Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My siberian husky is a handful, as I'm sure you all can relate. I love her to death, and I've been making good progress since adopting her last september. I have gotten to the point where I can let her off the leash in certain places, and she will usually stay somewhat nearby. Sometime however, she will look at me when I call her, then deliberately defy me and run away. This has become more frequent instead of less frequent for some reason. SO... I have been looking into shock collars as a last resort after training. I have had husky owners tell me that they do wonders, and other tell me that their husky cant even feel the shock through the fur (and I dont want to shave ANY of her fur).

Can anyone offer me some advice on shock collars. Do they work? Are they worth the $150 investment? Does the thick undercoat make the shock useless? Is there a brand that is better than others?

>>My siberian husky is a handful, as I'm sure you all can relate. I love her to death, and I've been making good progress since adopting her last september. I have gotten to the point where I can let her off the leash in certain places, and she will usually stay somewhat nearby. Sometime however, she will look at me when I call her, then deliberately defy me and run away. This has become more frequent instead of less frequent for some reason. SO... I have been looking into shock collars as a last resort after training. I have had husky owners tell me that they do wonders, and other tell me that their husky cant even feel the shock through the fur (and I dont want to shave ANY of her fur).
>>
>>Can anyone offer me some advice on shock collars. Do they work? Are they worth the $150 investment? Does the thick undercoat make the shock useless? Is there a brand that is better than others?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Siberian Huskies do not have the basic psyche to be reliable working off-lead. Think about what they have been bred for so many generations to do. You could seriously harm your dog's temperament with a shock collar. Just use a leash or a long line, and be sure to keep some slack in it so it's not hurting the dog.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I agree... sibes should never be off lead unless they're within a fenced area (that's if you ever want to see them again). Also, you could think you're in a "safe area", but before long they are running across streets... not a good idea.

Walt

If your intention is to shock your dog with a remote in order to produce a more reliable recall, I can say with almost 100% certainty that this method won't stop a spitz breed that is on the run, in prey drive, on the chase of something it perceives as prey (oh and to a spitz breed that can be a blowing leaf, insect, etc)- no matter how high a shock setting you have set on the collar.

First, getting the correct shock setting on these drama dogs is nearly impossible because at the first twinge of the shock they emit a loud scream where you'd think they are dying. Then if you think you are being clever and know they are being overly dramatic so you set it higher, it's too strong and when you push that remote they crumble- they don't come when called they don't do anything or they run faster to get away from the pain on their neck. They still don't come to you.

If having a reliable off leash breed was important to you, the husky was not an appropriate choice. They are unreliable off leash and it's not a matter of "only bad trainers can't teach them to be reliable off leash" it's a matter of they are unreliable off leash because nothing gets through to them when they are on a chase. The best trainers in the world can't break through that instinct and the best trainers realize that it's a fact with the breed and don't put them in situations where they are in danger off leash.
-----
Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

I appreciate your reply. I knew when I got her that she would need to be on leash in most cases. When I take her up to the snow, I let her off leash and she runs ahead on trails while I'm on my skis, but regularly comes back to "check" on me. And when she's tired out, she stays by my side. I had hoped that this behavior could be instilled in all cases, but I guess I will be happy with her trail behavior and stick with keeping her on leash in more suburban circumstances. Thanks again.

Sibes, and other thick dense coated arctic breeds usually respond on the first shock if your lucky, afterwards they are used to it, or ignore it, if you crank it up they will run away even faster to escape the remote control.
These dogs have only been pets since the late 70s, they run away when you call their name most times. Teach a recall in a quiet place with a fence or a long cable or lead, then reinforce over and over. The problem is that they know when they are free or on cable, they will play the game until they know its clear, then run.
Just not a breed to be off leash at all. They have incredibly thick skin to help keep the heat in, with the capilaried deep in the skin, shock collars just dont work so well with them.

I used a shock collar for a invisible fence while I was fixing up the fence.

I am deaf, and so I don't hear the noises he makes. Not that it matters, because he was only outside when I was not home. Three days later, Animal Control came to my house because five people called with concerns of animal abuse going on at my house.

Apparently, he was screaming constantly all day long. He feels the pain of the shock, runs to the other side of the fence, gets shocked, goes to the other side, shocked, screaming bloody murder each time.

No shock collars for him again.

Seem to some people as if they are overreacting, but its the noise your neighbors are not used to (sibes sound different than other dogs).
I know of many who tried the invisible fence, shock collars, etc, sibes learn very fast that if they take off at full speed they can get beyond the 200 yard range of the "stimulation" control in a few seconds at most. Usually the shock sends them faster which teaches them to outrun the range very quickly. Think about it, you are walking around, suddenly you recieve a shock, you panic and run as your instinct tells you to do, as you are running you are being shocked, so you are now at full speed, in a few seconds the shock stops. A positive result from your reaction to run away, therefore you know from the first experience, run like heck and be out of range, the pain stops faster than sticking around.
I know some sibes that it worked the first time, then they prodded at the borders, and wore the battery down in no time at all, the shock becomes weak. Now they give you a smile and run away, smart dogs. Their skin and fur protected them enough to put up with the shocks in short bursts, even turned all the way up, they killed the battery and ran away.
I can see trying it to reinforce a trained dog, but not using it as a training tool. Think in these terms, your voice calling them back when they get shocked, they now learn to fear the sound of you calling them back, and run away faster, and scared.
If I was repairing a fence, Id use a cable, and supervision. Mine are never outdoors unsupervised.
I just read an article on this website talking about people leaving unsupervised dogs, and cats in fenced yards, the result with some small dogs and puppies is local predators taking advantage, it mentioned specifically that a 6ft fence wont stop coyotes and bobcats at all.

I had a 6' fence, I had used it together with the invisible fence because there was some issue with him digging under the fence. So I had to fix that problem, and I figured with the 6' fence he would not endure the shock for long enough to be able to dig under.

Still, once I found out about it, I decided to just speed up plans on lining the fence with concrete. Haven't had any problems in the last 5 months.

I used a cable originally, but he was able to get out of that. Even the steel ones. Just yanks the collar right off, even at it's tightest setting. He had the 1" collar that was somewhat thick, and at the smallest size you could fit about three fingers under. The next size down was 1/2" thick to fit him "properly", but he just broke it.

Same with a leather strap collar, just stretched the hole to the point the rod slips out and the collar falls off.

So I was at a loss.

I would never trust a collar, he can slip a collar at its tightest setting (even where most people think its too tight on him). Dukes neck is thicker than his head, and always has been, so a collar is out of the question except a controlled calm short walk.
Duke has slipped a harness a few times with a lot of struggle, but I alway caught him in the process. I never trust Duke without direct supervision outdoors, he climbs fences if he wants to get to me from the other side, Im sure he can still leap some high fences also. So far the cable and harness is still the most secure method unless you have a 8ft plus fence with 3 ft deep of concrete under it, and a secure roof over it.
Im glad to see you have gone so far to keep yours in, direct supervision is still the only way to be sure when outdoors.

I defnintely can't use a harness with him. I tried once, and he managed somehow to get his lower jaw stuck in the chest strap of the harness, and grinded it until it broke. No small feat, that.