gooddog

I have corrected my comment about electronic containment systems in NSW...there is no Veterinary prescription required, but there are some fencing requirements. Also, the man from Tweed Heads who was prosecuted recently by the RSPCA for using bark control collars on his dogs has contacted me. Keep up the great conversations, and my dogs did GREAT at the Million Paws Flyball competition on the weekend!!! It was fun, thank you all who organised it (by the way, I know it was organised by the RSPCA). Gooddog

The body itself RUNS ON ELECTRICITY. There is nothing inherently wrong with electricity, nor citronella where it is deemed to be the best choice.

All electronic products including innotek containment are legal in VIC with a veterinary health check. They are also unrestricted in QLD and by prescription in NSW. In NSW a containment system DOES NOT require a Veterinary prescription, but should be installed to augment an existing fence. There are few good studies done, and I am considering doing one, on the effectiveness of electectronic training gear. I have seen studies for and against. The ones with findings against were done by people with agendas against electronics and that coloured their findings in my opinion. The most recent study found citronella bark control collars to be more effective than electronic, but the study only ran for 14 days; in my experience citronella collars have a relapse rate after that. Also, the types of electronic collars and settings were not pfublished which makes the study incomplete.

Electronic bark control collars are by prescription in NSW, over-the-counter in QLD, and with a Veterinary health check in VIC (your annual vaccination may cover this). They are not banned and defintely have their place when it comes to treating barking dogs. The RSPCA have been repeatedly taken to court and defeated on this issue. Incidentally, the RSPCA would also ban citronella collars in addition if they could. I suppose that leaves euthanasia as a way to solve really hard cases then? Barking dogs are a drain on societal health and cause ringing in the ears, sleeplessness, anxiety based illness; barking also exceeds the occupation health and safety standards for a healthy workplace (let alone living beside the ruckus!). While it is always preferrable to use purely positive methods, they sometimes do not work for barking dogs where the dog becomes adrenailsed and receives an internal high from repeated barking; no amount of positives can overcome that especially when you are not at home to police your dog's behaviour. Barking dogs MUST be controlled and quickly in the interests of human health and happiness. That poor man on TV was only doing the neighbourly thin in controlling his barking dogs; I phoned channel 10 and offered to try to help him by examining his dogs and issueing a Veterinary Prescription if I thought it appropriate. I have not heard anything back yet. For those of you who have never had a really difficult dog problem, you are probably both very good with dogs AND very lucky! You do not have to be useless with dogs to have a problem as many problems are genetic. Please try to show a little compassion for people who have two left feet when it comes to dogs, and who may have a dog with a behaviour problem which is genuinely really difficult to treat. My experience with electronic collars is that they have their place. I know people who even work for the RSPCA who use them, but it is their dirty little secret. In my opinion the RSPCA should not have the legal power to presecute because of their legal status as a charity they can not be made accountable if they get it horribly worng. They therefore have no incentive to get it right. Gooddog