Claws, Or No Claws? The Pros and Cons of Declawing Your Cat.

What is declawing? 

Declawing is the process of amputating the end of a cat's toes at the first joint in order to remove the claws. It is performed by a veterinarian, using either a scalpel, a guillotine style implement or a laser cutting tool. In most cases, only the claws on the two front paws are removed but, occasionally, the procedure is performed on both back paws as well. 

Why is it done?

Its is done to prevent scratches to humans and to protect carpets, rugs and furniture from damage caused by scratching. 

(Occasionally, a vet must amputate a claw out of medical necessity but here I am focusing solely on non-medical declawing.)    

Why is it controversial?

Proponents of declawing maintain it is a 'harmless procedure' that is less invasive than an average spay or neuter. Those who do not support it often describe it as a risky 'mutilation'. 

It has become a very emotive subject, so let's take a look at the facts. 

Here's a list of the potential pros and cons of declawing, both for you and for your cat:

Pros For You:

- Your cat cannot scratch you, your children, or visitors to your house.

- Less worries for allergy sufferers who may react badly to scratches. 

- Home furnishings and clothes will be free from wear and tear caused by scratching, claws snagging on them or cats climbing over them. 

Pros For Your Cat:

- Possibly less likely to be given up to a shelter because of destroying furnishings or scratching people. 

- Possibly gains more affection from family members and visitors who would otherwise be afraid of getting scratched.

 

Cons For You:

- The expense of the procedure and possible medical complications. (Infection, re-opening of surgical wounds, arthritis, possible chronic pain issues)

- Dealing with behavioural issues. Cats who can't scratch often learn that biting is a far more effective way to tell you to back off than swatting you with clawless paws.

- Dealing with severe wounds/infections from cat bites. Cats have far more bacteria in their mouths than on their claws and can bite deeply, thereby transferring those germs straight into the body. A declawed cat will often learn to jump straight to biting since their usual warning paw-swat is so ineffective. 

- Dealing with possible housetraining problems. Declawed cats can experience pain when walking on or digging in litter. They can come to associate the litter-box with pain and begin to avoid it, causing them to soil elsewhere in your home.

- Dealing with a cat who has psychological issues. Cats can end up with chronic pain after declawing, or as a result of the arthritis that declawing can cause later in life - discomfort can affect a cats behaviour by creating anxiousness, fear or aggression.

- Dealing with a long healing process. Even a cat who has been declawed by laser (usually cited by those performing it as a 'safer' option that is 'quicker to heal') will still need a long time to adjust to walking differently, regain proper balance, and may be off its feet for some time after the operation due to pain.

Cons For Your Cat

- Pain or discomfort from an inability to walk normally. Cats are 'digitigrades' or 'toe-walkers'. Declawing removes the part of their foot that normally bears most of their weight, forcing them to walk flat-footed. This change in gait can cause joint issues (such as wearing or inflammation), lead to full blown arthritis, and possibly severe pain from over stressing parts of the leg not designed to bear weight in this manner. 

- Possible chronic pain in the amputation sites - the only signs of this may be an unwillingness to walk on hard or uneven surfaces, or to jump on and off things. Cats are masters of hiding pain (a natural instinct to keep them safe from predators), they have been known to walk home on broken bones after being hit by cars, so this constant pain in their feet may go unnoticed by owners for a long time.

- Higher risk of being given up due to other behaviour issues like biting, aggressive behaviour (stemming from discomfort) and litter-box issues.

- Possible stress. Cats scratch to mark their territory (both visually, with the marks left by scratching, and by spreading scent from the glands between their toes). It is much like chewing for dogs - it serves a purpose, gives them an outlet for energy and emotion, and makes them feel comfortable. A declawed cat cannot visually mark its territory in a natural manner, and may feel pain or discomfort in their amputation sites when they attempt to do so, dissuading them from leaving their scent. This may lead them to feel less safe and secure in their home. 

- Risk of opening their amputation sites and getting infections - cats with no claws will still attempt to scratch, but may open up their surgical wounds when doing so, causing pain and leaving them open to infection.

- Higher risk of injury.  Cats use their claws to grip when climbing. Declawed cats (especially those with all four paws declawed) are at much higher risk of slipping off furniture, falling down stairs, or sliding off banisters, railings and window ledges. Contrary to popular belief, cats do not always land on their feet, and can be severely injured or killed in falls. 

- Inability to defend itself. A declawed cat can never go outside off leash/unconfined - even if you were to move to a safe area and wished to allow your cat outdoors. If they ever escape they are far more vulnerable as they have lost their first line of defence against possible attackers. Because they have no claws they are forced to get close enough to their attacker that they can bite them, putting them at far more risk of being bitten themselves (thus being exposed to many more nasty bacteria and viruses). Often a swat with a paw is enough to get most potential threats to back off so that the cat can run away, but without their claws they are far less able to escape and are more likely to suffer injury or be killed.

So, you can see the controversy. 

What it all boils down to, for me, is that the potential risks for your cat far outweigh any gains for either of you. While they aren't all certainties (declawed cats can live quite happily into old age with few issues) the risk itself is. Why take the risk of causing a lifetime of pain for your pet? Why not adopt an already declawed cat and give it a good home? Why not look into risk free measures like acrylic claw caps or trimming claws while you help your cat through whatever issues are making you consider the procedure? And if there are no issues with your cat then why put him through a procedure than might create them? 

Need any further convincing? Here is a list of countries where declawing a cat is either illegal, or considered highly inhumane and only to be performed in extreme circumstances:

England

Scotland

Wales

Italy

Austria

Switzerland

Norway

Sweden

Ireland

Denmark

Finland

Slovenia

Brazil

Australia

New Zealand

Serbia

Montenegro

Macedonia

Slovenia

France

Germany

Bosnia

Malta

Netherlands

Northern Ireland

Portugal

Belgium

Israel

(Source: declawing.com)

Looking for humane alternatives to declawing? Try: http://www.declawing.com/cat-declaw-alternatives

Curing Your Cat's Fear of The Carrier

So, you've had enough of bundling your terrified cat up in towels, shoving him into his box and enduring his wails and escape attempts all the way to the vets. And heaven help the poor nurses if he has to stay there because he will fight tooth and nail (literally) every time they want to get him back into his cage. 

This was our life with Thomas, our beloved cat who had a severe phobia of enclosed spaces after being caught in a stray cat trap by a neighbour who shipped him off to a shelter. He was wrongly labelled as feral and kept confined for a week before we tracked him down. 

