All you needis somef*ckin' patience.

1. Shock collars lost the recall test.

   In a 2020 study of 63 dogs with off-lead problems, the reward-focused group responded to “Come” and “Sit” faster and needed fewer commands than the e-collar group. The e-collar trainers were nominated by the collar makers. Still lost.

   Receipt: China, Mills & Cooper (2020), Frontiers in Veterinary Science

2. The stress doesn’t stay in class.

   Dogs from schools that leaned hard on aversive methods showed more stress behaviors during training, and were more “pessimistic” in a separate test away from it. Pain doesn’t just stop a behavior. It changes how your dog sees the world.

   Receipt: Vieira de Castro et al. (2020), PLOS One

3. The vets have picked a side.

   The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) recommends reward-based methods only, for all dog training. Canada’s national vet association says remote shock collars “are not considered a necessary method of training or behaviour modification.” That’s not us being dramatic. That’s the experts.

   Receipts: AVSAB (2021) · CVMA position statement

4. Rewards build a bond that lasts.

   In a small study of 50 dogs at two training schools, far more dogs from the reward-based school kept checking in with their owners, on walks and when asked to sit. At the school that used leash jerks and pressure, more dogs showed stress signals like lip licking and yawning when asked to sit. That’s not respect. That’s bracing.

   Receipt: Deldalle & Gaunet (2014), Journal of Veterinary Behavior

The attitude is ours. The science isn’t. How we keep receipts.