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Letter: BC SPCA wrong about shock collars being cruel

Editor: Re: S top using shock collars because they’re cruel and don’t work: BC SPCA , NOW , Feb.
dog shock collar
An example of a dog shock collar. CONTRIBUTED

Editor:

Re: Stop using shock collars because they’re cruel and don’t work: BC SPCA, NOW, Feb. 21

Please do your due diligence as news reporters to gather facts, contact experienced dog trainers who can show you training tools, let you feel them, watch a dog be trained and come up with your own decision.

What the BC SPCA did to your newspaper was misleading and is trying to instill fear in your readers through their ignorance and being uneducated.

The collar the BC SPCA used in their picture is very misleading to you and the public to create a reaction. It was the poorest quality on the market that trainers don't use. 

Any experience dog trainer will tell you that you do not attach a leash to an ecollar because it can make the communication inconsistent.
A good trainer will be knowledgeable and experienced in a wide variety of training tools. Many of the dogs we work on levels lower than what their owner can feel. It’s like buying a generic stereo from Walmart or going and buying a Bose system. This is the same with many other training tools in pet stores.
There is a huge difference between an electric shock that you would receive when putting your hand in a light socket, plug in or touching an electrical wire and the stimulation from a physiotherapy tens machine and ecollar. If you have used a tens machine at physiotherapy you have felt what an ecollars stimulation feels like.

Debbi McArthur

Editor’s note: This letter writer says the BC SPCA is “uneducated” on this issue, but the person who is quoted was Dr. Karen van Haaften, senior manager of behaviour and welfare for the BC SPCA and a board-certified veterinary specialist in behaviour. She is considered an expert in this field.