Phew, took a while to read all of the posts.
My 2.2 cents worth (incl.GST)
So much negative focus!
The so called zapping, shocking, electifying, cowering into submission etc.
I have watched the Innotek Training DVD for these products, and I can tell you, extreme care is taken to teach the dog the right way.
This includes LAVISH PRAISE for when the dog does the right thing.
The dog is NEVER forced into the fence. If you are forcing the dog, you are going against the instruction of the manufacturer.
The fence is used with the combination of training flags. The dog CAN SEE where the fence is! It's not invisible, unless you choose to remove the flags!
If you DO remove the flags before the dog has been trained, then AGAIN, you are going against the manufacturer's recommendations!
Many of these products also have tones. So before the zap is given, a warning tone is given. The dog is given a chance, and backs off.
As far as cowering into submission is concerned, and negative reinforcement....jees, you think you are a doing your dog good, when you PURELY use positive reinforcement. hahahaha! You are a bunch of jokers.
I bet that any one of you who claim to only use positive reinforcement, have at some point used negative reinforcement. Please don't tell me you've never given a strong "no!" to your dog. Oooooh, come on, even a little tug on the lead while no one of your "hyper sensitive" buddies are around?
I think you are kidding yourself for trying to be "good to the extreme".
What's your dog's history? Do yourself a favour, get yourself a DVD on Wolf behaviour (yes, they are around), and have a look.
Submissive behaviour is naturally occuring amongst members of a pack.
Yes, they even bite each other to get their message across. Cowering is part of a wolves and indeed a dog's body language.
So don't act surprised when you see a dog cowering after having been given (depending on the temperament of individual dogs) EVEN A VERBAL command.
Each dog is different, but the body language which they portray is universal.
The key with these products is to TEACH your dog, and not throw your dog into the deep end.