When he became ill later in life, we had to take him to the vets on a regular basis - the whole thing was a horrible ordeal every time, and he began to disappear outside as soon as he saw the carrier being brought out. I decided enough was enough; my poor cat needed some help. Here's how I got him from a screaming, scratching mess, to a cat who would happily spend an afternoon curled up in his carrier, purring away:

A preliminary note:

Make sure your cat's carrier is big enough for your cat- they should be able to stand up without crouching and turn round easily. 

The style of box is also important, I recommend those plastic cases with plenty of vents and a metal grid door 

The kind of carrier I recommend.

they make a nice little den, but the cat can still see out and know what's going on. A carrier that's just metal grid works too if you drape a blanket over it so the cat can just see out the front. 

Cover this kind of carrier with a blanket to create a cosy den.

I really don't like those cardboard ones that open at the top - they are dark, scary holes that you must lower your cat into in a way most find fairly unsettling. They are better than nothing, and fine in an emergency but aren't really the best for your cat. 

This kind should be an emergency/one trip carrier, not a long term one.

Step One: 

Forget hiding the carrier away and only getting it out before traumatic events like travelling or vets visits-  the cat will soon learn to associate it with the pain and fear vets visits often involve, and will begin to disappear outside or under the bed every time it appears in the house! (Which only leads to more trauma as you are forced to drag the poor thing out from their hiding place).  

Instead, find a spot for the carrier to live permanently in your home. Put a nice cushion or blanket in it so it's comfy. I suggest using something your cat has already slept on so the carrier is lined with his scent - Cats are highly territorial, so their scent is a powerful tool for making them feel comfortable.

Leave the door open so the cat can investigate it as and when he wishes.

Step Two:

Now to begin the processes of what is called 'systematic desensitisation'. 

Figure out whatever treats your cat likes best. Our cats go mad for 'Dreamies' treats, but tiny bits of cheese, real meat or tuna are usually a good bet. The important thing is that they are simply the best thing ever to your cat - something that they will really enjoy, and that they only get when working on their fear. 

Give your cat a few of these tasty morsels as close to the carrier as he is willing to take them. That may be quite a long way off at first, but don't try and force your cat to be any closer than he is happy with. 

Over time (could be a few hours, for us it was a few weeks because the fear was so intense) put the treats closer and closer to the carrier, building up to placing them just inside the door, then further in so the cat actually has to go inside. Once the cat is happily going all the way to the back to get the treats, then you can begin to encourage them to turn around and face outwards by holding a treat at the entrance. This gets the cat to turn around, and often lie down in the carrier (if the treats keep coming). They should be facing the door of the box before you to move to the next stage. 

During this time you should also try and give any other treats (like saucers of milk or table scraps) either inside or just outside of the carrier. You can also put a few treats or toys in there at random when your cat isn't around. This will get them investigating the box of their own accord, just to check if anything good has 'appeared' in there, and really strengthens the positive associations you are trying to build up around the carrier.

Step Three:

This step will be familiar to anyone who has ever crate trained a puppy. 

Once the cat is happily getting in the carrier and turning back around to face the door then you can close the door without locking it and feed treats through the door. Start with just closing it for a second, then build up to having it closed for a couple of minutes with the cat happily taking treats through the door, or eating a tasty saucer of tuna inside. 

DO NOT be tempted to begin closing the door before the cat is comfortable in the carrier, and always open it at the first sign of stress from your cat - unlike with puppies (who are a 'blank slate' and will likely calm down fairly quickly so you can let them out again) your cat already has a fear of the carrier and may just become more and more agitated if you refuse to let them out - the more stress they experience in and around the carrier, the worse their fear will become and the more you set back their recovery.

Step Four:

You can also get your cat used to being transported places in the box by occasionally carrying them around the house in it, and practicing taking them into the car. You could even go on a few short 'test drives' with them. It would be useful to have a helper with you who can sit with the cat and dole out treats on the car journey. 

Keeping It Up:

Lastly, don't just stop and go back to your old ways once the fear issue appears 'fixed'. The carrier must always stay out, and you should continue to give treats in there every once in a while so that it keeps its positive association in your cat's mind. If you start just using it for vets visits again, it will quickly return to being an unpleasant and scary place and  you and your cat will be back to square one. 

After a few weeks our cat was happily spending time in the carrier of his own free will - he now saw it as the place where everything tasty and fun happened. The fact he was relaxed in the box made him more relaxed in the car and at the vets, probably because his safe happy place was coming with him, and he hadn't suffered the trauma of being chased round the house, caught, swaddled in towels, and stuffed into a scary cage before getting there!  

A letter to British Airways regarding their continued support of Seaworld.

What follows is a copy of an Email I wrote as part of this campaign: http://www.change.org/BAseaworld , to end Brtish Airways' partnership with Seaworld. One copy went to British Airways Managing Director, another to the CEO of The International Airline Group (the company that now owns BA), Willie Walsh. 

Subject: A Concerned Customer

For the attention of: Frank van der Post, Managing Director, British Airways/ Willie Walsh, CEO International Airline Group.

Dear Mr Van der Post/Mr Walsh,

I am writing to you because I am one of 167 882 people (at the time of writing) who have chosen to sign a petition, asking British Airways to end its ties with the 'Seaworld' amusement parks.  You can view this petition here: http://www.change.org/BAseaworld . 

Many people, both experts and members of the public, now have great concerns about the health and welfare of cetaceans, such as orca and dolphins, in captivity. Some animals thrive when cared for well, but others are simply too intelligent, and too large for humans to provide the care they need for a long, healthy life. The evidence now points to cetaceans being part of the latter group. 

There is also a great deal of risk to trainers, who frequently interact closely with these animals during shows, especially since Tilikum, a Seaworld orca who has been involved in the deaths of at least two humans (and possibly a third, who's death was not witnessed), has been bred from and is currently related to about 1/4 of all Seaworld orca. 

I'm sure you know, that amongst animal breeders of any kind it is considered unacceptable to breed from an animal that has previously shown aggression towards humans, as a predisposition to aggressive behaviour can be a hereditary trait. Seaworld takes the chance of putting trainers lives at risk, so they can sell Tilikum's offspring to other parks, and populate their own. 

Seaworld, although it no longer captures animals from the wild, continues to breed its cetaceans, despite the high rate of calf rejection (possibly caused by the fact wild orca will not breed until their teens, but are inseminated at Seaworld from just a few years old), high rates of calf mortality, and the short lifespans their animals experience in comparison to wild specimens.  

