03/02/2023
We often see dog owners afraid of applying stimulation to the dog and think that by using the vibrate only that it would be "less" aversive to the dog. This is a common misconception and every dog response differently to the vibration function.
Robin McFarlane breaks it all down in the blog. Here is the quick summary:
"The vibration function is often viewed as a less aversive alternative to stimulation. However, I encourage users to consider the dog’s point of view rather than fall prey to potential emotional bias about stimulation, aka “shock”.
I suspect any person that routinely uses the word shock rather than stim or e-stim is quite likely to regard vibration as less aversive. The emotional bias creates a training mindset that reserves the use of “shock” for behaviors the handler considers more nefarious. i.e. “My dog was so stubborn, I had to shock him to get him to stop!”
However, the vibration function isn’t always less aversive to the dog. It depends on the dog in question. I’ve trained numerous dogs that find the abrupt shaking sensation of the pager far more startling than a low level stim. Because the vibration is not variable in intensity, it cannot be dialed down the way that stimulation can and for some dogs it is just too much. Always remember, it is only the dog’s perception that counts, not the humans!"
