Electric collars: punishment or positive reinforcement?

Nick Ridley delves into the controversial use of electronic training collars in gundog training

- Nick Ridley

Now let me say right from the very beginning that I neither condone nor condemn the use of electronic training collars (e-collars) being used to train gundogs. However, that said, I have found the whole debate about their use most interesting. I can remember many years ago attending a gundog training course and one handler had an Irish setter that took very little notice of any command, but especially the stop whistle, and would disappear into the next county at the first opportunity.

After the first day and many miles covered by both the dog and handler, it was noticed that the owner had put an e-collar on it, and it was quickly pointed out to him that if he wanted to remain on the course, he would not be allowed to run his dog wearing his ‘invisible lead’. Nowadays, I see many dogs wearing e-collars and nobody seems to bat an eye.

E-collar usage in the UK and the US

If you take a look at some American methods of gundog training, they use the e-collars as a standard piece of training kit that is introduced to young pups from the age of six months or so, and herein lies the major difference in the way we use them in the UK. If you were to take a survey from UK advocates of the e-collar and you asked them why they used them, I would suggest you would get a fairly unanimous result. Most handlers will be using them to stop the dog doing something. I bet the most common reasons for using them will be to stop the dog chasing game or livestock.

Importance of basic training