The animals also show signs of 'stereotypic' behaviour. That is, repetitive movements seen in captive animals either with poor enclosures and lack of environmental enrichment, or with neurological issues. Such behaviours include bobbing on the surface for hours on end, swimming in repeated circles, or swimming up and down one side of the pool (much like pacing, in non-aquatic captive animals). 

Instead of treating the stress with better enclosures or enrichment, Seaworld routinely gives antidepressants or sedatives to its more uncomfortable animals.  

I, and others like me who have signed this petition, therefore kindly ask that British Airways sever its ties with Seaworld. The one and only statement made by your company in response to this petition expressed the sentiment that it was 'up to customers' to make the choice and you were only there to facilitate their travel. But many customers are uninformed. They assume that for Seaworld to have the success it has, and for it to be supported by respected companies such as yourselves, it must be doing right by its animals. "If it was so cruel, BA would drop it straight away!" they think. 

And I firmly believe that if these were animals we were more familiar with, and that we could easily tell were distressed, you would have dropped them straight away. 

If Seaworld were a zoo with big cats pacing at the bars of bland concrete and metal cages, if there were chimpanzees clearly doped up on sedatives, if there were tigers doing tricks for treats close to defenceless human trainers, if one of their lions had killed two people, and was implicated in the death of another and they had continued to breed from him, if we could read the body language and calls of orca and dolphin as well as we can other animals, then you would not be supporting them.

Please take a step towards better education of the public about these issues and at least respond to the maker of the petition. She asked for a meeting over two months ago (in an email to CEO of BA, Keith Williams on the 18th June 2014), and has not even received confirmation that her message has been read. Virgin, Southwest Airlines and STA Travel have all taken petitioning and pressure on this issue seriously and at least opened a dialogue with petition founders and experts on the topic. 

If BA fails to respond yet again, then this will not stop our attempts to spread the facts about keeping these animals in the conditions they currently experience, and to pressure the companies who support (directly or indirectly) this poor treatment of highly intelligent animals.

Seaworld calls anti-cruelty campaigners like us 'extremists' and spouts messages of 'education' (as if seeing an Orca splash about in a pool to a trained routine, or swim in endless circles teaches you anything about these animals in the wild), but they are the ones with everything to lose. 

I urge BA not to listen to the propaganda of the company to whom the continued use of these animals is worth millions of dollars, and to instead heed the words of the people who care simply because they care. 

Can you train cats? Tips, Tricks and Common Questions Answered

So, can you train cats?

The short answer: Of course you can!

Using positive reinforcement (rewarding desired behaviour), you can train just about any animal. That said, training cats is a little different to training, say, dogs, so here are my tips to get you started and some answers to common questions. 

Tip one:  Make it fun! 

Cats, unlike dogs, haven't been bred to work with us - they don't tend to have the desire to please that drives dogs to do well in training, so we have to be extra awesome to hold their attention. 

I do this by using treats that my cats only ever get during training.  So, if you are thinking of throwing your cat some special treats, or a delicious morsel from the dinner table: Stop. Save it. Use it to motivate him/her later, when you need them to focus in training.

Tip two: Keep it short!

Training a cat (even an adult one) is more like training a puppy, than teaching an older dog. They have relatively short attention spans, they want to go off and do their own thing, and sometime they just want to take a nap. So when you are training your cat to do anything, keep sessions as short as possible - a maximum of 5 minutes, and pick times to train when your cat is naturally active and playful (dusk is usually good but if you know your cat likes playtime in the morning then train early, conversely, if your cat likes to sleep in the afternoon then that would be a bad time to train). 

You'll get much more progress from your cat if you train for 5 minutes a couple of times per day, than if you try to train once a day for 30 minutes. 

Tip three: Stay positive!

Punishment doesn't really 'work' with cats. They are nowhere near as forgiving as dogs and will often see being punished for something as you getting aggressive with them for no reason. This can lead them to either fear you and begin avoiding you or to become aggressive towards you.

  

If you want to train a cat NOT to do something, don't wait for it to do it and then punish it. Instead, teach it something it CAN do. Example: don't want your cat to jump on kitchen counters? Give it a cosy perch (something at the same height, or higher than the counter tops) in the kitchen, that it IS allowed to sit on, and simply encourage it to go there instead. 

(TV cat behaviourist, Jackson Galaxy (of 'My Cat From Hell'), describes this as always giving the cat a clear 'No' and a clear 'Yes'. Going on the counter is a 'No', but the perch supplies a 'Yes' that the cat can do instead. I like to think of it as focusing on the positive by teaching something desirable, instead of punishing something undesirable, but it's the same concept.)

Tip four: Don't push it!

Don't expect your cat to learn complex tricks after a couple of days of training - start with the small stuff like 'Sit' and 'Shake' before getting into more difficult stuff like this: Cat Parkour . Remember that training well, means challenging your animal enough that they have to think, but not so much that they start to get it wrong! Getting it wrong, means they don't get a reward, and getting it wrong a few times in a row will start to make them frustrated and bored! Set them up to succeed, so that they get plenty of praise and rewards and learn to love training.  

Common questions answered: 

So, can you train a cat to do anything a dog can do? 

Pretty much! Apart from barking, cats are physically and mentally capable of learning just about any trick you can teach a dog - and there are some cases where a cats athletic prowess and graceful movement might make it much BETTER at something than a dog!  

You just have to keep in mind that, while your Lab might do anything just to please you, your Persian is much more independent creature - sometimes she just doesn't feel like training, and you have to respect that and leave her be (or come back with tastier treats!) trying to force her to train will get you nowhere. 

My cat is old, is it too late to start training it? 

No. It's never too late to give training a go. With an older cat, however, there are extra things to bear in mind:

It might take more to motivate an animal that has never had to work for its food before. Make sure the treats you are using are extra special, or your old cat might take one sniff and wander off to eat the free food from its bowl instead!  

An older cat might have physical issues that need to be worked around, like arthritis or less range of movement. Think about whether the things you are training are safe for an elderly cat's weaker body. 

Be very patient. Older cats might take a few more repetitions to learn something new. They'll get there if you keep at it!

My cat is just a kitten, is it too early to start training? 

No. Kittens can be trained from a very young age. In fact, in my experience, kittens/juvenile cats are much easier to train than adults. Their brains are like sponges at that age; they just soak up anything you care to teach them. Though, of course, they will have a very short attention span and be more easily distracted than an older, wiser cat!   

Also, similar to elderly cats, kittens have weaker bodies. They are still growing, their joints and muscles can easily get overworked and they could get injured fairly easily. Always ask yourself if the trick you are training is safe for a delicate kitten. If it might be a little too much work for them physically, save it till they are older and more up to the challenge. 

I don't know where to start! What can I teach my cat?

When I first started training my cats, it was because I noticed they used their paws a lot to try and get treats out of my hands. So I harnessed the fact they naturally pawed at my hands to teach them to 'high five' and we went from there. (Full tutorial on that soon!)

If you can't think of anything your cat already does that you want to encourage, then start with the same basic things you would teach a dog: Sit, Down, Come, Touch, Shake etc. then you can move on to more advanced things, like complex tricks or even agility!  Don't believe you can teach a cat agility? Think again: Best of: Cat Agility They can even compete in organised shows: http://catagility.com http://agility.cfa.org/index.shtml

Personally, I would start with 'touch'. Its so simple, and it can be a base for teaching more complex things later. Just hold out a finger, or target stick

A commercial Target or Touch Stick, you can also make your own with a stick and small polystyrene ball/circle of paper.

and reward the cat for touching it with their nose. Cats are so curious, they'll naturally give it a sniff eventually, so its a really easy one to start them off with. Its especially good for a cat that hasn't ever met the concept of doing something to get a treat before. 

What rewards motivate cats most? 

Treats. Delicious, preferable smelly, moist, treats. Its best to use something small and soft (tiny cubes of cheese, little bits of cooked chicken) so that they can eat it quickly and then keep the training going.  Some cats might work for toys, but most don't, so treats are definitely the best way to reward. 

Praise? Not so much. Even most dogs don't respond that much to praise unless it's paired with treats or playtime, and with cats it's even less so. You can eventually phase out food rewards for some tricks and with some cats, but mostly they are in it for the rewards and the fun of the activity itself, not the love! By all means, praise and pet your cat AND give them the treat - a little affection is always appreciated - just don't expect them to work for cuddles alone!

Should I use a clicker to train my cat?

If you'd like. All the clicker is, is a tool to 'mark' good behaviours with a distinctive clicking sound. You first get the animal to associate the click sound with getting treats, then you proceed to train by clicking and rewarding when the animal does the right thing. 

A simple clicker.

Its mainly useful because it allows us to have perfect timing - so, for example, we can click as soon as the animals bottom touches the floor when teaching 'sit' and the animal knows the exact moment it did the correct thing (rather than it having to wait for you to fumble around in your pocket  to find a treat and you accidentally rewarding it for something else it did after it sat). 

I personally prefer to use a marker word, instead (I used clickers for a time but they're small, and I kept misplacing the damn things!). So, where a clicker trainer would click, I say 'Yes'. It works on exactly the same basis as the click - a short noise that marks the exact moment the animal did the right thing, and means 'That's right! A treat is coming'. Some people use a phrase like 'good boy' to try and mark behaviour, but that is much less effective - the reward marker word MUST mean 'a treat is coming', and you might say 'good boy' a lot to your dog during the day without giving a reward. It's also too long - a reward marker should be one syllable, short and crisp, so as to mark the split second in which the animal does the right thing - 'Yes' or 'Good' are the ones most people use, though some people choose to click with their tongue instead. 

Teaching Recall: How to Train a Dog to 'Come' When Called.

Teaching great recall is actually a lot easier than it sometimes seems - the reason many of dogs have poor recall is either that they haven't ever really been taught it properly, or that owners have accidentally taught their dogs to actively avoid coming when called! 

There are three things to remeber when training your dog to 'come':

1) Make it a fun 

Coming back to should always be a good thing for your dog - never call him to you just to tell him off and try use the recall command randomly and often (even when you don't really need to call him back), instead of just using it when you need to take him home, or stop him chasing something interesting. 

2) Make it easy

Never push your dog too far too fast - before you let him off leash always take a look around for hazards that might spook him or things he might chase. If you see anything, then consider whether his recall skills are good enough to withstand it yet. Always set him up for the best chance of success. Also, be reasonable about WHEN you call him - if he's in the middle of playing (safely) with another dog then wait for a lull to call him back, otherwise you may be teaching him to ignore you.

3) Make it stick

Don't just train recall on leash in the house or garden and then expect it to work off leash in a busy, distracting dog park! Build up to it; gradually training with more distance/distractions and less physical control over him. Then, once you've taught it, use it! Don't just assume he's going to remember months later in an emergency!

So, let's get started!

Step One: Recall Games.

Start out training recall by making it all a game.

It can be helpful to play the game with another person:

Have person A hold puppy's leash or collar, while person B riles up the dog with the lure (a toy or treat). Person B can wave the treat or toy about, play with it to make it interesting to pup, call to the pup to get its attention. Once pup shows signs of wanting to get to them, B can issue the recall command word - Person A then releases the pup and allows it to run to B. 

Once pup has got to person B and been praised and rewarded, B can then take the leash/collar and A can call the pup. 

Its important to get the timing of the word right. There's no point saying it before he moves because he doesn't know what it means yet! But there's no point saying it once he's already got to you, because then the word is associated with taking the treat or toy. It needs to be said as soon as he decides to move towards you, so that he learns to associate it with the act of going to you.

After a few repetitions of recall games like this, pup should come to make the association between the cue word, and choosing to go to you. 

You can then see if he's got the idea, by issuing the recall command before he moves. If he comes, then you know he's starting to get it. 

If you need to train recall on your own at first, then I suggest this method: http://www.doggiebuddy.com/topics/tricks/come.html  The instructions on this site are very good, so I won't give you a blow by blow here, but the method involves teaching the dog to expect rewards when it hears the recall command and is easily done by one person on their own. You can always use recall games later, as practice for pup, when you CAN find someone to help. 

Step two: Practice and proofing at home.

At the beginning you should start off close to the dog, in a very low distraction area of the home, but once its clear that pup knows what 'come' means in that situation its time to start upping the ante a little. 

I would add distance, before adding distraction. So start, for example, going down the hall to call the dog instead of just across the room. Once pup has that down, (and if they start to falter, don't be afraid to take it back a step and get closer to them - every dog learns at a different pace) then you can start playing hide and seek!  At first, just go into the next room and call the dog, but build up to going right across the house from him and calling him to come to you. 

Remember that, when you start making things harder, it can be helpful to use 'jackpot' rewards (really great food, an absolute favourite toy) the first couple of times just to really help motivate your dog. 

Step 3: Practice and Proofing Outside.

Once he's doing well in the house, take it outside. Being outside is a lot more distracting for a dog with all those sights and smells, so start practicing fairly close to him, and then build up distance. If you don't have a safe, fenced in area to practice, then you can buy very long (up to 50ft) training leashes to allow you to build up distance in a quiet corner of the park, while maintaining a safe level of control over him, just in case. 

When he is responding well in low distractions outside, start adding distractions. Have a friend stand nearby or walk past at first, build up to them waving their arms, running past, cycling past, or walking their own dog past yours. Move training to the park using a long leash, if you haven't already, and slowly practice closer and closer to the busy cycle paths, favourite dog walking areas, or the most squirrel heavy trees! This is called 'proofing' a behaviour and it aims to ensure that the dog can respond reliably, no matter what sort of distractions he encounters. 

Avoiding common problems:

My dog only comes back if you call and call and call again!

When training anything, use the command only once.

If the dog fails to respond issue a 'no reward marker' like a calm 'ah-ah' or 'nope' to let the dog know they aren't getting a reward - you can also take any toys or food and put them behind your back or hold them against your chest. Then you can give the dog a moment, and start again.

If you start rewarding the dog after saying 'Come...Come...Cooome' then your dog is going to learn that he doesn't have to respond the first time you call to get the reward. 

That said - Don't tell your dog off for not responding fast enough:

Its difficult to be fun when your dog is being frustrating: say he's chased off through the park after a squirrel and made you run off after him like a mad person. You finally get him to come back to you and your natural inclination is to give him a good telling off! Of course it is, you're only human! 

But HE isn't - he isn't a naughty child who can be told WHY you are so angry; he's a dog! He doesn't understand you are angry that he ran off because his memory for association is only a couple of seconds long, at best - so he thinks you are angry because of what he just did, and what he just did is COME BACK TO YOU!   

So, SMILE (as you wipe the mud off your knees with one hand and hold his collar tightly in the other) and tell him what a good boy he is for coming back, such a good boy, so deserving of cuddles and praise for choosing to return to you (even if it was a bit late). Recall must always be a good thing.

My dog doesn't want to come back to me at the end of a walk!

Another thing that stops the fun for dogs is only ever calling them back to you to clip on their leash and take them home, or to put them indoors after playtime.

Dogs aren't dumb and he'll soon come to realise that when you say 'Come here, boy!' all the fun stops!  Try and use the recall command randomly throughout the walk, praise him, then let him go and play some more, so that he never comes to associate 'come' with 'we're leaving'. You can also praise and reward him ANY time he chooses to come back to you of his own volition, encouraging him to want to stick close by and check in with you more because he knows it gets him a fun or tasty reward. 

My dog comes back to me, but not close enough to let me grab him!

Some owners make the mistake of teaching a dog to come towards them, but not right up to them. Only reward your dog for coming to you once you have a hand on his neck/collar. This makes it habit for your dog to be handled in that area and stops him learning to come JUST close enough to get a treat and praise, and then slipping out of your grasp when you try to get his leash on! 

My dog just isn't interested once there are distractions around!

You have to do your best to make yourself more interesting than the world around you. 

Try:

Lying on the ground. This is sometimes enough to get a curious dog interested.  

Getting VERY interested in something -especially good if you have a toy with you! Act like this object is the most interesting thing in the world (even if its just a stick!). Throw it from hand to hand, bang it on the ground, drag it around. Make it seem like something your dog absolutely HAS to come play with. This also works great for getting your dog to give up something you need him to drop. 

Run away as you call him. Might seem counter-productive, but dogs have a deep seated desire to chase things, and this makes getting to you something interesting and fun.

Wave your arms around, make interesting noises (whistles, clicks, excited calling) and generally act like a loon. Dogs are like toddlers- the more exaggerated your excitement, the more engaged they become. Plus, most dogs are curious enough to want to check out why you are acting so odd! 

What not to do:

NEVER chase your dog to try and get him back (unless it's absolutely necessary for his safety) - chasing him makes evading you into a game dogs love. Your two legs will tire out quicker than his four! 

NEVER rely purely on recall if:

- You are in a potentially dangerous area, such as near a busy road. 

- You haven't properly practiced and proofed, or aren't sure of your dog's ability to return to you when a little distracted. 

- Your dog is of a breed that naturally finds control or recall difficult. Huskies, for example, should never be allowed off leash in open areas - they are bred to run, and if they do you might never see them again. Sighthound breeds like Greyhounds and Afghans will not be able to overcome thousands of years of breeding and resist that small, furry, fast moving animal.                                      

That doesn't mean you shouldn't train recall in these breeds, it could well save their lives one day, but it does mean that they'll have a harder time listening under certain situations. It would be unfair and unsafe to put them in those situations and rely solely on training, rather than a leash.

Have fun training recall! Not only is it a vital way to keep your dog safe, it also allows them to have a great deal more freedom than a dog who's owners don't take the time and effort to train it.   

More advice on recall training:

The ASPCA suggest some great recall games: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/teaching-your-dog-come-when-called

Training Positive's tutorial video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QonpHq930Rk

Kikopup's youtube channel, which has several videos on training recall:  http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

Welcome to Animal Advice! Introducing my training techniques.

This being my first post on this shiny new blog, I thought I'd begin by introducing the fundamental aspects of my training techniques:

1. Humane

According to the Oxford English Dictionary 'humane' means either: 'having or showing compassion or benevolence' or 'inflicting the minimum of pain'.

To me it means 'inflicting the minimum of pain or discomfort, both mental and physical'. 

Before you try any new training method you must ask yourself: "Is this hurting the animal? Is it more stressed than it needs to be? How will this affect our relationship? Is it complying out of enjoyment and willingness to please, or out of fear of what will happen if it fails?"

This is, by far, the most important thing. At the end of the day most training is done to help animals live with us as our companions, so any method that negatively impacts on our relationship with them would be counterproductive! Not only that, but it makes owners and trainers feel bad when they think they have to treat an animal harshly - so if there's a better, gentler way, its win-win. 

2. Effective

Of course, all the love in the world isn't going to do squat, if the method is fundamentally flawed!  So the ability to actually train the behaviours you want to train must be weighed against being as kind as possible.

For example: It might work to force an aggressive animal into submission - but it's not exactly the kindest way to go about solving the aggression. And whilst you might want to cuddle away the fear in a nervous animal, it may just serve to make it more afraid.

'Effective' for me, also means using techniques based on the latest scientific research into how animals behave, think and learn so that we train them in a way that is easy for them to understand, and therefore set them up for success.

