For Wayne Dorman, the owner and founder of Dogzies Pet Services in 91大黄鸭, the issue of ecollar (shock collar) usage on dogs comes down to two basic things鈥攅ducation and regulation.

In his years as a dog trainer, Dorman estimates the handling or training with more than 15,000 dogs in the Okanagan with clients from all over.

He鈥檚 seen what ecollars can do with the correct usage, and what they can do when ecollars are not used responsibly.

READ ALSO: READERS WEIGH IN ON COLLARS

鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe (ecollars) are detrimental, or that they don鈥檛 help dogs, people just shouldn鈥檛 be able to just buy them,鈥� Dorman said.

鈥淭here are products online that people know nothing about, and they stick it on their dog. There needs to be education and training.鈥�

Dorman knows he鈥檚 just one trainer who鈥檚 had a high success rate of clients keeping their dogs, when those same clients have been told that their dog is untrainable or can鈥檛 be helped.

At Dogzies, Dorman works canine clients hard in order to have a balanced and well mannered dog, which at times has Dorman resorting to use of ecollars and vibration-only collars.

鈥淚鈥檓 a big advocate of the right usage of any tool: leash, collar, or food. If one doesn鈥檛 now how to train a dog, they (should get help), there shouldn鈥檛 be any person without training using ecollars or other tools for training,鈥� said Dorman.

鈥淚 do believe there are irresponsible trainers and owners out there.鈥�

READ ALSO: THE SPCA SAYS NO TO SHOCK COLLARS

The photos that appear online of alleged damage from ecollars can come from a wide array of problems, said Dorman, notably poor products and improper education that leads to the overuse of ecollars.

Dorman sees injuries to dogs from a wide variety of issues, more from leashes than from the correct usage of ecollars, but he says measures adopted in legislation might be needed to stop injuries caused by ecollar abuse.

鈥淭he government needs to get involved,鈥� said Dorman. 鈥淣ot every dog needs a collar, and we can鈥檛 have 18 or 19 year-olds setting up ecollars without help.

鈥淭he people who use the collars love their dogs, and don鈥檛 want to hurt them, but some people want a quick fix.鈥�

Dorman鈥檚 Dogzies Pet Services can be found .

To report a typo, email:
newstips@kelownacapnews.com.

newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .