? It sounds like way overkill. I would suggest the Dogtra IQ, a new model and entry level collar @+-R1950.00. You can look it up on the net. You do not need any fancy features or long distance, as all the training will happen close to you. This one has a half mile range.

What is the dog's pain threshold? If you pinch his ear, does he hurt easily or does it take a lot of pressure to get a reaction? Does he have abnormal long coat for a GSD?

Tom

 

Hi @NWS

He is an inbetweener when it comes to pain. He feels a pinch on the ear but doesnt really react - you get a look of WTH?!!We are in the process of organising with Bernice Jaffe (dog behaviourilst specialist) so come see us. Hopefully by next week friday. I have high hopes that she might be able to help without us having to go to the extreme of the collar. She will be the second one we bring in to look at him (we now realise that the 1st one was a bogus) He doesnt have a long coat but he does have a very thick coat all year round.

Excuse the image but its the only one of him I have at work (we had to throw the chair away he was sleeping on since the pic was taken - he loved sleeping on his back like that on that specific chair).


But its because of poses like that and the hugs he gives we want to help him leave his tail alone, hes becoming almost double jointed from the effort to get to his tail. We really dont want to amputate anymore, hence why we need to intervene and try and stop the mad behaviour. He does it more and more and frankly we just dont know what to do anymore. So hopefully Bernice will be able to help him.

 

hehe, I can picture it!

Ok, I have asked Elizabeth of 'ThatsMyDog.com' to have a look at the thread. She will respond shortly.

An e-collar is a fantastic tool to use in training. Even if it does not solve this problem, it is still worth the investment. Especially in the light that you have more dogs and will surely get others in future. So I am leaning more and more towards 'give it a try'. (Not because I want to make a sale! If that was the case, I would not have been doubtful in my first post!)The main thing is going to be timing and consistency. If he sometimes get a correction and sometimes not, it will be less effective. The timing will have to be at the exact point in time when he gets the urge to turn to his tail. It will also take time and patience. (My wife want to put one on me, to give me a correction everytime I reach for a cigarette! Imagine how long that will take to break my habit! She will have to be a policeman, 24/7, for 3 months!)

On the aggression part, it will teach him to listen to your commands and back down when told. I doubt it will do anything for the aggression, only make it controllable. This I believe will be very successful. As it is not sound related, it should not bring about an anxiety attack.

But let us wait to hear from Elizabeth.

 

See the main thing is I met him only after he had been in the house for 3 years - I lived abroad when they got him. So its been taking me 3 years to teach him how to be a normal dog. He didnt know how to play, sit, stay or anything like that. Ive managed to teach him all of that and retrieving of his ball when thrown and he comes when I call (he tends to ignore the rest of the house). With my other one Vikki we did 2 years of intensive training and if I hadnt injured my back to the extent where training was out for over 6months, she would have been trained as a search and rescue woof most likely. She has a knack for finding things and people. But her problem is she wants to be the alpha female and she wont be until Dusty passes away. She also hates it when we give to much attention to the other dogs whilst she is around but she is learning to deal with that. She has no choice but to share us