Do you love your dog more than I love mine?

Summer means the snake season is here, with numerous news reports detailing sightings of snakes in residential areas, and even inside people's homes.

As I repeatedly came across articles about snakes in my news feed, it sparked my interest in enrolling my dog in a snake avoidance course. After gathering all the necessary information, I enrolled in the course, which included a prerequisite: a letter from my vet confirming that my dog is physically fit and deemed suitable to wear an e-collar.

I attended the first session, and we got straight to work. Excited about my experience, I shared it on social media (all positive and very interesting)... Who has seen a snake poo? It was even bigger than a small dog’s poo.

Now this is where it got interesting… I attended my usual dog sport training. A classmate enquired about my snake avoidance training, and I responded with an enthusiastic "excellent." When she asked about the mechanics of it, I explained the use of an e-collar. To my surprise, judgment followed. "I would NEVER use an e-collar," declared one, while another decided against it with a simple "oh nah then I won't do this." My response? "Well, I don't care." Maybe not the best choice of words, but I was genuinely taken aback by the sudden judgment.

Does it mean I love my dog any less? Absolutely not. It merely reflects my willingness to subject her to a bit of discomfort, knowing she'll overcome it, all to potentially save her life. Even my sports dog trainer chimed in, suggesting that without an e-collar, training a dog to avoid snakes could take a daunting 12+ months.

On reflection I thought to myself, would you pull a child's arm to prevent them from running into an oncoming car, causing momentary discomfort to avoid a potentially life-threatening situation?

I see the e-collar as a communication tool, a means to convey critical information to my dog. The question that arises is: why do some people have a strong aversion to e-collars? It might stem from a lack of personal experience in using them, insufficient training on their proper usage, or reliance on misinformation obtained from various sources. The negative sentiments could be a result of misconceptions rather than a true understanding of the tool and its potential benefits when used responsibly.

This is what Frankie from Franks Dog Training had to say “Also people don’t think about how traumatic it is for a dog to be bitten by a snake, such an awful way to die & if they do make it to a vet the process is long and incredibly detrimental to a dogs overall health!

The worst part is, the dog is not going to connect the horrific vet visit with the snake and they’ll go right back up to a snake if they see one again!”