The Best Shock Collar for Small Dogs [2021]

A lot of pet owners grapple with the question of how to best train their small dogs to ensure that they live within their best behaviours. A shock collar for small dogs ensures that pet owners are able to do this, sometimes even when they are away. A shock collar for dog training allows you as a dog owner to control the dogs behaviour and mould it in the way you would love your dog to behave.

For small dogs, in this case we mean either puppies or dog breeds that are physically small in size. Of course, there is the issue about age and size. Small dogs can be both young and old. Either way, they are likely to use the same shock collars.

THE BEST SHOCK COLLAR FOR SMALL DOGS

1. PATPET DOG TRAINING COLLAR

This is the best dog training collar that we tested. Everything works so perfectly. The dog training collar comes with 3 training modes: a beep, vibration, and shock. The shock and vibration training modes comes with levels;  offering 0-16 and 1-8 levels in intensity respectively while the beep mode is just one standard tone. The device comes with separate keys for the beep tone, vibration and shock functions. 

The device comes with a built-in rechargeable battery in both the receivers and remote controller. With the guaranteed battery life of 68 days for the remote controller and 11 days for the receivers, this battery life is quite reliable. Additionally, you can charge the collar and remote on your laptop, power bank and PC with the USB charging cable.

Unlike most of the shock collars that we tested, this one has a IPX7 waterproof rating. We found it quite suitable for small dogs because whether it is heavy rain, deep mud, or playing in the pool, the device functioned very well after. We are yet to experience any difficulties as a result of exposure to water.

Since we were in search of a shock collar for small dogs, we found that this just had the right size. It can fit a dog weighing between 22lbs-100lbs. This was perfect even for our small 8-month-old puppies weighing around 22lbs. Additionally, the nylon for the collar was quite reliable and fits perfectly for a long time. It’s durable against any wear and tear. Avoid leaving the collar on the dog for more that 12 hours per day.

If you are training your dog to stay within a particular boundary, the PATPET training collar ensures you have a 333 yard (approx. 1000 ft.) control range – not the longest ranges we have seen for home training collars but it is still a good range. The advantage with this is that when you have the receiver in the house, your dog can comfortably walk and play in the backyard, or you could go for outdoor activities ensuring your dog plays at a good distance but also isn’t too restricted.

In conclusion, this dog training collar comes with a 1 year warranty. We don’t think you will find any issues with it, and we can guarantee that you will be happy with this collar. In fact, the product has over 20,000 customer reviews on Amazon, and is one of the few products you will find doing an overall 4.2/5 Amazon rating. A lot of customers indicated they were able to train their dogs perfectly in under a week or two using this collar.

PROS:

1. It fits dogs weighing between 15lbs-100lbs
2. Long training control range of 1000 ft or 333 yards.
3. 3 training modes with varying intensity levels (1-8) for the vibration and (1-16) for the shock modes.
4. Fully waterproof e-collar receivers with IPX7 waterproof rating.
5. Battery life of 11 days for receiver and 68 days for the remote.
6. Comes with 1 year warranty
7. Very pocket friendly remote controller.
8. The collar’s receiver is very portable especially for small dogs.
9. Durable collar fabric for the long-term.
10. Lock feature prevents accidental shocks on your dog.

CONS:

1. You need to buy more receivers if you want to train more than 1 dog.

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OTHER GREAT SHOCK COLLARS FOR SMALL DOGS

2. PATPET DOG TRAINNING COLLAR DOG SHOCK COLLAR

The PATPET dog training collar comes with 3 training modes just like the other shock collars. It has beeps, vibrations, and shocks. However, the beep doesn’t come with adjustable levels. For this receiver you can set the intensities between 0-100 levels of just the vibrations and shocks. The beep remains at the same level. However, this was not an issue at all for any of our tests. We found the beep loud enough to be heard by the pet without the need to make it louder. The vibrations and shocks are the more needful ones for intensity setting.

