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 @franksdogtraining 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!”