Part 1: Can Shock Collars Stop Chasing? Breaking Down the Johnson & Wynne Study
Description
Can you stop a dog from chasing—cars, wildlife, livestock—without using a shock collar?
In 2024, an infamous study by Johnson & Wynne claimed e-collars were more effective than food-based methods for stopping chase behaviour in dogs. And it’s been making waves across the dog training world.
In this episode of Barkology, co-hosts Chantal Karyta and Angelique De Kock dive into the details. As trainers who don’t use shock collars, we believe it’s essential to examine the science so we can advocate for dogs with clarity and compassion.
We explore:
How the study was designed and what they wanted to test
The three training groups (shock collar, food + fast lure, food + gradual lure)
What the results showed and what they didn’t
This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. In Part 2, we’ll look at the published critique of this study, the authors’ rebuttal, what we think and what it all means for ethical, real-world dog training.
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