And, last but not least:

3. Good training, is fun!

Training done right should not only be effective, but also FUN for all involved. If you are getting stressed, or the animal is getting stressed, then something isn't right. Its easy to get frustrated if you aren't making as much progress as you'd like, especially if you are trying to train something very important for the animal's health or safety (like training a dog to have great recall, no matter the distractions around him) but if you start to get frustrated, then you may start to be overly harsh, or try to push the animal too far too fast, which just sets it up for failure.

Good training should focus on getting the animal to succeed, so that it gets plenty of rewards and learns to enjoys its time with you and enjoy training! It shouldn't be solely about getting the animal to the level you want, as quickly as possible. 

So, all training, no matter the animal, is about balancing these three principles and finding a way to teach an animal that not only works as well as possible and causes the least amount of stress/discomfort as possible, but is also as enjoyable (for everyone involved) as possible!

These three things are, for me at least, embodied by the principle of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is one of the four quadrants of 'operant conditioning', shown here:

Operant conditioning is a type of learning whereby  the behaviour of an animal is modified by changing the consequences of that behaviour (ie: 'good' behaviour results in pleasant experiences and so is repeated more often, and 'bad' behaviour results in unpleasant ones and so is less likely to be repeated).

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning

All the quadrants were shown to work to some extent when training animals, but its obvious that positive reinforcement and, on occasion, negative punishment, are the most humane and least stressful ways to go about training behaviours, so these are the areas I (and most reputable trainers) choose to focus on.

Now, you may be thinking - "This is all well and good if I want to train my dog to sit, or my cat to high five, but what if my issue is an aggressive or fearful animal who I need to rehabilitate?"   

This is when the principles of counterconditioning and desensitisation come in. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/desensitization-and-counterconditioning

Counterconditioning is the idea of re-training an animal's response to something. Basically speaking, you can use counter-conditioning to help him 'un-learn' the fear response and instead have a pleasant reaction to the thing he previously feared. For example: We had a cat (who due to a previous stressful experience being caught in a cat-trap for strays) hated his carrier. It terrified him and he would disappear as soon as we got it out. This made taking him to the vets not only difficult for us, but highly stressful for him! So we used counter-conditioning techniques to teach him that, rather than something to be feared, his box was the source of all great things in life - in the end he loved it and it made vets visits so much easier and calmer for everyone involved. 

Desensitisation is the process of allowing an animal to become so used to a stimulus that it no longer elicits a response. For example, an animal which is terribly afraid of a certain noise (fireworks, the vacuum cleaner etc) could be played a recording of that noise for a length of time every day. It would start barely audible the first few times, and the volume could be increased gradually, once the animal no longer showed any response to the noise, until they were successfully tolerating it at its full, natural volume. 

Desensitisation is not to be confused with 'flooding'.  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flooding_(psychology) This is the act of throwing the animal in at the deep end, so-to-speak, by suddenly surrounding them in the stimulus they fear (eg: taking a dog which fears other dogs to a doggy daycare or dog park where he is surrounded by them) in an attempt to show them that the thing they fear is no threat.  This is not something any good trainer will recommend (and beware trainers who call it 'desensitisation' when they are actually flooding).

Flooding is something that can work in humans with phobias - facing your fear of snakes by going to the reptile house at the zoo, or conquering a fear of the dark by sitting in a dark room. But it works for us because we can rationalise and think things through (and even then it is still highly stressful). Someone with a phobia, who is using flooding can say to themselves: "The snakes can't hurt me, they are behind glass. And it says here this one only eats tiny animals." Or: "The dark can't hurt me, there's nothing in my room I didn't put here myself." Plus, of course, we can choose - we can leave, or turn the light back on or ask someone to help us. An animal can't do any of that because it doesn't understand what's going on, because its their owner that controls their environment, not them and because their owner might not be able to read the sometimes very subtle signs that it is getting stressed and wants to get out of there.

Flooding an animal may work for some, but for others it can cause absolute panic, and may even increase the problem. And even in those where it does work, it is always stressful. So why not save the animal a massive amount of stress and possible catastrophic failure and just do things gradually? 

Both counterconditioning and desensitisation are methods that, when done correctly, ease anxieties and fears (and indeed, any other reponse e.g.: aggression or over excitement) gradually and with the minimum of stress. There are no 'quick fixes' in animal training! 

So, that about sums up the core aspects of my methods. 

I hope, whoever you are, that you will find the information on this blog somewhat useful. 

My plan is that future posts will be much less broad, and will help people with specific training or animal care issues, so if you are reading this and need some advice on something specific then let me know - I might just be able to help you out!

Shock Collars and Other Training Devices- Necessary or Not?

In my first post I stated: "There are no quick fixes in animal training". Well, this is not entirely true - there are, as I'm sure you know, a plethora of gizmos and gadgets claiming to offer a quick, almost effortless solution to a myriad of animal behaviour issues. From citrus spraying collars to cease annoying barking, to invisible fences to contain a wandering animal, to electrified 'scat mats' to stop counter surfacing, to shock devices allowing swift and apparently harmless 'corrections' for just about any unwanted behaviour. These are all devices which issue 'positive punishment' - an unpleasant or painful stimulus designed to lessen the occurrences of unwanted behaviour. 

We are only human and as such, it is in our nature to try and find the route that gets to our goal with the least possible energy expended. We do it all the time, in every area of our lives - we have a universal remote for the entertainment system, we have an automatic car to save us changing gears, we have keyboard shortcuts for just about any action a computer can perform. It makes us efficient beings; it gets things done. 

But there are some areas where, as tantalising as the thought of that fast, easy solution is, it is not the most appropriate method. 

In my humble opinion, animal training is one of those areas. 

You see, animals are not machines - you can't just press the right button or enter the right shortcut and make them do what you want or stop doing what they want. They are living creatures with thoughts and desires and feelings all their own, and the most humane and effective method is always going to be to look at the root of the issue and try to address it.

And, as efficient as they might be, this is where these gadgets fall down. Most of the time, all a spray or shock device does is 'contain' the problem. Its like putting a sticking plaster on an infected wound: sure, its nicer to be around, but the issue is still there under the surface and it's probably going to manifest in other problems unless it is treated. 

So, here are some common issues these devices are used for, and a few alternative methods which solve the problem, not just the symptom: 

1) Barking.

The most common issue people seek a quick fix for is barking, usually by going out and purchasing a shock or spray collar designed to administer an unpleasant experience to the dog when it barks. Now, this is the epitome of 'suppressing but not fixing' a problem. Sure, the dog probably barks less, but if the underlying issue isn't solved then its just going to vent whatever its feeling in some other manner (like becoming destructive, or suffering housetraining issues) and it may even serve to further ingrain issues like fear and anxiety.