The AAA battery lasts for a long time which was also quite reliable and among the best in our tests. The AAA batteries are more gentle than the rechargeable batteries. The shock collar receiver is fully rainproof thanks to its IPX5 rainproof rating. We found the shock collar receiver to be unharmed after playing with our small dog in the pool, or if the dog sneaked out to play in heavy rain.

This is arguably one of the best shock collars when it comes to the control range. It provides a control range of up to 333 yards (approx. 1000ft) ensuring that your dog has a huge playing allowance of space. It’s good if you have a large compound, and would like your dog to play in the backyard or garden without restriction while still keeping it within the boundary.

It fits dogs between 15lbs-100lbs size. This shock collar for dog training has received over 20,400 customer reviews on Amazon culminating in a 4.2/5 general rating. A lot of customers have lauded its durability and effectiveness. We found that the one year replacement warranty provided for this device was also quite a relief.

PROS:

1. It fits dogs weighing between 15lbs-100lbs.
2. Long training control range of 1,000 ft or 333 yards.
3. 2 channels ,3 training modes available. Vibrations and shocks with 1-8 and 1-16 intensity levels respectively.
4. Fully rainproof e-collar receiver with IPX5 waterproof rating.
5. Can train up-to 2 dogs simultaneously using one remote device.
6. Has security lock to prevent accidental touch.
7. Comes with one year warranty.
8. Remote controller very pocket friendly.
9. The collar’s receiver is very portable especially for small dogs.
10. Durable collar fabric for the long-term.

CONS:

1. You can only train a maximum of 2 dogs using one remote controller.

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3. NBJU BARK COLLAR FOR DOGS

The NBJU Rechargeable anti barking training collar is perfect for dogs of  small and medium sizes. It is adjustable to accommodate dogs with different fur thickness as it comes with two prongs. What gave it the edge in our reviews is that you can fit in a set of silicone protective covers to protect your dog’s skin from being burned. 

It gives you 3 training modes: a beep vibration and shock.  The beep and vibration modes also varies in 7 levels and sensitivities, it has 64 kinds of training methods. There is a low vibration to a higher one as is a low shock level to a higher one. You can adjust the levels per dog or per collar to the right levels.  It is touch operated and looks sleek with smart anti-false triggering from neighboring loud noise, this is apt. if you are living in a high density environment such as an apartment block. 

The collar comes with rechargeable batteries which lasts based on your use, one can set the collar to never shock if your dog is highly sensitive. Changing the settings is straightforward.

This shock collar for small dogs has over 8,000 Amazon reviews giving it an overall rating of 4.4/5. A lot of customers have lauded it for being extremely reliable, and others for helping them achieve great results within a short period of time. We recommend this  collar especially for dog owners who need to train dogs without a remote.

PROS:

1. It fits dogs weighing between 11lbs-110lbs
2. Vibration and shock  training modes have simplified flexibility in intensity (0-7).
3. 3 training modes: beep, vibration and shock  ensure that you have diverse training modes for whatever dog.
4. The collar is IP67 waterproof rating .
5. No remote controller, works with and  without obstacles.
6. Great battery life runs up-to 15 days and is rechargeable using power bank, car charger and laptop vis USB. It is fully charged in 30 mins.
7. It has a 2 year replacement warranty and 60 days money-back guarantee.

CONS:

1. A few users have found the shock levels to be too strong and harmful to the dog.

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These 3 shock collars were sufficient enough to provide fast training for small dogs in our testing. We believe that using any of these dog training collars, you will be able to take charge of your pet and train it from when it is quite a small puppy to learn how you need it to behave. It is cheaper than hiring dog trainers, and in most cases, since dogs are quite obedient and awesome, you won’t need to use the shocks past two to three times. Let us know how the experience goes for you in the comments section below.

HOW DO SHOCK COLLARS WORK?

