E-collars and prong collars: why we do not use them

An e-collar is a remote training collar with a receiver against the dog's neck that delivers an electric stimulation when the handler presses a button, often with tone or vibration settings as well. A prong collar, also called a pinch collar, is a loop of metal links with blunt prongs facing inward that tighten around the neck when the leash goes taut. Both are sold for pulling, recall, jumping and reactivity, and both are often described by their users as communication rather than pain.

In learning terms each tool works in one of two ways. Either the unpleasant feeling follows a behavior to make it less likely, which is positive punishment, or it is switched on and released the moment the dog complies, which is negative reinforcement, the pressure-and-release pattern many collar trainers describe. Either way the dog's motivation is avoiding a sensation. That is the core difference from reward-based training, where the dog works to earn something it wants.

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's 2021 position statement is the clearest summary. It says reward-based methods should be used for all dog training, that there is no evidence aversive training is necessary, and it names choke chains, prong collars and electronic shock collars as tools that involve pain. It adds that recall, the most common reason owners buy a shock collar, was taught no more effectively with one than with rewards, even by experienced trainers nominated by collar manufacturers.

A 2021 study in Scientific Reports by Casey and colleagues, from the University of Bristol and Dogs Trust, tested 100 dogs in 50 matched pairs. Half had owners who reported using two or more aversive methods, from remote and bark-activated shock collars to choke chains and physical punishment, and half had owners who used none. In a judgment-bias test the first group approached ambiguous locations more slowly, which the authors read as a more negative mood, with welfare implications for how dogs are trained.

Those results sit beside the fallout AVSAB describes: more anxiety, fear-related aggression, avoidance and learned helplessness, and dogs less keen to train or to engage with their families. Survey research cannot always separate cause from coincidence, and AVSAB says so. Its conclusion still stands: if an aversive tool brings no gain in results and some risk to welfare, the ethical choice is the method without it.

Some dogs arrive at a consult already wearing a prong or remote collar, sometimes on a previous trainer's advice. Tell us what your dog wears and why it started; nobody at Dogtown will judge you for it. During the stay your dog trains on a flat collar or harness, and the go-home lesson covers the exact equipment for home, how to hold the leash and what to do in the first walks when an old habit tries to come back.

Cape Ann gives you good places to rebuild. Rockport asks for a leash or direct voice control and closes its beaches to dogs from June 1 to September 15, and Essex has no leash law, so loose dogs on its trails are common; both are reasons a reliable recall matters here. Gloucester allows dogs off leash on Good Harbor on even-numbered days from October 1 to March 31, a fine place for long-line practice. Our board and train page covers both stays.