We do not recommend the use of any collar-based “training” systems, whether a buried wire or GPS is used to establish the boundary. The manufacturers have tried countless ways to convince people that these devices don’t hurt the dog, but face facts: They wouldn’t work at all if they weren’t painful – and no amount of pain can prevent some dogs from running through the shocking boundary zone if they are motivated enough. Countless stray dogs turn up in animal shelters wearing those devices. There’s currently a class action lawsuit filed in a California Federal court against Radio Systems, manufacturer of the PetSafe shock collar, in which the plaintiff claims the company falsely markets the collars as safe and harmless to use on animals, when they in fact harm pets.