A shock collar is also usually referred to as a remote training collar, e-collar, or an electronic collar. They are used to train dogs in a method usually referred to as behaviour modification. Just to step some decades back, shock collars were introduced in the 1960s to train hunting dogs. At the time, they were very brutal. Fast forward to now, in the 21st century the shock collar has evolved.

There are still shock collars for hunting dogs, however, there are also very harmless shock collars for home-based dogs. Modifications and improvement of the technology has ensured that you can get a shock collar for small dogs that helps you train your pet by vibrating or beeping when it does something wrong. In essence the intensity levels of the shock collar have been immensely reduced to ensure that your dog will not be harmed.

Having said that, it is important to note that we don’t recommend using a shock collar for your dog training if the dog does not understand simple commands like “Sit”, “Stay” and “Stop”. It is good that before you start using a dog training collar, your dog understands these basic commands because once you buy the collar, they will easily be able to relate bad behaviour, the shock, and what your are asking them to do.

It is a simple concept that if easily explained means this: your dog understands the meaning of the word “Stop” so if they are doing something wrong and you say “Stop” and they don’t, you induce the shock. If they don’t understand the meaning of the word “Stop” and you punish them, that is being unfair to your dog.

A shock collar for small dogs, and even large ones, is used to curb a variety of stubborn and unwanted behaviours which if not curbed early, become a way of life for the dog. It is good to train your dogs early to be cool dogs.

For small dogs, shock collar training can help you keep your dog within property boundaries to ensure their safety. If the dog is off the leash, the shock collar helps you to keep them close. They do the work of wireless fences to a good  manageable degree. The collars ensure that the dog does not wander off beyond a certain number of yards as set in the shock collar controller. If they wonder off, a beep, vibration, or shock ensures that they know they are wandering off pas their boundaries and need to come back in.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING A SHOCK COLLAR FOR SMALL DOGS

• Adjustable levels of intensity

All shock collars for dog training come with adjustable intensity levels allowing the pet owner to vary the levels of warning the dog can get. These levels of intensity vary from a warning beep, loud tone, vibrations, and shocks which also can be increased in various levels from minimal shock to maximum.

It is important to note that most training devices do not have adjustable levels of intensity, unlike the shock collars.

A great shock collar for small dogs needs even more of these varying levels since you do not want to always have one way to warn your puppy or small dog on the danger of bad behavior. Most pet owners including us like to use the low levels of shock initially, then once the dog gets the point, we move to vibration and warning beeps such that we never need to use the shock again.

• Training results are fast

Of most dog training methods, a lot of dog owners have reported shock collars to be very effective. The curve is usually like this: initially, the dog gets a serious warning through infliction of the tingling shock warning maybe thrice or 4 times for a certain behavior. After that it doesn’t behave like that anymore, or if it does, a warning beep or vibration is enough to stop it from going on because they know that if they don’t stop, maybe a shock will follow and the dogs don’t want that.

This, in comparison to other pet products is quite fast in turn around time which makes getting a shock collar for training your dog so convenient and time-saving.

• Works when you are away

When you are training your dog to learn how to stay within particular boundaries or your property boundary, the automation feature in most shock collars becomes very helpful. You can set the distance that you would like your dog to travel on the remote controlled shock collar for small dogs. If the dog goes beyond the distance set on the controller it gets a warning beep, vibration, or shock depending on what intensity warning you set. The best part is that this feature relies on your settings so it works even when you are away.

Ideally, you would set this feature once your dog is already used to the shock collar, and has already been introduced slowly into the boundary setting. This ensures that when the dog is wondering off and gets a shock warning, beep, or vibration, they understand that they are wandering off and should stay back.

In addition, we do not recommend leaving your dog unattended to for long hours if they have the shock collar on. It’s good that the collar works while you are away, but leaving it on your dog for long hours risks chances of over-correction which might look like suppression in your dog’s eyes. However, if you are not going away for long, the collar could help keep the dog within set boundaries especially if your neighbour complains about your dog’s protests, barking, or trespassing.

