[Liesje]

I do not view e-collars as containment devices and am not comfortable with e-fences or any sort of live wire. I think that is a common misconception, that people only use them because they have to "resort" to them and that they are only used for containment or for recall. I own and use an e-collar and do not use it for containment or recall, nor is it something I "resort" to using. I use whatever tool I feel is most appropriate given the dog or the skill. I don't try food and then switch to a prong and then an e-collar if things don't work out. If the tool I choose is not working, then I'm doing something wrong. It has nothing to do with the tool. When I use the e-collar, I use it first because that's the tool that makes sense, not because I've tried other tools and failed. Incidentally, I've never used or tried using an e-collar on my highest energy, highest drive, Schutzhund dog. It's never been the right tool for what we've intended to accomplished.