The fact is that dogs bark and, depending on the breed, some dogs naturally bark a lot! Beagles and Bloodhounds are bred to howl, Dachshund are bred to yap, even some lap dogs, Pomeranians for example, were used to issue loud and piercing barks for the protection of the ladies who doted on them! If you want an animal that doesn't bark at all your going to have to get a cat... Or a Basenji (and even this non-barking breed isn't silent - They just prefer to express themselves in 'yodels').

Barking is a natural behaviour, and it is an important way that a dog expresses its mental state. Dogs don't bottle things up like humans - if they feel something, they express it in whatever behaviour helps. What this means is that incessant barking is not a sign of a 'bad' dog in need of correction: its often a sign something is wrong!    

Barking and boredom:

The number one cause of constant (or near constant) barking is boredom. When some dogs are bored they get destructive; chewing the couch or scratching the furniture, but for a large amount of others barking is their way of entertaining themselves and venting their pent up energy and frustration. 

Its a sad fact that many pet dogs, although often identical to their working ancestors, lead very sedentary, dull lives in comparison. They are often very spoiled and very loved; lavished with attention and treats, but they just don't have anything to do! 

If your dog is barking more than he should, think about his lifestyle - Is he cooped up most of the day in your house or garden? Is he given a leisurely stroll once daily and then taken home? Is his food unceremoniously dumped in front of him a couple of times per day?   

If this sounds like your dog's life, then it may be time to start enriching it more to ease his boredom and stop his frustrated barking.

Walks

A slow stroll once per day is all some dogs need, especially when they are elderly or infirm (or just of a very lazy persuasion). But for others, especially working breeds (like herders), it just isn't enough to sate the desire to be out there DOING stuff!

Toys and games 

If your dog is barking in your garden or home all day long, then consider getting some more interesting and exciting toys to entertain him, and creating some fun games you can play to help him blow off steam. 

Fetch is great (especially for retriever types!), and also needs some training to perfect so it provides both mental and physical stimulation, but there's a wealth of other activities you and your dog can do together. How about whirling round a toy on a rope for a high prey drive pup to chase? For dogs who enjoy following their nose you can also buy commercial scents (like duck), or rub toys with food - then just drag them around a while, hide them, and have your dog sniff it out.

For dogs with great ears, find a noisy toy, and hide with it somewhere in the house, making noise with it till your dog finds you. This is also great for use as a recall game!

Get creative and make your dog work, don't just stick to throwing and pulling toys. 

There's also organised activities that could really help a very high energy dog - check out things like agility training (you don't have to join a group and compete - just set up some simple obstacles in the garden and give it a go!) or flyball. 

Food 

In the wild, animals spend the majority of their time searching for food. Now, just because most dogs can't (and don't have to) hunt for themselves doesn't mean that we should just be plopping it all on a plate in front of them.

Working and searching for food can be a brilliant way to occupy your dog for long periods - especially when he is by himself. Look for toys you can stuff with food ('Kong' are the oft recommended brand), treat balls that you fill with biscuits to be dispensed when the dog rolls it around, and use part of your dog's daily food allowance as rewards in training. 

You can also hide some of his food around the house, or get him to work for it some other way- even if its as simple as having him tip over a plastic cup or cardboard box to get at some.

Training 

This can be anything, from simple obedience and manners, to complex tricks or competition training. For a dog who is usually bored all day, a couple of 10 minute sessions (even if its just learning to 'sit' or 'high five') can provide some much needed mental stimulation.

In short - an occupied dog, can't bark!

Barking and separation anxiety:

This is such a big issue I feel it warrants its own article to explain the many techniques which can ease it, but here's a brief description for those who's animals (not just dogs!) may be sufferers:

Separation anxiety is fear and stress in the animal, brought about by the owner (or sometimes another animal) leaving. If your dog only barks excessively when you aren't around, then he may be suffering from separation anxiety. The barking may be paired with chewing, urination, defecation, howling, whining, trying to escape (scratching at or attempting to dig under doors), or may be the only sign anything is wrong. The first signs of anxiety (whining, drooling, pacing, being unusually clingy) will often begin as soon as the dog sees you are preparing to leave. 

Although it may be tempting to use a device like a shock or spray collar to curb this sort of barking because it can do the work for you while you are out, it must be remembered that this is a fear issue - Attempting to curb the barking by punishment, and with methods that cause further discomfort can be seriously detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the dog. 

The more humane and effective approach would be to work on desensitising the dog to your departure and to the signs you are about to leave and to help him feel more comfortable on his own (I will go into more detail on how to achieve this in a later article on the subject). 

Barking and fear/aggression:

If the excessive barking is directed at one particular trigger (people walking past the fence or the neighbour's cats for example) then it may be caused by fearful or aggressive feelings. Using unpleasant punishments to try and curb the behaviour could serve to deepen these feelings (where previously it was a case of "passers by are scary and barking makes them leave" it could easily become "passers by are scary AND a source of pain"). It could even serve to make a seriously fearful dog skip barking altogether and go straight to attacking - barking used to make the things the dog feared go away, but now it hurts to bark at them so the only thing he can do is get them before they get him! 

What you need to do here is find the trigger of his barking, and either carefully and slowly desensitise him to it or use counterconditioning to make it a source of pleasure, rather than fear, in his eyes. This will not only stop the annoying barking, but also cure him of his anxieties and make him a more comfortable and easier to handle animal. 

Barking and guarding:

Sometimes guard dog types get a little out of hand - if your dog is happily alerting you to everyone who comes near your door by barking from the moment they enter his sight to the moment they leave it then the solution isn't to punish him for doing what comes naturally - it's to teach him what is allowed.  

One good solution for those whose dogs are natural home protectors is to teach a little control (this also works for issues such as barking at the doorbell or barking when a car arrives). 

This involves teaching two cues - 'speak' and 'quiet (/'enough'/'thank you'). 

You first teach your dog to bark on cue, then reward them for stopping on cue. Using this method you can teach your dog either just to stop when you say, or to automatically stop after one bark. That way they still get to alert you of possibly unwanted visitors, but you dictate how much alerting you actually need! 

You could also teach an alternative method of alerting you, like coming to find you, though with naturally bark prone dogs this may take longer, and will be more complex for the inexperienced trainer. 

2) Recall/Heeling/Offleash training. 