• Affordable choice of dog training

A professional dog trainer will set you back a couple of hundred to thousands of dollars depending on their experience and the length of training time. A good dog fence costs a few hundred dollars if boundary setting is part of the training.

Shock collars on the other hand range between $30 to $250 depending on the features you would like to have. Shock collars for small dogs do not necessarily cost cheaper. It all depends on the features available on the device. However, a dog training shock collar is probably your best bet at training your dog without spending lump sums of money.

• It’s a form of aversive behaviour modification

Let us call this as it is to make it clear to dog owners who will want to use it. The shock collars are nice and harmless to your dog, but they are a form of behaviour modification that your dog will hate. However, that is the whole point. No one ever likes punishment. Even human beings get punished when they do something wrong.

If you are buying a shock collar for your dog, just know that the low-level intensities are much less aversive so your dog is less likely to hate them as much as they will hate the shocks. That said, the dog training is much faster so hopefully he won’t be hating the collar for long.

• Chances of instilling fear

If you misuse the dog collar, you are likely to instill fear in the dog. This is wrong. Find a balance. Do not overdo the shocks. Use vibrations and beeps once the dog has learnt what the shock collar is for and how they should behave if the collar is triggered.

Additionally, if you are using it for boundary setting to prevent your dog from wandering off when it is off its leash, use vibrations and beeps often, and shocks less often to ensure that your dog doesn’t get afraid of going outside but understands that they have to stay close.

• Positive use involves reward

Dog owners need to keep in mind that a shock collar for small dogs is not to be used as a form of punishment. It is to be used as a deterrent to unwanted dog behaviour. Therefore, one thing that we recommend is rewarding your dog with affirmative words like “Good boy” if they do the correct thing after the shock collar has done the correction, or to give the dog a small treat or a hug. Rewarding helps your dog to understand that this is training, and the more they do the correct thing, the more they are rewarded than reprimanded.

• Varies with dog size and age

The choice of the collar you get will vary with the size and age of your dog. There are shock collars for small dogs and puppies, and for large dogs. Ideally, it is good to know the recommended weight, age and size of your dog before starting to shop for a dog collar.

FEATURES TO CONSIDER BEFORE GETTING A SHOCK COLLAR

• Range and Remote control

Various shock collars come with varying ranges and remote control capabilities. For instance, if you are training hunting dogs you will need the shock collar and the remote to work over long distance ranges because you will need it to work in the forests and expansive hunting grounds. For home and indoor dogs, short ranges will suffice. The range will be indicated on every shock collar.

• Scent

There are shock collars that release a scent, albeit a bad scent, when a dog does unwanted behaviour. This is probably the lowest intensity level you will find in a shock collar. It does sound cool, even though it is less effective.

• Loud sound or beeping

Some shock collars provide this loud sound or beeping tone as one of the warning levels for bad behaviour. Once the dog knows what they should not do, they will be able to associate the beeping tone or loud sound as a warning to stop. Initially, when you train the dog to understand the tone, you will have to say the “stop” command as you beep the collar. Eventually, the dog will associate the beep or loud sound with the “stop” command.

• Vibration

After the beeping or loud sound, the next warning level in some shock collars is vibrations which might or might not vary in intensity. However, they provide a more thorough warning than the beeping tone.

• Shock

They are called shock collars because they need to induce some shock, in varying levels, to a dog that excudes unwanted behaviour. Ideally, they all induce shock, in varying degrees from low to high depending on the type of collar, the age and size of the dog, and for what use the dog is.

• Waterproof

Some shock collars are waterproof, and others have the waterproof feature that is conditional on stuff like not falling into a pool that is too deep, or working only in the rain, etc. We recommend getting a waterproof collar. It is good to have a waterproof shock collar for small dogs because of the kind of activity they engage in when they are outdoors like running in the rain.

Featured Image courtesy of Unsplash