High Tech for dogs doesn't beat consistent training

[Catherine]

The author of the article tested out a number of high tech dog collars with transmitters and signals to phones and all kinds of fancy stuff. They were supposed to keep his dogs in his yard. Most didn't work for him. Like regular cell phones you can lose signal. In particular the shock collar didn't work because it was not consistent. The dogs didn't learn anything.
To keep the dogs in his yard, he built a fence. The fence works every time. To measure his dogs exercise, he took them on a hike. The map said how far they walked. Did the dogs get enough exercise? They were tired, so yes they did.

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-ge...-dog-toys/


I like his attitude to testing things. Sometimes we like our technology so much that we don't question whether it works. If something is complicated to use and doesn't give good results, it doesn't matter how fancy it is. It doesn't work

The other thing he didn't dwell on is the subscription fees some of the collars have. You have to pay every month. And then there are the batteries to be dealt with.
Once he built his fence, it is done, it works and he doesn't have to pay monthly fees.  Sometimes simpler is better...because it works.


Don't get me wrong. I love my fancy smart  phone and yes I pay every month to use it. It is not one of the ultra fancy, highly complicated ones that are hard to use. Those frustrate people. Like the dog collars they can be too complicated to actually do the job.