I know there are people who opt to use a collar device of some sort to train their dogs to have good recall or to stay near them/at heel while off leash. They say that the ability to 'correct' the dog from a distance allows the dog greater freedom than a dog who can't be trusted off leash. And that's true - a dog with bad recall, or who doesn't pay attention to you off leash can't be trusted to romp around in the park or the woods and he suffers as a result. But I disagree that punishment is the best or only way to train great recall. 

In fact, I think a recall based on positive reinforcement methods is always preferable because I know the dog is coming back and paying attention to me because he wants to - not because its painful or unpleasant to stray. It also makes being on a walk an entirely positive experience for all involved and never backfires the way that pain inducing training can (using harsh punishment on walks can make dogs associate locations, rather than the 'bad' behaviour, with the pain, causing them to become stressed when walked in places they have previously been shocked). 

Since it's such an important issue I will go into training recall fully in a later article, but the basic principles of teaching solid recall is just a matter of:

a) making yourself more interesting and rewarding than the sights, sounds and smells of the outside world, 

b) making coming to you a pleasant experience every time and 

c) proofing, proofing and proofing again.

3) Counter-surfing/ Keeping Animals off Furniture.

There are various electronic devices designed to keep animals off furniture or counters but, in my opinion these should be avoided - there is alway the risk of even just one shock scaring the animal so much they won't even enter the room where it happened. 

There are several painless methods to solve this issue- 

1) Close doors or put up baby gates. Problem solved.

2) Don't leave food uncovered on counters or tables - if someone left your favourite snack on a counter, unattended, you would have a hard time resisting right? Now imagine you only had the cognitive power of a dog or cat. Put the delicious steak under a bowl or in the fridge if you can't watch it. Teaching the 'leave it' cue for when you are around can also be helpful.

3) Teach your dog that it gets rewards for being on the floor, and train an 'off' command so you can tell it to get down when you need to. When you aren't there to supervise, keep the dog separate from the furniture you don't wish him to sit on. 

4) If you don't want your cat going on your furniture, you can try training it with rewards just like a dog - it can be done! But it's really not realistic to expect cats not to do what they want - if you want entirely fur and scratch free furniture then the only realistic answer is not to get a cat (or any loose pet really - try hamsters). 

5) As with any training, consistency is key - no animal is going to understand that he's allowed on the furniture whenever he wants, just not when he's muddy! Or that one person allows him up and another doesn't. Either he's allowed or he isn't. If he is allowed then a good solid knowledge of the 'off' command is a good idea- that's not inconsistent because it isn't punishment for being up there, it's actually a chance for a reward for getting down when asked.  

6) I really group this with number 5 but: don't inadvertently reward the animal for stealing things off counters or jumping on furniture - you'd be amazed how many dogs are confused by getting a laugh, a pat on the head and a joking 'you naughty thing!' for stealing something small and inconsequential like a cookie, and then get massively told off for nabbing something more 'important'. If it's not allowed, it's never allowed!

4) Containment.

The last issue shock devices are often used for is to keep a dog contained, either by manually shocking when it leaves a boundary without permission, or by the use of an automated 'invisible fence' system which is set up around the garden, and which administers a shock to the dog via a collar device in order to keep it inside the boundaries. 

These are not only unpleasant for dogs - they are dangerous. An electronic containment system of any kind is NOT a suitable substitute for a real fence and yet many people use them that way. The issue here is, not only are you causing unnecessary pain (boundaries can be taught just as effectively with no discomfort to the dog, see this brilliant series of tutorials by Kikopup on youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNE_WJ1nMu4&list=PL756D0A827EF9134C ) it is also highly ineffective - once dogs get used to the shock, they may simply ignore it, especially if they are focused on next doors cat across the road, or another passing dog! This can lead them to become trapped OUTSIDE the boundary, because once they are calm and ready to return they now get shocked for trying to get back into your garden! 

It can also seriously traumatise more sensitive dogs, leading to fear of the garden in general or fear of leaving it even when given permission. 

Dogs, when not supervised (even when trained not to exit a garden without permission) should always be properly contained indoors, in a kennel, or within sturdy fences. If improperly contained dogs are not only at risk of running off, but also at the mercy of people and other animals who can freely enter their garden and may steal, bother or injure them. 

Vibrating collars:

The only time an electronic device is really appropriate in my eyes is vibrating collars used in a positive manner. A (gently) vibrating collar can be a great tool to allow a dog time off leash. Especially for deaf dogs, or those with a lot of space to roam, who might not be able to hear you calling - if they can't hear you calling, then they can't be recalled. But with vibration device you can train the dog to expect great rewards from you when it vibrates - this gets them eagerly running back to you as soon as you trigger it.

It should never be used, as some do, as a form of punishment for any dog. Rather, it should have a positive association to avoid issues with the dog simply ignoring the vibration, or becoming fearful of it. And it should be noted that some dogs might find even the lowest vibration on their neck unpleasant, in which case this is not an appropriate device. 

A better solution in those dogs (and something useful for any dog, really) is to train them to 'check in'  often by rewarding them any time they return to you, even when not called. 

So, there's my stance on 'positive punishment' devices. I am well aware that they CAN be used to great effect, but I'm also well aware that there are a myriad of other, less risky, ways to train just about anything you could think to use one of these devices for...so why not try them?

By all means, don't just take my word for it:

The Risks of Shock Collars - Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors:   http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/shockcollars 

The Use of Shock Collars and Their Impact on the Welfare Of Dogs - Emily Blackwell and Rachel Casey, University of Bristol Department of Clinical Veterinary Science (2006): http://www.raadvanbeheer.nl/uploads/media/121212_BV_-_stroomband_bijlage_2.pdf

Punishment Position Statement - American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour (AVSAB):

http://avsabonline.org/uploads/position_statements/Combined_Punishment_Statements1-25-13.pdf

Training Devices - Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA): http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/dogownership/collars/-/articleName/CAM_ELECTRIC_TRAINING_DEVICES

The Implications of Training Techniques Inducing Pain or Fear - Welfare in Dog Training (linked to in RSPCA article, above):  http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/implications-of-punishment.php

Reward Based Training Fact-sheet - RSPCA Education: http://content.www.rspca.org.uk/cmsprd/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobnocache=false&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1233003309796&ssbinary=true

The Five Freedoms Fact-sheet - RSPCA Education (The 'five freedoms' are referenced but not explained in the Reward Based Training Fact-sheet, above, which states that harsh punishments may be denying an animal's right to 'freedom from pain' and/or 'freedom from fear or distress'): http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=urlblob&blobheader=application/pdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=RSPCABlob&blobwhere=1210683196122&ssbinary=true