Dog Shock Collars – Effective?  Humane? Would I Use Again? – My Personal Experience

I had never used or even considered using a dog training collar (commonly referred to as a
“shock” collar) because I have always been able to use my experience and positive reinforcement to resolve any training issues that I might have been having with a dog. My dog Jackson was no exception to this positive reinforcement training.
That is until we started going to the dog every day and he was getting so excited that he was getting a little bonkers in the car. I tried everything I could think of to try and quiet this behavior down but nothing worked. So as a last-ditch effort I got my first PatPet P-680 Dog Training Collar.

I selected the PatPet P-680 Dog Training Collar for several reasons. First, I liked that the
transmitter and the receiver are supposed to work up to 1000 ft. I can attest to it working for 300 ft,100 yards, because I tried it on a football field. For me, that’s plenty far enough, because typically my dogs are not that far from me on their own.

My next reason for selecting the PatPet P-680 is that it offers 3 different modes of stimulation. There is a noise mode where the receiver makes a fairly loud, somewhat high-pitched beep. Then there is a vibration mode which also makes the beep noise when used. Finally, there is the “shock” mode which delivers stimulation in the static range from 1-16.

Being curious and also wanting to be a responsible user of this product, I put the collar on my forearm and had my fiancée use the “shock” mode on my arm. I barely felt anything at the first couple of levels. Levels 3 and 4 felt similar to getting a tattoo, uncomfortable, a bit painful, but not unbearable. Levels 5 and 6 maxed out my tolerance and I tapped out at that point.

I am glad that I did this experiment because I now knew what it felt like to have the collar put to use and I learned one very valuable lesson and that was; yes, the static stimulation could be painful but it lasted less than 1 second and once done there was no lingering pain or discomfort.

This helped me resolve the personal conflict I was having about using such a training tool or not.

The final reasoning behind purchasing the PatPet P-680 was the design of the units. Both the transmitter and the receiver are lightweight, they are both small and they are easy to use. The transmitter controls are easy to learn and easy to use. In fact, with just a little bit of time and use, I was able to learn the controls enough that I can use the transmitter without removing it from my pocket.

When I got our first training collar, I put it on Jackson and then let him out into our backyard as
if it were any other typical day. He went about his business, as usual, running around the yard,
laying in the sun, and then wandering around the trees, bushes, and flower beds.

Now, one thing everyone needs to know about Jackson is that he loves to smell the flowers. He’ll even
walk into the flower beds to get a sniff of the flowers he can’t reach without walking into the
beds.

He is not allowed in the beds but despite otherwise being a well-trained boy, he sometimes
forgets that training and doesn’t listen when it comes to staying out of the flowers. So, when he
didn’t recall to me, I used the noise mode and beeped him. His head popped up and he
immediately ran as fast as he could back to me and sat down next to me in his designated
position. That is the moment I fell in love with the PatPet P-680.

The next day, on our way to the dog park I was able to use give the collar a try for the purpose I had intended, keeping Jackson’s excitement at a manageable level. I tried voice commands and treats to settle him down, with no luck, so I once again used the noise mode and beeped him. This was just enough
to startle him out of the uncontrolled excitement and he settled down significantly. This confirmed that I loved this collar.

I have now added a 2nd dog to our family and purchased a 2-dog set of PatPet P-680 so that I can use the collars on both dogs with only 1 transmitter. In the 2 ½ years of having the PatPet P-680 I have used the collars on multiple occasions, primarily at the dog park, to help keep my
dogs safe from other dogs, people and to be frank, each other. (They play very rough together
and our 2nd dog, Salem, sometimes forgets she’s no longer a hunting dog and doesn’t need to
hunt her “brother”).

I have only had to use the static stimulation, ‘shock’ mode, one time. Salem was at the dog park and there was a group of dogs, including her, that were getting over-excited when greeting a newcomer to the dog park. The newcomer was getting a bit overwhelmed and it was causing the welcoming committee to start getting overstimulated and could have become dangerous for all of the dogs.

When Salem didn’t respond to the noise or vibration modes, I was forced to use static stimulation. She received a level 2 stimulation, and that got her attention enough to cause her to run directly back to me. I praised her for recalling back to me and gave her lots of pets and love. Since that day, she now waits until I verbally release her to go meet incoming dogs.

The PatPet P-680 has been an incredible training tool for my two dogs.

It is not a replacement for good, solid, continuous training using positive reinforcement. It is merely a tool that I use after a solid training foundation. For me, it gives me the confidence that no matter the situation, I have a tool that gives me the ability to keep my dogs safe and under control in any situation.

Another piece to using PatPet P-680 or any other training collar of this type is that you SHOULD NOT leave the collar on all the time. This type of collar is a training tool and should be used as such, during training or when you and your dog(s) are in a situation where the dog(s) may need the extra security of wearing the training collar. Otherwise, keep your collar(s) and the transmitter in a safe spot, ready for your next training session or adventure.