The first paper in this issue, Masson et al. (2018a) should be mandatory reading for everyone who trains or interacts with dogs since it contains some of the only data on the incidence of use of shock/electronic/e-stim collars, including bark activated shock/electric collars.
It would surprise many owners, but not specialists in veterinary behavioral medicine, that bark activated collarsewhich punish dogs with shock for what is more often than not a normal behavior – do more behavioral and welfare damage than any other collar type. Such interference with normal, species typical behaviors is not in the best interest of the dog and represents a significant welfare concern.
In light of the recent spate of papers and policy statements integrating data from learning theory into recommendations for a reconsideration for the use of aversives and punishment in the training of dogs and other living things (Ziv, 2017; Masson et al., 2018b; Overall, 2018; Todd, 2018), such data should be welcome.
This paper by Masson et al. should spur efforts to document evidence based outcomes, and to collect comparable data for all training modalities.
Extrait d’article paru dans scienceDirect écrit par Karen L.Overall